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A review by annettebooksofhopeanddreams
Reflection by Elizabeth Lim
4.0
I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure why I ordered the Mulan one of this series right after finishing the sleeping beauty one. I'm not a die hard lover of Mulan, I don't know all the story details that well, I'm not half as involved with Mulan as with Aurora, but for some reason the word Underworld caught my attention and I just wanted to have it.
And I was so not disappointed. But, let's start with two negative points first, to get them over with. Firstly: For a long time it felt like just playing around in the Underworld. And I got that, because it was awesome, but still. Secondly: I really missed the small synopsis of the rest of the story before the twist begins. The last time I've seen this movie I was about 9, so my memory was not the brightest anymore. And although bits and pieces came back quite quickly, a short introduction would have been appreciated.
So, now we've been through that, on to the positive points of this book: The world building of this book is amazing. I'm not familiar with the Chinese mythology of the Underworld, but when I read it, it made so much sense and felt really fitting with those small things I do know about Chinese mythology. The world was colorful, vivid, filled with magic, tricksters and twists and turns. I might have fallen a little bit in love with this Underworld!
I also really loved Shang and Mulan in this book. Although we don't get to see that much of Shang's inner worries and sorrows, he does feel fleshed out, vivid and alive without destroying even the slightest shred of his movie personality. And Mulan, Mulan is absolutely amazing in this book! I really love her journey, her development and the message of the book in general, that's especially communicated through the very end.
And that's the biggest plus of this book: the closer we get to the ending, the clearer the true journey of Mulan becomes. It's not JUST playing around in the Underworld, it's really a beautiful story with a very clear arc and a very clear goal and I loved loved loved the final conclusion of it all!
So, I have zero regrets that this accidentally ended up in my basket!
And I was so not disappointed. But, let's start with two negative points first, to get them over with. Firstly: For a long time it felt like just playing around in the Underworld. And I got that, because it was awesome, but still. Secondly: I really missed the small synopsis of the rest of the story before the twist begins. The last time I've seen this movie I was about 9, so my memory was not the brightest anymore. And although bits and pieces came back quite quickly, a short introduction would have been appreciated.
So, now we've been through that, on to the positive points of this book: The world building of this book is amazing. I'm not familiar with the Chinese mythology of the Underworld, but when I read it, it made so much sense and felt really fitting with those small things I do know about Chinese mythology. The world was colorful, vivid, filled with magic, tricksters and twists and turns. I might have fallen a little bit in love with this Underworld!
I also really loved Shang and Mulan in this book. Although we don't get to see that much of Shang's inner worries and sorrows, he does feel fleshed out, vivid and alive without destroying even the slightest shred of his movie personality. And Mulan, Mulan is absolutely amazing in this book! I really love her journey, her development and the message of the book in general, that's especially communicated through the very end.
And that's the biggest plus of this book: the closer we get to the ending, the clearer the true journey of Mulan becomes. It's not JUST playing around in the Underworld, it's really a beautiful story with a very clear arc and a very clear goal and I loved loved loved the final conclusion of it all!
So, I have zero regrets that this accidentally ended up in my basket!