The Isle of the Lost by Melissa De La Cruz and Descendants

I'll admit, I was curious about what the next generation of Disney fairy tale characters would be like. And we have seen a few over the years. Melody is Ariel's daughter. Kiara is Simba's daughter. Neither of these characters are mentioned in Descendants. But Descendants has an intereresting world of its own. 

King Beast and Queen Belle run Auradon, a state system of fellow kingdoms of other Disney royalty. They take care of matters of state between kingdoms run by Aurora, Prince Phillip, Snow White, Prince Charming, Rapunzel, Eugene, annd many other iconic Disney characters. 

The book begins when Beast and Belle's son Ben is preparing to be crowned King himself, and he has a different perspective compared to their generation. Ben is a kind, understanding prince who has Belle's intellect and Beast's determination. He must prove to the council that he is ready to become king. He has done lots of research of Auradon's history to deliver his first official proclamation, and he has discovered the truth behind the Isle of the Lost. 

The Disney Villians live on this island with their descendants, and they have become bored and resentful. They are given very little and their next generation makes due with what they have. 

While all of the villians are unhappy with their situation, Maleficent is the most vengeful, and she trains her daughter Mal to be the same. 

Mal is smart, opinionated and rebellious, but Malificent constantly belittles her efforts to make her proud. As the daughter of a human, Malificent views Mal as weak, insignificant and a failure. 

Mal is used to this, but she doesn't give up, she teams up with Jay (son of Jafar), Carlos (son of Cruella DeVil) and Evie ( daughter of the Evil Queen) to win the approval of their parents. 

The book switches back and forth from Mal and Ben's point of view. Both feel trapped, forced to follow the path of the previous generation.

It's an interesting take on what happens after Happily Ever After, and what kind of generation would follow the Kings and Queens of fairy tales. 

It's also the prequel to the upcoming Disney Channel movie Descendants. 

Descendants focuses much more on Mal, and we follow her plot to turn the tables on good and evil. Mal is a very well thought out character, and her struggle from what she wants to do and what is expected of her is very interesting. Evie, Carlos and Jay are also very well written, and they adapt to the world around them a lot faster than Mal does. 

At times the novel goes overboard with teen lingo, but this is their target audience. 

The story was very interesting, and Mal and Ben were my favorite characters. 

I don't want to spoil the story for the upcoming movie and the book, but I liked it, and I'm going to watch the film. 

Now, there is a similar franchise that has been successful with a similar but very different plot: Ever After High. 

Ever After High follows the life of Raven Queen, the Evil Queen's daughter. She also has pressure to follow in her mother's foot steps, but she is not the same character as Mal. She is much more open minded and trusting. Dexter is also the son of Prince Charming and Cinderella, and he isn't as confident as Ben is, or as social. 

I like both of these stories on their own, because they do different things with fairytale archetypes, and they focus on telling deeper stories. With that said, I'm looking forward to the Descendants and I hope that the movie is similar to the books I read. 

Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale

Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale

What would you do if you were forced to live a specific destiny? Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen in the fairy tale Snow White, doesn't want to be the villian of a fairy tale. Unlike her mother, Raven has more good character traits, which may have come from her father, the Good King. 

Raven's tale begins at Ever After High, a highschool for the sons and daughters of the original fairytales. This year, Raven's task is to attend the ceremony of Legacy Day, where her story will be presented to her, and she will vow to follow this story to retell the original. But Raven wants to write her own story and choose her destiny for herself. 

On the other hand Apple White, daughter of Snow White is perfectly happy reliving her mother's tale, and she believes that she rightly deserves her happily ever after. 

Milton Grimm, the head master of the school keeps a close eye on both Apple White and Raven Queen to make sure they don't wander off the path of their story. 

With everyone expecting Raven to be evil and cruel, Raven has a lot of choices to make when it comes to her role in the fairy tale world. Will she find a better destiny? Or will she cease to exist, as Master Grimm warned, if she doesn't vow to continue her mother's evil plans? 

This book was a very fun read. I love all the modern day refrences disguised in fairytale jargon. The characters are interesting, and while some relate to their parents, others seem very different. The idea of freedom and choice is a constant theme in this book, which makes the story and characters relatable to anyone. 

In some cases we want to belive in fate and destiny, but in others we want the freedom to choose what to do and who to be. Raven Queen and Apple White are two different characters that make very big decisions. While Apple wants to be the perfect princess and one day queen, Raven wants to be a good person and not a villian. Their choices define their future and reveal imporatnt aspects of their characters. 

Another fun element in this book was how it played with the idea of the narrator and their communication to both the reader and the characters. The story plays with the fourth wall without breaking it, and one character can even hear the narrator, which influences their actions. 

I recommend this book to anyone who loves fairy tales, and who loves to play with the sterotypes and the elements of stories.