What if Aladdin hadn't been the one to summon the Genie? What if Jafar was the one to make all the wishes? Forcing Jasmine to become the leader of a revolution? Sounds awesome, doesn't it? But sadly, this was me for most of the book: 
 I wanted to love this book. It was one of my most anticipated reads this year. Sadly, it was not what I was expecting at all. It ended up being for more of a middle-grade audience. There were a couple twisted moments, but overall, it didn't live up to its subtitle of "a twisted tale." More cartoony violence and flair. The first 80 pages is a recapping of the movie, which would have been fine if it had actually added something, but it was simply a transcript of the movie. There was no real delving into the characters or fleshing them out beyond their cartoony personas. This book had so much potential in its synopsis. It's a shame that it ended up being only a 1.5 star read for me (and apparently many other people). Maybe they'll be able to do something more with Once Upon a Dream? Or maybe the cartoony vibe is what they're going for? If that's the case, I'll pass.