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Book Review: Return to the Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

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

Disney Hyperion Publishing, May 2016

 

Last year, Melissa de la Cruz introduced us to an interesting, darker twist on the typical Disney tale in Isle of the Lost. In the Disney fairytale realm of Auradon, all the villains, along with their children, have been captured and imprisoned on the deteriorating, isolated Isle of the Lost. The first book introduced a variety of villain children, but focused on four in particular: Mal, the daughter of Maleficent; Jay, the son of Jafar; Evie, the daughter of Evil Queen; and Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil. At the end of the book, the four of them were invited by Prince Ben, soon to become king of Auradon, to attend boarding school in Auradon.  Isle of the Lost was quickly followed by the live action, made-for-television movie musical, Descendants, in which Mal and her villain compatriots chose to defend Auradon from an attack by Maleficent, who had regained her magic and escaped. Mal defeated Maleficent, transforming her into a harmless lizard.

Return to the Isle of the Lost directly follows the events of the movie. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos are adjusting to, and mostly enjoying, life in Auradon when they receive mysterious messages that they must return home. When they do return,  they make the disturbing discovery that their parents have disappeared without a trace, in an attempt to escape the island through secret, underground passages. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos must find and travel the passageways to keep their parents from tunneling through to Auradon, but to do so, they each must face a challenge left behind by their parents. A note for English teachers: the meaning of the term “anti-hero” is hammered home pretty thoroughly.

In the meantime, Merlin has approached King Ben with a request to use magic, which has been forbidden, in order to deal with a threat to Camelot; the citizens there report attacks by a purple dragon. Ben’s immediate thought is that Maleficent is the cause of the trouble, but since she is still a lizard, that seems unlikely. If you’ve been watching animated Disney movies for most of your life, you probably can figure out who the purple dragon really is in about thirty seconds, but it was a complete mystery to my 8 year old daughter.

I found Return to the Isle of the Lost to be a disappointing follow-up to the first book and the movie. In those, we got to see some very complex characters dealing with conflicts central to their identity. The villain kids in Isle of the Lost are not nice kids. They steal, lie, destroy property, treat other people badly, and can often be shallow. Despite that, you can see these are kids who desperately want their parents’ approval, and there is something there that makes you want to root for them. In Return to the Isle of the Lost, that’s missing. Their parents are absent, so we don’t get to see that conflict, and the kids have pretty much settled on being “good”, although with a preference for painting gloomy castles instead of peaceful sunsets. Very little is done to further character development either; It’s just not as interesting. To be fair, de la Cruz is dealing with a huge cast of characters, and it would be impossible to do justice to all of them, but it seemed like even the main characters got short shrift.

While Isle of the Lost could appeal to those who like their fairy tales dark and twisted, I don’t think Return to the Isle of the Lost will satisfy. However, for your Disney-loving 8 year old who is tired of the same old princesses, I can speak from experience; the book will be a tremendous hit. Recommended for ages 8+.

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 


 

Posted on August 4, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

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.

Posted on August 1, 2015 by , Reply

Book Review: The Thickety: The Whispering Trees by J. A. White

The Thickety: The Whispering Trees by J.A. White, illustrated by Andrea Offermann

Katherine Tegen Books, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-0062257291

Available:  Hardcover, Kindle edition

After the shocking conclusion of A Path Begins, the first book in The Thickety series, Kara Westfall has been forced to leave her village of De’Noran behind and flee with her brother into the darkness of the Thickety,

Although still full of dark events and violent situations, The Whispering Trees contains each of these elements on a lighter scale than the first book in the series. Readers are introduced to a world full of magical, fairytale-like creatures living in the Thickety, and Kara’s ability to connect with animals gives us a glimpse into the minds of the Thickety’s inhabitants, blighted by the dark magic of the Forest Demon Sordyr.

The encompassing theme of good vs. evil, and strength of character development, is still strong in The Whispering Trees. Kara and her brother Taff form an unlikely alliance with the witch Mary Kettle, introduced in A Path Begins as a murderer of children. The Whispering Trees is full of suspenseful situations and unpredictable turns of events as Kara learns that goodness and hope can prevail.

The Whispering Trees shows readers a growth in Kara’s understanding of her powers, and her discovery of the responsibility that comes with such power, She is forced to make difficult decisions that weigh her deep desire to protect and free the creatures of the Thickety against her need to occasionally put them in harm’s way, for the greater good of defeating Sordyr. Readers will also see growth in young Taff as he develops wisdom, and a keen ability to become a strong force in the challenges he and Kara face in the Thickety.

The illustrations of Andrea Offermann are again a perfect complement to the tone of the story. The cover pulls readers into the dark, ensnaring branches of the Thickety and the chapter illustrations provide a perfect visual introduction to the tone of each chapter.

While The Whispering Trees contains less human violence than the first book in the series, it still contains enough frightening imagery and violent events that younger readers should be cautioned. However, those who are looking for a YA series that doesn’t sugarcoat the darker side of a fantastic and wonderfully-told scary story won’t be disappointed. Recommended for ages 10 and older.

 

Contains: Violence, witchcraft

Reviewed by Heather Hurley

Posted on May 4, 2015 by , Reply
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