Book Review: A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

Genre: Retelling Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

After being disappointed by As Old as Time by Liz Braswell, I was nervous that the author wouldn’t be able to do my second favorite Disney Princess justice either in A Whole New World, but I must admit that it was not bad! If you don’t already know, the Disney Twisted Tales series follow the characters we know and love, but incorporate an unexpected twist. In this book, the twist was that Jafar rubbed the lamp before Aladdin.

Taken as a whole, I enjoyed this book! It focuses more on an uprising and rebellion as opposed to the relationship Aladdin and Jasmine develop, but I appreciated that change. For one, I don’t think it would’ve made sense for this book to focus on their relationship, as the turn of events placed their priorities elsewhere. In fact, I would have been happy if Jasmine and Aladdin’s relationship remained completely platonic, as their love for one another felt underdeveloped in the book.

Similarly, I really enjoyed the way Braswell depicts Jasmine, particularly her efforts to connect with all of her people. In the movie, Jasmine cares about her people, but we don’t really get to see her interact with the people of Agrabah beyond one or two occasional scenes. In this book, she truly takes the time to get to know people, especially those living in poverty.

One aspect that I thought was missing from the novel was the focus on feminism. The fact that Jasmine is a girl and must marry a prince is kind of a big deal in the movie. While I understand that it is not as relevant in this book, I think the author missed out on an opportunity to deepen the themes in the book. I would have liked to see Jasmine take on feminist issues, and I think the problem of her ruling as an unmarried woman still could have been addressed in the book.

Overall, I definitely liked A Whole New World! While there are some things that were missing, Braswell clearly added a lot of depth and darkness to the original story!