Book 5: A Whole New World

Book 5

A Whole New World

A Twisted Tale

By: Liz Braswell

Published: 2016

ISBN: 978-148470732-6

Approximately 385 pages

I didn't think I would make it this far in the project let alone be ahead, so I stepped out of my reading comfort zone a little bit and read some fiction. Well, it wasn't really too far out of my comfort zone since this story is centered around a Disney story. A Whole New World by Liz Braswell is a twist on the story of Aladdin. As you can see on the cover the premise of the book is "What if Aladdin never found the lamp?" That phrase isn't entirely played out in the book.

If you are familiar with the movie, this book follows the movie (similar to how a Disney musical follows the text of a movie while on stage) for about the first 80 pages or so. It was fun to replay the movie in my head while I was reading. Including the musical numbers that brought me back to my Vocal Point (show choir) days in college at Fredonia. We also get names of some of the characters we see in the opening scenes of the movie that we didn't know.

Again if you are familiar with the movie and using the information from the cover of the book, the Disney and/or Aladdin fan can probably piece together this story takes a turn in the Cave of Wonders. When I said the cover isn't entirely accurate it's because the point where the story turns is Aladdin does still find the lamp in the Cave of Wonders, however where the twist starts is Abu does not steal the lamp from the disguised Jafar before he throws Aladdin back into the cave giving him is "eternal reward." So Aladdin, Abu, and Magic Carpet get thrown back into the cave without the lamp.

From there it is not the story of Aladdin you know. I don't want to write too much about the story so not to get hate comments about spoilers. I will say this, as I was reading through the rest of the story it seemed very apocalyptic and Hunger Games-esque. It is a story about absolute power with a sprinkling of classism and capitalism throughout. The unfortunate part of the book is you don't see/hear the Genie as much as you do in the movie. While he is an integral part to the story, his ongoing presence is not. The flip side to that is that the twisted pieces to the story where he is present, the character is still full of the same wit and sarcasm as originally portrayed by the late Robin Williams.

There were a couple of quotes I noted throughout the book. The first of which comes from Genie when he says, "A wish is the most powerful thing in the universe. If you know how to work around the limitations. ... Only there was one tiny problem. I hadn't quite understood the catch: you can't make the wishes yourself. The universe has a way of keeping things in balance" (pg. 128). And later he revisits a similar concept saying, "Even the most powerful sorcerers in the world cannot just summon infinite amounts of anything into existence forever-it has to come from somewhere" (pgs. 230-231). If you think about this as wishes and/or goals, they don't just happen and you have to make them happen. The effort, energy, and resources you have will be utilized to achieve what it is that you are looking for. It may require some sacrifice (cost/coming from some where) but it can be in balance as well.

Jasmine also talks to us about what an individual seeking absolute power may really be looking for. "Because that's what he wants, besides power. More than anything Jafar seems to want to be loved and admired-that's why he has those parades, and gives all the coins out, and makes those speeches from the balcony. He wants everyone, including me, to love him" (pg. 178). I do believe this to be true and some leaders don't know how to achieve this properly. We will often do an exercise asking to name those we consider to be "good leaders" and those we consider to be "poor/bad leaders." Then follow that up with listing the qualities of both. If someone were to look into the personal history of those considered to be the latter, there is most likely something they lacked in their history they are seeking, love and admiration. They will believe that power is the way to achieve it.

I do also love the end of the book where the characters who identify as women and mothers refuse to be left out of the revolutionary fight. I believe this to be an even stronger message than Jasmine alone being the only identified woman who fights Jafar. 

What an amazing and creative twist on a story we know so well. If you are familiar with the tv show Once Upon A Time, the concept is similar. The biggest difference is the twists of the book are all within the same story versus the show where the characters come from multiple stories and are all interwoven. If you are a fan of Aladdin, I would recommend reading this one to see what may have happened if Jafar rose to power. The author does have other books in the series and after reading this one, I am looking forward to reading the one centered around Beauty and the Beast as I am also very familiar with that story.

Citation:
Braswell, L. (2016). A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale. Glendale, CA. Disney Press.

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