Home » Posts tagged "Descendants"

Book Review: Escape from the Isle of the Lost (Descendants, #4) by Melissa de la Cruz

Escape from the Isle of the Lost (Descendants, #4)  by Melissa de la Cruz

Disney Hyperion, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1368020053

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

Escape from the Isle of the Lost is the last book in Melissa de la Cruz’s media tie-in series to Disney’s Descendants franchise. For those not familiar with Descendants, be warned that this review is packed with all kinds of spoilers. The premise is that in the fairytale kingdom of Auradon, where all the “good” heroes, princesses, and sidekicks from Disney movies live (mostly) with their children in (mostly) harmony and privilege, the villains and their children have been banished to the Isle of the Lost, a barren, isolated place behind a force-field that prevents them from using magic. The Isle of the Lost has pro-Auradon propaganda everywhere, but the buildings are falling apart, the food, clothing, and supplies brought in from Auradon are spoiled, and the villains’ kids are growing up in abusive homes where evil and villainy are celebrated, becoming angry, defiant, deceptive, and mean. With the current king and queen retiring, their teenage son Ben is about to be crowned king, and, believing that it’s unjust to imprison children for their parents’ wrongs, he successfully argues in favor of allowing four kids from the Isle of the Lost to attend school in Auradon. This is the perfect beginning for an enjoyable, dark reimagining of Disney’s fairytale characters. Mal, the daughter of Maleficent, who revels in her wickedness, plans to use the opportunity to free everyone from the Isle of the Lost and help Maleficent take over Auradon. Instead, she finds herself becoming friends with the three other “villain kids” (VK’s) and appreciating the advantages, friendships, and even love that she discovers in Auradon.

Unsure of whether they can ever really belong in Auradon, the VKs have to overcome the messages they’ve received from their parents, and decide to use their powers for good instead of helping their villain parents escape the Isle to conquer Auradon. Jay, son of Jafar, turns out to be a great athlete. Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen from Snow White, channels her obsession with beauty into creating beautiful clothes for friends and classmates. Carlos, son of Cruella de Vil, overcomes shyness and his fear of dogs. Mal, however, finds herself in love with King Ben, and as a VK is unsure of whether she can meet Auradon’s expectations that she be ladylike, or whether she wants to. Running back to the Isle, her friends (and Ben) follow her there. Before they can convince her to return, her childhood enemy, Uma (daughter of Ursula the sea witch) kidnaps Ben and threatens to kill him if Mal can’t bring her the magic she needs to escape the Isle of the Lost. Mal and the other VKs save Ben and keep Uma from taking over Auradon, with Mal accepting that she can do what needs to be done in order to be both the lady and hero that Auradon needs.

That’s where Escape from the Isle of the Lost begins. Ben, Mal, Jay, and Evie are all about to graduate from high school, and the VKs have all discovered that it feels good to be good. That dark reimagining I expected to stick with the series has dissolved on the part of the four kids from the Isle. Auradon’s Council expects Mal to travel to all the kingdoms on a “listening tour” and are dismayed that she wants to include the Isle of the Lost on her itinerary. Ben’s suggestion that students on the Isle of the Lost be allowed to apply to school in Auradon meets with disapproval, and as he’s about to back down, Mal finally convinces him that four new students should be allowed to apply in a general application process (unfairly included in this number is Dizzy, Cinderalla’s step-niece, who was specifically invited to attend school at the end of the last movie. My daughter is a huge fan of Dizzy, so this was a giant disappointment) A failure for the program to catch on (Isle kids don’t really see the appeal of being “good”) causes Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos to visit the Isle in order to promote it, at first unsuccessfully. After promising a huge celebration for the students who are successfully accepted, though, the Isle kids stampede to apply. In the meantime, Uma teams up with Hades to attract Mal into a dangerous undersea battle. Jay, Carlos, and Evie break into the Evil Queen’s castle in hopes of using her magic mirror to find Mal. Before Uma can defeat Mal, Evie dives through the magic mirror and pushes Mal up from the bottom of the ocean and away from Uma, although afterwards none of the VKs can remember what happened.

In addition to the drama on the Isle of the Lost, there are the events and decisions that go along with senior year and graduation.  Jay’s athletic ability has drawn the attention of three prestigious schools who want him on their team; Evie makes enough money from selling designs to her classmates to buy a house and open a fashion line; and Carlos, now with a girlfriend and dog, seems to have become a creative, caring, leader and support for his friends. Mal’s character, disappointingly, seems to have faded as she works to become the “Lady Mal” that the Auradon Council expects as King Ben’s girlfriend. The VKs prank the school, participate in a senior scavenger hunt, say goodbye to good friends, and go through the graduation ceremony.  The book closes with the reader’s knowledge that next year will bring four new VKs to Auradon, with Evie and Carlos to mentor them.

Descendants is a transmedia franchise, and it’s hard to evaluate the book outside of its context. De La Cruz’s books have each preceded (or followed) a movie musical, with the movie Descendants 3 set to appear at the end of July. While the idea behind the series has a lot of promise, the potential conflicts that could rise between VKs and the students of Auradon Prep have sort of fizzled as Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos have adjusted to living by the rules in Auradon. In the last movie, Mal used magic to cover up her insecurity and discomfort at trying to fit into the role she was being expected to fill. Now, she’s no longer using magic or rebelling, instead allowing herself to be molded into what the Auradon Council wants. Forgetting what it was like to be on the Isle of the Lost, she tries to sell the kids there on the benefits of being “good”. While other characters have grown and changed for the better, everything that was appealing in Mal has sort of drifted away in the wake of being the king’s girlfriend. Dizzy and her friend Celia (daughter of Dr. Facilier) both get some attention, but their characters don’t get developed as much as I hoped they would. Mal’s nemesis, Uma, who stole the last book and the last movie, gets a little attention, but she isn’t as dynamic or successful a character. Hades is introduced and given a fair amount of backstory and character development, but his contribution to the story is minor. I am sure some of these issues will get more attention in the upcoming movie, but there are an awful lot of loose ends. Evie and Carlos are the ones who really shine in this book.

There is an opportunity in the Descendants franchise that de la Cruz didn’t touch on, that I hope Disney hasn’t missed in the upcoming movie, and that is the opportunity for social justice to take center stage. Mal has proximity to the most powerful people in Auradon because of her relationship to King Ben, even though neither of them has really taken a major stand that the Council disagrees with. If her VK friends stand in solidarity to support allowing the Isle kids in who want to come to school in Auradon, what position would she take? If Ben opposes her, would she back down or support the VKs?  I can’t think of a more relevant moment to bring in the idea of letting imprisoned children go free rather than punishing them for the actions of their parents.

Cameron Boyce, the actor who played Carlos, died last week from SUDEP– sudden death by epileptic seizure. I suppose it’s possible for the Descendants franchise to continue with a new cast, but it’s certainly possible that this is the end of any new material. I hope we get to see what the VKs can really accomplish as they move forward, because it is our last chance to see the original four characters in action, and I really want to see what the resourcefulness, creativity, and determination of Isle kids can lead to when combined with the motivation to really do good instead of just “being good”.  If the movie continues to present Mal in the same “follow the rules, do what you’re told” model that appears in the book, I will be very disappointed.

Some of the relationships may be a little advanced for elementary-aged kids, but nothing goes further than a kiss. The first of these books came out when my daughter was just finishing third grade, and she has followed the Descendants franchise ever since.  If, like her, you are a fan of the franchise who has kept up to date (or know one), you will want to read this. If you haven’t read the previous books and seen the movies, you’ll feel, for lack of a better word, lost. Appropriate for grades 4 and up.

Recommended with reservations.

Posted on July 14, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Return to the Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel by Melissa de la Cruz

Disney Hyperion Publishing, May 2016

 

Last year, Melissa de la Cruz introduced us to an interesting, darker twist on the typical Disney tale in Isle of the Lost. In the Disney fairytale realm of Auradon, all the villains, along with their children, have been captured and imprisoned on the deteriorating, isolated Isle of the Lost. The first book introduced a variety of villain children, but focused on four in particular: Mal, the daughter of Maleficent; Jay, the son of Jafar; Evie, the daughter of Evil Queen; and Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil. At the end of the book, the four of them were invited by Prince Ben, soon to become king of Auradon, to attend boarding school in Auradon.  Isle of the Lost was quickly followed by the live action, made-for-television movie musical, Descendants, in which Mal and her villain compatriots chose to defend Auradon from an attack by Maleficent, who had regained her magic and escaped. Mal defeated Maleficent, transforming her into a harmless lizard.

Return to the Isle of the Lost directly follows the events of the movie. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos are adjusting to, and mostly enjoying, life in Auradon when they receive mysterious messages that they must return home. When they do return,  they make the disturbing discovery that their parents have disappeared without a trace, in an attempt to escape the island through secret, underground passages. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos must find and travel the passageways to keep their parents from tunneling through to Auradon, but to do so, they each must face a challenge left behind by their parents. A note for English teachers: the meaning of the term “anti-hero” is hammered home pretty thoroughly.

In the meantime, Merlin has approached King Ben with a request to use magic, which has been forbidden, in order to deal with a threat to Camelot; the citizens there report attacks by a purple dragon. Ben’s immediate thought is that Maleficent is the cause of the trouble, but since she is still a lizard, that seems unlikely. If you’ve been watching animated Disney movies for most of your life, you probably can figure out who the purple dragon really is in about thirty seconds, but it was a complete mystery to my 8 year old daughter.

I found Return to the Isle of the Lost to be a disappointing follow-up to the first book and the movie. In those, we got to see some very complex characters dealing with conflicts central to their identity. The villain kids in Isle of the Lost are not nice kids. They steal, lie, destroy property, treat other people badly, and can often be shallow. Despite that, you can see these are kids who desperately want their parents’ approval, and there is something there that makes you want to root for them. In Return to the Isle of the Lost, that’s missing. Their parents are absent, so we don’t get to see that conflict, and the kids have pretty much settled on being “good”, although with a preference for painting gloomy castles instead of peaceful sunsets. Very little is done to further character development either; It’s just not as interesting. To be fair, de la Cruz is dealing with a huge cast of characters, and it would be impossible to do justice to all of them, but it seemed like even the main characters got short shrift.

While Isle of the Lost could appeal to those who like their fairy tales dark and twisted, I don’t think Return to the Isle of the Lost will satisfy. However, for your Disney-loving 8 year old who is tired of the same old princesses, I can speak from experience; the book will be a tremendous hit. Recommended for ages 8+.

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 


 

Posted on August 4, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel by Melissa de la Cruz

Disney-Hyperion, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-1484720974

Available: Hardcover, Audible, Audio CD, Kindle edition

The premise of Isle of the Lost is that all the Disney villains, along with their children, have been imprisoned on an island without any magic or access to technology, by King Beast (of Beauty and the Beast). King Beast rules over Auradon, where all the “good” characters from Disney movies live with their children. That works out well for the princes and princesses, but not so much for the sidekick characters, who are working hard and not seeing much in the way of reward.

In Auradon, Prince Ben, the son of King Beast, is about to turn sixteen and take over as king, with very little past experience or guidance in governing. On the Isle of the Lost, Mal, daughter of the fearsome Maleficent, is ready to take down Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen from Snow White. Her allies include the clever, amoral, thieving Jay (son of Jafar) and the nerdy, easily bullied, mad scientist-in-training, Carlos de Vil.  While Mal plans evil schemes against Evie, Carlos invites her to see his new invention, which he hopes will poke a hole in the force field that separates the Isle of the Lost from access to magic, a wireless connection, and better television reception… and it works. The magic of Maleficent’s fortress begins to wake, and she sends Mal to retrieve her wand, accompanied by Jay, Carlos, and Evie.

What’s interesting about Isle of the Lost is that every kid in the book really cares about living up to parental expectations, even though the parents are frequently neglectful, superficial, or abusive. Evie’s mother, Evil Queen, is hyper-focused on appearance, and Evie is always perfectly made up. Mal is determined to be as evil as possible to impress her mother. Jay steals to provide stock for Jafar’s junk shop. Carlos keeps Cruella’s furs in perfect condition. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos are not especially sympathetic characters. They lie, steal, vandalize, and put each other in physical danger, and they really don’t care that they might have done damage, but somehow, de la Cruz manages to make them relatable. She does a great job at developing their characters as they try, fail, and begin to reinvent themselves and the way they see the world. The part of the book that takes place on the Isle of the Lost has a dark, gritty feel to it, and the part that takes place in Auradon suggests that not everything is as perfect as it seems.

Isle of the Lost is a media tie-in to a Disney XD made-for-television movie titled Descendants, which was shown on July 31, but it doesn’t have much in common with it outside of the initial premise of the children of Disney villains imprisoned without magic and Internet. The director of the movie, Kenny Ortega, described it as a Disney fairytale-based version of High School Musical, in which Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay are chosen to attend high school with the princes and princesses in Auradon. I only saw the trailer, but I can tell you that the tone of the movie is completely different than that of the book. In fact, I would say that the Ever After High books by Shannon Hale are a much better match, even without the Disney aspect.

Disney marketing claimed that they aren’t expecting this to become a franchise, but I have difficulty believing that. I frankly am surprised they went the route of making a made-for-television movie instead of a series. The book is being marketed as a prequel to the story in the movie, but I’m really hoping it is the first in a series. Typically I am not a fan of books where the story ends without the plot being resolved, but I’m really intrigued by this one and would be interested in seeing where de la Cruz takes it. The book has sold really well, and I can’t say I am surprised. However, readers of the book may be surprised at the differences between book and movie (and vice versa). Isle of the Lost isn’t deep, but if you like your Disney villainous, this is a great dark and twisted fairytale read.

Posted on August 1, 2015 by , Reply