Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel by Melissa de la Cruz

Disney-Hyperion, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-1484720974

Available: Hardcover, Audible, Audio CD, Kindle edition

The premise of Isle of the Lost is that all the Disney villains, along with their children, have been imprisoned on an island without any magic or access to technology, by King Beast (of Beauty and the Beast). King Beast rules over Auradon, where all the “good” characters from Disney movies live with their children. That works out well for the princes and princesses, but not so much for the sidekick characters, who are working hard and not seeing much in the way of reward.

In Auradon, Prince Ben, the son of King Beast, is about to turn sixteen and take over as king, with very little past experience or guidance in governing. On the Isle of the Lost, Mal, daughter of the fearsome Maleficent, is ready to take down Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen from Snow White. Her allies include the clever, amoral, thieving Jay (son of Jafar) and the nerdy, easily bullied, mad scientist-in-training, Carlos de Vil.  While Mal plans evil schemes against Evie, Carlos invites her to see his new invention, which he hopes will poke a hole in the force field that separates the Isle of the Lost from access to magic, a wireless connection, and better television reception… and it works. The magic of Maleficent’s fortress begins to wake, and she sends Mal to retrieve her wand, accompanied by Jay, Carlos, and Evie.

What’s interesting about Isle of the Lost is that every kid in the book really cares about living up to parental expectations, even though the parents are frequently neglectful, superficial, or abusive. Evie’s mother, Evil Queen, is hyper-focused on appearance, and Evie is always perfectly made up. Mal is determined to be as evil as possible to impress her mother. Jay steals to provide stock for Jafar’s junk shop. Carlos keeps Cruella’s furs in perfect condition. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos are not especially sympathetic characters. They lie, steal, vandalize, and put each other in physical danger, and they really don’t care that they might have done damage, but somehow, de la Cruz manages to make them relatable. She does a great job at developing their characters as they try, fail, and begin to reinvent themselves and the way they see the world. The part of the book that takes place on the Isle of the Lost has a dark, gritty feel to it, and the part that takes place in Auradon suggests that not everything is as perfect as it seems.

Isle of the Lost is a media tie-in to a Disney XD made-for-television movie titled Descendants, which was shown on July 31, but it doesn’t have much in common with it outside of the initial premise of the children of Disney villains imprisoned without magic and Internet. The director of the movie, Kenny Ortega, described it as a Disney fairytale-based version of High School Musical, in which Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay are chosen to attend high school with the princes and princesses in Auradon. I only saw the trailer, but I can tell you that the tone of the movie is completely different than that of the book. In fact, I would say that the Ever After High books by Shannon Hale are a much better match, even without the Disney aspect.

Disney marketing claimed that they aren’t expecting this to become a franchise, but I have difficulty believing that. I frankly am surprised they went the route of making a made-for-television movie instead of a series. The book is being marketed as a prequel to the story in the movie, but I’m really hoping it is the first in a series. Typically I am not a fan of books where the story ends without the plot being resolved, but I’m really intrigued by this one and would be interested in seeing where de la Cruz takes it. The book has sold really well, and I can’t say I am surprised. However, readers of the book may be surprised at the differences between book and movie (and vice versa). Isle of the Lost isn’t deep, but if you like your Disney villainous, this is a great dark and twisted fairytale read.