A Whole New World... maybe?

What happens to a beloved story if you change one event? Does it unravel in a complete mess? Does it spiral out of control killing everyone and everything in its path? Or does it make its character rise to a new level therefore changing the plot so much that the new story is barely recognizable? In some books, that could be the case.. in A Whole New World though it really isn't.

Remember the cartoon... if you haven't had the pleasure, the first quarter of this book will be new to you. Aladdin is a poor street rat stealing her supper on the streets of Agragbah with his sidekick money, Abu. Jasmine is a princess forced to marry a prince to produce ah heir for the Sultan line. Jafar is a power hungry villain destine to find the lamp and take over the kingdom. Along the way, Rajah the tiger and Iago the parrot join the cast as well as the great and powerful Genie.

As I mentioned before, one event changes the outcome of the book meaning Aladdin doesn't get the lamp(Genie) but instead Jafar does. The street rat along with Abu and the carpet are forced to dig their way out and lead a rebellion to overthrow the new Sultan, or as we know him, Jafar. Jasmine, of course, comes to help him beginning the love story we know from the cartoon.

Now for my opinion... if you haven't seen the cartoon, it's a great book filled with high flying adventure and stunning scene description. If you have, well, it is very similar and almost feels like the writer took scenes from the movie and sliced them throughout the book adding bits and pieces to form the complicated albeit familiar story line. In reality, I expected more. Jafar to wish for something more unpredictable and for the story to actually change more than what was given. I did like Rajah more in this since he seemed to be more tiger than pussy cat. In truth, the animals behaved more like animals. Iago dumping his bowels down the back of Jafar's cloak was an added touch,

As I said, if you love the movie or have never seen it, the book is really well written and the characters are so fun that you will enjoy the humor, action, and intrigue. If the movie was so-so to you, maybe rent it from the library or borrow it from a friend. I give it four stars for writing and 3 star for orginality.