Straight Back to the Library

Yes, it exists. A Disney book about my favorite childhood story that I hated reading. Straight on Till Morning was such a confusing book for me to get through and I never really knew what was going on. About halfway through, I just stopped paying attention because I was so lost in the storyline. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this one, but we can deep dive into it anyway.

Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling’s life is not what she imagined it would be. The doldrums of an empty house after her brothers have gone to school, the dull parties where everyone thinks she talks too much and the fact that her parents have decided to send her away to Ireland as a governess — it all makes her wish things could be different.

Wendy’s only real escape is writing down tales of Never Land. After nearly meeting her hero, Peter Pan, four years earlier, she still holds on to the childhood hope that his magical home truly exists. She also holds on to his shadow.

So when an opportunity to travel to Never Land via pirate ship presents itself, Wendy makes a deal with the devil. But Never Land isn’t quite the place she imagined. Unexpected dangers and strange foes pop up at every turn and a little pixie named Tinker Bell seems less than willing to help.

When Captain Hook reveals some rather permanent and evil plans for Never Land, it’s up to the two of them to save Peter Pan — and his world.

Overall, this story started off similar to the original when Wendy is still in London and dreaming of Never Land. But once she arrived there, I got totally lost. She and many other characters acted as though she had been there before and that they already knew her, but she hadn’t.

I understand that the point of this series is to change the original stories we know so well. I think this book was the first in the series to change the story so drastically that it became more difficult to follow and harder to find the original within it.

Cannot Conceal a Change

 This twisted tale was an interesting concept, but unfortunately, I did not enjoy it. There were so many parts of the story that I did not like the way that it played out and the changes that were made. I loved the idea that Anna and Elsa were separated after the incident with them as children. But for Olaf to become a huge part in Elsa's life and for Han's to have loved Elsa, ruined a lot of the original ideas after the movie.

As the future Queen of Arendelle, Princess Elsa’s life is full of expectation and responsibility, not to mention, questions. What type of ruler will she be? When will she have to pick a suitor? And why has she always harbored the feeling that some critical piece of herself is missing?

Following the unexpected death of her parents, Elsa is forced to answer those questions sooner than she’d hoped, becoming the sole ruler of her kingdom and growing lonelier than ever. But when mysterious powers begin to reveal themselves, Elsa starts to remember fragments of her childhood that seem to have been erased, pieces that include a very familiar-looking girl. Determined to fill the void she has always felt, Elsa must take a harrowing journey across her icy kingdom to undo a terrible curse . . . and find the missing Princess of Arendelle.

In the original story, Elsa was deemed as a very independent person who did not need a love interest or man in her life. This version completely changed the idea when Elsa and Hans started having interest in each other. I understand the idea of this book being different than the original story, but this was a bit of a dramatic change. Hans ended up having the same exchange with Elsa as he did in the original and it was very similar to the betrayal that he gave to Anna.

Reflections of Power: Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, Mirror is a twisted tale of Snow White in which the Evil Queen poisons the Prince instead. How could this really make the story different you ask? Although the ending was very similar, the plot in the middle changed the entire storyline.

Following her beloved mother's death, the kingdom falls into the hands of Snow White's stepmother, commonly referred to as "the Evil Queen" by those she rules. Snow keeps her head down at the castle, hoping to make the best of her situation.

But when new information about her parents resurfaces and a plot to kill her goes haywire, everything changes for Snow. With the help of a group of wary dwarfs, a kind prince she thought she'd never see again and a mysterious stranger from her past, Snow embarks on a quest to stop the Evil Queen and take back her kingdom. But can she stop an enemy who knows her every move and will stop at nothing to retain her power... including going after the ones Snow loves?

The mirror in this story really plays a much larger role as the Evil Queen has used its power so much that she and the mirror have started to become one and the same. She uses the power to lock Snow White's father out of the kingdom and uses it to spy on anyone she wishes. The more the Queen uses its power, the more she loses her humanity until she becomes consumed by her own reflection.

This version of the story starts off as a retelling of the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but the best part is, you never know what is going to happen next. The twists and turns from the original storyline come out of nowhere and shock you before you can expect it.

Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale

Another Little Mermaid book? You bet. For some reason, I’ve been on a kick for retellings of The Little Mermaid. Part of Your World by Liz Braswell did not disappoint. Just like Hexed, it was fun to read a familiar story with a huge twist.

It’s been five years since the infamous sea witch defeated the little mermaid and took King Triton’s life in the process. Ariel is now the voiceless queen of Atlantica, while Ursula runs Prince Eric’s kingdom on land. But when Ariel discovers that her father might still be alive, she finds herself returning to a world — and a prince — she never imagined she would see again.

I’ve always been on the side of villains so it was interesting to see this version of what happens if they win. Ursula as Vanessa was one of my favorite villains and I’m not sure if that’s because of her incredible voice — Ariel’s voice — or because she really looks like me.

One of the reasons retellings like this are so fun to read is because we already know the plot of the story. We know Ariel, Eric, Ursula and Triton. We know their relationships, their struggles, their desires. But when you twist just one outcome, everything changes. Suddenly, you’re looking at these characters through a completely different lens.

For example, Eric isn’t just the charming prince anymore. He’s a man living under a villain’s control. His mentality has shifted and in many ways he’s lost himself.

And then there’s Ariel, who might be the most interesting character in this version. She’s not the naive teenager who dreams of being “part of your world.” She’s older, a queen still without her voice and haunted by her youthful mistake.

Throughout the story, you see the shell around both characters begin to crack. Slowly, they revert back to the bubbly, hopeful characters that felt so familiar in the classic movie.

The Twisted Tale of A Familiar Story

As a Disney girl from heart, this series has really taken hold of me! I love seeing how each story could have ended differently and this one was just as good as the rest. Growing up, Mulan was definitely a role model to me because of how she defied the norms to save her father and China. Reading how her story changed and her falling in love again with Shang was part of what made me enjoy this book so much.

What if Mulan had to travel to the Underworld? When Captain Shang is mortally wounded by Shan Yu in battle, Mulan must travel to the Underworld, Diyu, in order to save him from certain death. But King Yama, the ruler of Diyu, is not willing to give Shang up easily. With the help of Shang’s great lion guardian ShiShi, Mulan must traverse Diyu to find Shang’s spirit, face harrowing obstacles and leave by sunrise, or become King Yama’s prisoner forever. Moreover, Mulan is still disguised as the soldier called Ping, wrestling with the decision to reveal her true identity to her closest friend. Will Mulan be able to save Shang before it’s too late? Will he ever be able to trust her again? Or will she lose him and be lost in the Underworld forever?

As much as I truly enjoyed visiting a new side to Mulan, this book was not my favorite in the series. It felt really wrong for Shang to die so easily and for him to not want to return to finish the battle for China. There were some new characters that I did not enjoy so much either, as they continued to pop up and just drag the book on even more.

That said, the book still had plenty of moments of adventure, cultural mythology and that familiar spark between Mulan and Shang. I enjoyed the exploration of Diyu and the way the author wove Chinese culture into the tale. It gave the store a darker, more mature edge than the original Disney version, making this book even more fun for me now as a young adult.

Overall, this book was still a cute read and I will continue to finish the what if series of classic Disney tales. The next one is The Little Mermaid so I am beyond excited to delve into this story. The plot is, "what if Ariel never defeated Ursula?" Ursula was super creepy as a kid so I cannot wait to see how else she can be more villainous.