Title: Part of Your World
Author: Liz Braswell
What's it about?
Maybe the better question is, What if Ariel had never defeated Ursula? The answer? Deception, violence and chaos.
Five years after Ariel fell in love with Prince Eric only to be outed by Ursula herself, Ariel has settled into the life of the Queen of Under the Sea while Ursula, otherwise known as Princess Vanessa, is having a hay day with her power on land. Their lives have been seperate for so long, it almost seems silly to think that that will ever change, after all, Vanessa has done everything she can to ensure that Ariel remain where she belongs, in Atlantica. But when Ariel learns that there's a chance that her father is still alive and being held hostage by Princess Vanessa in the castle, Ariel is determined to right the wrongs of the past and save her father. Shaky on her land legs, and with the help of some of her beloved friends, Ariel makes her way to land and starts an adventure to rival her first experience in the Dry World. But will she be able to succeed or is it a helpless cause?
Favorites:
Favorite Characters: You may expect me to award the title of favorite character to Ariel, Sabastian or Flounder but I'm sorry. I'm going to have to disappoint. While I do adore these long loved characters, I think I found another favorite. My favorite was a new character Argent. She was wise, positive, grateful and just a cool character. I know she may not be as cool as a mermaid, but there was just something about her that made me fall in love with her!
Least Favorite Characters: This time, I'm going with the obvious. Ursula is easily my least favorite. She's manipulative, careless, heartless, selfish and has no respect for life or the beings around her.
Favorite Part: My favorite parts (there were two but they both can be described the same way) were when Prince Eric and Vanessa find themselves in a kind of stand off where they are both kind of staring each other down, matching wits and throwing veiled insults and information at the other in hopes of hitting a nerve, shocking the other and just knocking them off balance emotionally and mentally. They made me laugh and cheer both times, though, the first time (this time took place during dinner) made me laugh more and the second (on the pier) made me cheer more then the other.
Favorite Quotes:
"While he wasn't a very skilled chess player, his mother had told him that the most important thing in gamesmanship was this, you could never be completely sure of the other person, so never make a move until you were sure of yourself." (pg. 159) I loved this because, well, the truth is we can't control others and we can't be sure of what others will do so we have to be sure of ourselves. We need to know our plans. We have to believe in ourselves enough to go forward confidently.
"There is magic," she said softly. "There is always magic. Even if you can't see it." (pg. 180) I just loved the feeling this comment gave me. It's like a reminder that anything is possible, even if we don't see how. It kind of feels like a reminder that I'm not alone, that there are supports around me even when I forget there're there. It's hard to explain.
Other Thoughts:
To be honest, I found myself forgetting that this isn't really the way things turned out. There were times when I a had to remind myself that in the original story, Ariel and Triton defeated evil Ursula and Ariel got to be with her prince. The story just felt so solid and fun and the characters were on point.
There was something almost animated about the story, done in this way that if felt like Disney even though Ursula was running around threatening lives and such. I think the biggest example is Vanessa's room. There's just something so magical and enchanting about it, not like what you usually see in a book but would totally see in a Disney movie.
I can't pin point what it was about this book, but I found myself sucked in to this story instantly. Maybe it was returning to a world from my childhood, or maybe it was Liz Braswell's fantastic writing (really, I need to see what she's written outside of the Twisted Tales series and start a collection! Don't be surprised when she shows up on our shelves) but I was enamored by this book!
What do I rate this book?
I give this book a
8
out of
10 sea creatures
But that's just what I thought? How did you feel about this reimagining? Did you love it, or did you miss the original rendition? Let us know what you thought in the comments.
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