A tale with cultural depth that ultimately falls short in characterization.
An exploration of the origins of Jafar, the iconic villain from Disney’s Aladdin, that offers readers a backstory of tragedy and moral conflict.
The story unfolds through alternating chapters from the third-person perspectives of Jafar and his younger brother, Rohan. Growing up in poverty, Jafar takes on the burden of providing for his family, often turning to theft. Despite his efforts, he bears the brunt of his father’s disdain, which only worsens after the boys’ mother’s death. Although Baba’s business eventually grows, and he and his boys enjoy a rich abundance, his abuse of Jafar continues. Jafar has an escape plan: He hopes to win a scholarship to study at the prestigious House of Wisdom in the kingdom of Maghriz. Baba’s parrot, Iago, reveals to Jafar that his father had sabotaged this ambition, leading Jafar to make a fateful decision that sets him on a dark path. As the brothers journey to Maghriz, a devastating rift develops between them. The novel’s strength lies in its portrayal of Arab culture, which avoids cliches, but it falters due to inconsistent character development and a disjointed tone that oscillates in maturity level. While the fresh perspective on Jafar’s descent into darkness is intriguing, the examination of what makes a villain remains shallow, never fully delving into the complexities of the issues of familial duty and the nature of evil that the story raises.
A tale with cultural depth that ultimately falls short in characterization. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781368078610
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
Riveting, brutal and beautifully told.
A devastating tale of greed and secrets springs from the summer that tore Cady’s life apart.
Cady Sinclair’s family uses its inherited wealth to ensure that each successive generation is blond, beautiful and powerful. Reunited each summer by the family patriarch on his private island, his three adult daughters and various grandchildren lead charmed, fairy-tale lives (an idea reinforced by the periodic inclusions of Cady’s reworkings of fairy tales to tell the Sinclair family story). But this is no sanitized, modern Disney fairy tale; this is Cinderella with her stepsisters’ slashed heels in bloody glass slippers. Cady’s fairy-tale retellings are dark, as is the personal tragedy that has led to her examination of the skeletons in the Sinclair castle’s closets; its rent turns out to be extracted in personal sacrifices. Brilliantly, Lockhart resists simply crucifying the Sinclairs, which might make the family’s foreshadowed tragedy predictable or even satisfying. Instead, she humanizes them (and their painful contradictions) by including nostalgic images that showcase the love shared among Cady, her two cousins closest in age, and Gat, the Heathcliff-esque figure she has always loved. Though increasingly disenchanted with the Sinclair legacy of self-absorption, the four believe family redemption is possible—if they have the courage to act. Their sincere hopes and foolish naïveté make the teens’ desperate, grand gesture all that much more tragic.
Riveting, brutal and beautifully told. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-385-74126-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
PROFILES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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