Far From Agrabah Review and Giveaway
I’ve really been liking the novels that take place kind of between the scenes of some of my favorite Disney movies, like Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book, and Aladdin: Far From Agrabah. Today, I’m partnering with Disney Book Group to offer a giveaway for Aladdin: Far From Agrabah and a magic carpet-style reading blanket. Read on for my review of the book and don’t miss the details of the giveaway below.
Far From Agrabah
Aisha Saeed
Disney Hyperion
Published April 2, 2019
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About FAR FROM AGRABAH
This stunning original novel will tell an all-new story set in the world of the new film, featuring Aladdin and Jasmine. A magic carpet ride full of adventure, suspense, and wonder written by New York Times Bestselling author Aisha Saeed, this story will be a must-read for any Aladdin fans who find themselves drawn into and enchanted by the magical world of Agrabah and beyond.
My Review
Aladdin: Far From Agrabah begins with Prince Ali trying to impress Princess Jasmine and follows them through the magic carpet ride which allows her to get to know him and totally changes how she feels about him. It’s mostly off-script from the original story, something that could have happened in a deleted scene.
In the original animated movie, we don’t really get to know Jasmine very well. We learned about her desire to marry for love and her frustration at being kept apart from her kingdom. But in this book, we get to know her much more deeply. She dreams of things much bigger than marriage. She wants to lead her people. Jasmine wants to make a difference in their lives. She has ideas she wants to try if only someone would give her a chance.
Aladdin treats her as his equal, and never acts as though this is noteworthy. He wants to impress her with his wealth and prestige, but clearly considers her thoughtful and worthy of his respect. They make a great team, and the story really captures that partnership dynamic to their relationship.
Interspersed through the story are snippets from a history that Jasmine studies about great leaders. I liked how the story tied the lessons from history into the present through the moral lessons the leaders learned. It wasn’t preachy at all, but made the book seem like so much more than a fairy tale.
Aladdin fans, especially fans of Princess Jasmine, won’t want to miss this deeper look into the fabulous magic carpet ride that took Jasmine and her prince into a whole new world.
Recommended for ages 8 to 12.
Representation
Major characters are Middle Eastern.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.
Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl.
Spiritual Content
Aladdin relies on the genie’s wish-granting ability to create a fictitious kingdom of Ababwa.
Violent Content
A man threatens to kill an ally of Aladdin’s and threatens a young boy with a knife. He makes a comment at one point asking if he should torture the boy, cutting off his fingers or toes first.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of FAR FROM AGRABAH in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost readers anything. They help cover the costs of my blog and help me purchase more books.
About Aisha Saeed
Twitter | Instagram
Aisha Saeed is the author of Written in the Stars which was listed as a best book of 2015 by Bank Street Books, a 2016 YALSA Quick Pick For Reluctant Readers, and named one of the top ten books all Young Georgians Should Read in 2016. She is also the author of the middle grade novel Amal Unbound which has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus and is a Global Read Aloud for 2018. Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™. She has been featured on MTV, the Huffington Post, NBC, and the BBC, and her writings have appeared in publications including the journal ALAN and the Orlando Sentinel.
Enter the Giveaway
I’m partnering with Disney Books to give away a free copy of FAR FROM AGRABAH plus your own magic carpet reading blanket! Open to US addresses only. Enter the giveaway below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I love this book. And I would visit Sweden.
Paris!
I would visit Hawaii. Yes ????
Australia and New Zealand!
Italy!
I would take the magic carpet to the Turks and Caicos Islands
I would visit Tahiti.
I would visit asia!
Yay! Thanks, Edye! 🙂
I loved Lost in a Book, and was excited when I saw this one for the Aladdin movie. Can’t wait to read it! I would love to go around the world – with a magic carpet, it wouldn’t take too long. 🙂
Yay! I hope you get a chance to read it soon. 🙂 Thanks, Charity!
I would visit Italy.
I bet that would be pretty!
I would visit Atlantis
Oooh. It would be interesting to see how the carpet handled that one. ☺
I like the other poster’s idea of traveling to Hogwarts that would be the BEST, another place would be Bag End from The Hobbit. I think that place is really similar to New Zealand so that might be another option. Or maybe even Egypt to see some of the sites. So many cool places to see in this this world (and others).
So true. I had the same Bag End/New Zealand thought, too. 🙂
Brazil
I bet that would be pretty!
“Aladdin’s magic carpet can take him and Jasmine anywhere they want to go. What new world would you visit if you had a magic carpet?” It would have to be a world with nice restaurants and fun, quirky shops!
That sounds like a great plan!
I think I would visit Ireland on a magic carpet.
Ooooh! I love that idea.
I hadn’t heard about this book before, but I definitely want to read it before the new movie is released!
With a magic carpet, I’d love to travel around Europe, but if I could choose fantastical lands, I’d say Hogwarts or the Night Circus!
Yes! I was thinking I’d want to visit a fantastical land myself. 🙂 Great picks!