Middle Grades Pick: The Isle of the Lost

The Isle of the Lost
(A Descendants Novel)
by Melissa De La Cruz
Disney Hyperion
311 pages
2015
ISBN: 30710461306381

Descendants



Famous evil villains from storyland are banished to the Isle of the Lost where their magic no longer works--Jafar, the Evil Queen from Snow White, Maleficent and Cruella de Vil are trapped and have lost their magic.  Maleficent "rules" over this  "kingdom." The banished on  the Isle of the Lost get the old and broken down goods, the no longer wanted trash from Auradon. On the Isle, apples and other fruit are mushy and wormy, their bread  is moldy and their food rotting, their magical brooms no longer fly but are still good just for sweeping. The Evil Queen can no longer practice  evilness, her magical mirror does not work, and even Jay, a prince and son of Jafar, has to resort to petty thievery--stealing a bad apple or a piece of bread--just to keep things fun.

Four kids of the evil banished are growing up trapped and lost. They long for a chance to escape and go to Auradon. Carlos, son of Cruella de Ville, is trying to invent a way to break the dome and escape. Evie and Mal have an ongoing "hatred" for each other stemming back to a feud between their mothers--the Evil Queen vs. Maleficent. Only the Dragon's Eye (Maleficent's magic scepter)  can break the curse and release the isle, but the kids have no clues who or where to find it.

The Isle of the Lost  is filled with snarky remarks and snide banter. De La Cruz is at her best when writing dialog. Readers will  realize that the four main characters are friends although they would never admit it--they are supposed to be evil, remember? Sidekicks make an appearance: there are drawfs, mice, Dalmatians, and fairies.

Short chapters make this an easy read for reluctant readers. The book allows for the four main characters to be fleshed out and explains their back story: Why are they on the Isle of the Lost? How can they get out? Why them? Who chose them? How can they escape?

As the series goes forward I would hope that the adventure becomes bigger and more thrilling. Overall this is a good pick for children grade 4-up. Any Disney fan will love this book.  Descendants is now a Disney movie and television show. Visit Descendants for more!

Recommended grade 4-up and all fans of Disney.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Girl Pick: Whatever After: Fairest of All

Whatever After: Fairest of All
by Sarah Mlynowski
Scholastic Press
2012
192 pages

Available May 2012 (date not yet on publisher's website)

Fresh, funny, and fairest of all, Whatever After: Fairest of All is book one in what appears to be a planned series. It is a great beginning full of fun and puns!

Siblings Abby and Jonah have just moved cross country to Smithville, a small town that pales in comparison to Abby's beloved Chicago. They live in a creepy old house where Jonah has discovered something quite strange in the basement. He wakes his sister up and together they venture downstairs in the middle of the night. Jonah shows Abby how he knocked on the mirror and it began to shimmer and hiss and suddenly they are sucked into the ornate mirror and find themselves in a huge forrest.

Everything is weirdly off and they have no way of getting back home. Suddenly the basement and Smithville are looking better and better! They run into a wrinkled grandmotherly old lady who is just rude. Abby can't believe a grandmother type can be rude--grandmothers are supposed to be nice. They follow her to a small cottage where she tries to trick the occupant into letting her in. Jonah is starving, and when the grandmother offers the girl inside the cottage an apple, Jonah begs for the apple. He thwarts the woman's plan of poisoning the girl, and now the kids have to set the fairy tale right again.

The old woman is really the witch/queen from the castle and the girl in the cottage is none other than Snow White. The queen has stolen the castle and banished Snow to the woods where she lives with the seven dwarfs. Except these dwarfs have names like
Alan and Stan and there's even female dwarfs Enid and Tara!

The kids realize that by not eating the poison apple, Snow cannot go to sleep and the prince can't come and fall in love with her and kiss her and live happily ever after. They feel responsible for Snow's predicament and decide to right the wrong. After that, they can figure out how to go home.

The dialog between Abby and Jonah is precious and lovely. Two siblings have never been better together. Abby is one of the funniest and snarkiest characters in a tween novel. She is freshly captivating and clever; her voice is spot on. Girls will want to be her or--in the least--be her BFF.

Fairest of All is a sure hit and should not be missed by any girl who loves a funny fairy tale with clever comedic pitch.

Highly, highly recommended grades 4-up. Easy to read and easy to love.

FTC Required disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Fairy Tale Fun Pick

Half Upon a Time
by James Riley
Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), 2010
385 pages

A cute take-off on well-known fairy tales, this novel is sure to please young readers. Jack is pushed into rescuing a princess--any princess-- and when he meets May who happens to fall into his world--she is wearing a t-shirt that says "Punk Princess." Jack, of course, thinks she's the real thing and goes about kissing her to wake her up from her "sleep."

May wants nothing to do with this princess thing, but soon realizes she is totally out of her element. In Jack's world, there are dragons, and evil queens, and giants. Trolls, magic, and talking animals, legends and lore and much, much more. And then there's this beanstalk and Jack's missing father.

May and Jack set out to rescue her grandmother who has been kidnapped. Jack realizes that May is the granddaughter of no other than the famous queen Snow White. They enlist the help of a real prince along the way.

The three run into all kinds of storybook trouble and May needs Jack's help to find her truth.

Masterful storytelling will keep the pages turning long into the night. Readers will delight with the stories they know and the ones that are a little twisted. Even children who have only seen the Disney movies are sure to enjoy Half Upon a Time.

Highly recommended grades 4-7

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review. (my apologies for an earlier typo that read Adaddin instead of Aladdin for publisher).