I am repeatedly impressed by Melanie Dickerson’s ability to take a well-known and well-loved fairy tale and create something unique while retaining elements of the familiar. And while she’s doing that, she also weaves elements and characters of her previous stories into the new one!
In My Opinion…
The Orphan’s Wish is a retelling of Aladdin. While you will find an orphan boy determined to make his mark on the world and to gain wealth in an attempt to become worthy of the girl he loves, there are no magic lamps or wish-granting genies.
Aladdin and Lady Kirstyn become fast friends in childhood. They grow up sharing everything. But an orphan is not good enough for a duke’s daughter—even one with a heart wide open to spending her life caring for those less fortunate than her.
Aladdin and Lady Kirstyn do spend a lot of the book apart and there are plenty of obstacles to them finding each other again, but their thoughts remain centered on the one they love.
This book explores what love is willing to risk, what courage can lead a person through, and what a
foundation of friendship can build. All that while providing an entertaining and sometimes action-packed storyline.
Next up for Dickerson is a Mulan retelling. Go ahead and add that one to your Goodreads shelf now.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
About the Book
From the streets to an orphanage in a faraway kingdom, Aladdin has grown up alone. Until he meets Kirstyn. With a father who is the duke of Hagenheim and a mother who is the patroness of the orphanage where Aladdin lives, Kirstyn is a member of the most powerful family in the land . . . and way out of his league. Despite the difference in their stations, Aladdin quickly becomes Kirstyn’s favorite companion for taking walks in the forest, and their childhood friendship grows along with them.
Through his scrappy skills, intelligence, and hard work, Aladdin earns a position serving in the duke’s house. But he knows it isn’t enough to grant him his one desire: Kirstyn’s hand in marriage. If he hopes to change his station in life and feel worthy of marrying Kirstyn, he must leave Hagenheim to seek his fortune.
But once Aladdin leaves, no one is around to protect Kirstyn, and the greedy men desperate to take advantage of her father’s wealth take notice. Now, more than Aladdin’s background stands in the way of the future he’s worked so hard to obtain. His only hope is to rescue Kirstyn and somehow manage to win her hand as well.
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I like the retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
I love Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier, it’s a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
I think Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast!