alysonwilliams's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I feel a little bad rating this book so low, since I don't expect much more than a 3-star read out of the twisted tales series, but really, this gave me half of what I expect from the best of these, so the rating feels fair. Frozen is one of my least favorite Disney things--I find it saccharine, hollow, and devoid of the heart that other Disney films are imbued with simply by having their origins in near-universal stories/folklore (that it's disgusting to me that those stories are meant to be For Everyone and that Disney monopolizes, sanitizes, and then monetizes these collaborative creations is another story). And yet this still managed to be worse somehow? There was a wealth of telling rather than showing, pages of narration that could easily have been played out into scenes that could've made character development actually make sense, and the borrowed phrases lifted straight from the film weren't cute easter eggs for fans so much as two-by-four boards beating you over the head to the effect of "see? this thing we all decided we like?? Look, I'm doing the thing from the thing we all like?? you see? you like?? like it!" A notable (read: exhausting and nauseating) example: "the mountain was a kingdom of isolation, and it looked like [Elsa] was the queen". I mean, come on. I know the source material was weak, but at least try to make the story your own and give it some additional substance! That's all I'll say here, because I really just want to be done with this book.
andiecandie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
helliott166058's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
van_worldexplorer's review against another edition
3.0
Nothing major really changed tbh. I liked having the guys POV and having the king & queen not gaslight Anna for all those years and isolate their daughters. This was a less cruel way for them to deal with the magic but other than that it was pretty much a carbon copy of the movie. Needed more of a twist.
laneelizabeth's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
As my first Twisted Tale book, this Frozen retelling was better than I could have imagined. The twist of Anna and Elsa not being raised together and not remembering each other until they were 18 and 21 respectively is such a unique twist, but Jen Calonita did such an amazing job at portraying it. She captured everyone's personalities perfectly and even added quotes and scenes from the movie and even the songs so beautifully that they fit into this version seamlessly. I will definitely be purchasing in hard copy to keep on my shelf. And reading the rest of the Twisted Tales series.