She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world... When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes. But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?
As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of Aladdin from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.
It has finally been completed! I hated having to put this book on hold to read other books for reviews, but c'est la vie! It's all part of the gig. ON WITH THE REVIEW!
"I am not allowed to hope. I am forbidden a wish of my own. And so I will not think of the world above, of the open sky, of the fresh air and the light of day.
I will be lost, a myth, a dream. Trapped forever with myself in this prison of sand and magic. I cannot imagine a more terrifying doom. I thought I had resigned myself to this fate long ago, when it seemed no one would ever find me. Now I know this to be untrue, and that hope has pulsed deep within me like a dormant seed, waiting to flourish at the first sign of escape."
Khoury's The Forbidden Wish is a beautifully written work. I mean, come on! Just read the quote above! The book is a perfect blend of the well known story of Aladdin with a completely original love story. When I first started reading the book, I recognized the story of Aladdin that we all know.
The reader hears the jinni in the lamp calling out to Aladdin to come find the lamp and keeping to the original text, Aladdin finds the lamp, takes it, and has to escape the tomb. But after this, Khoury twists the story and makes it her own. Instead of the Robin Williams' comedic jinni that I was familiar with growing up, the reader is introduced to Zarah. Oh, Zarah. Zarah is such a fantastic heroine for the story. She is completely conflicted with her past, what she wants, and what she can realistically have as a jinni. I love that she is a strong female jinni that uses the wishes of men against them. "I've destroyed smarter men than you with their own words." She is by far one of the most interesting characters that I have read this year.
Through the character of Zarah, Khoury created a whole universe with a past, present, and possible future. The past holds the beginning of the world with jinnis and magic, Zarah's history before a being a jinni, and Zarah's past as Queen Roshana's jinni and best friend.
Most of the story is told at the present with Aladdin as her new master who wants to seek revenge on Sulifer who murdered his parents. It takes place in the same land that Zarah had once lived in with Roshana,Parthenia, but time has passed and now people hate and fear jinnis following the war and devastation that was brought down on them. This provides the foundation for most of the conflict that will occur.
The future is something that is kept open in the book. Zarah, as a jinni, wants a future free from her lamp, but does not allow herself to dream and hope for it. Aladdin wants a future free from his past and with a possibility of his home being free from Sulifer.
Now, on to Aladdin! I loved the Aladdin that Khoury created. He is realistic, flawed, brave, and someone that the reader can easily fall in love with. He still had traces of the Aladdin from the Disney movie. Ladies man, thief, clever, smart and an outsider, but Khoury created more depth to Aladdin. We get more of a story of his past, inner conflict between doing what is right and what he wants to do, and struggling to move forward from his past. Plus, falling in love! Khoury does not keep Abu in her story, but it is understandable why. It wouldn't have really added too much to the story and it isn't really essential. Also, the magic carpet was mentioned in the beginning, but was not continued throughout. This demonstrates the lack of magic available to Aladdin in this retelling. He solely relied on Zarah and his wishes for magic.
All of the secondary major characters are interesting as well. Caspida, Caspida's handmaidens, Sulifer, and Sulifer's son (his name is drawing a blank on me at the moment.) I don't even know if I would really categorize Caspida as a secondary characters. Her character is written very compellingly. She is a very bad ass character in herself and could easily have her own story. Khoury could have written the story between Aladdin's and Caspida's point of view and it would still be interesting to read. She really holds her own, is noble, strong, and courageous. She is truly a modern woman in a not very modern time. A woman in authority is looked down upon and is considered ludicrous, but she does not let that stand against her. Instead she is inspired from women from the past and surrounds herself with strong women as her handmaidens. Again, I repeat myself. Caspida really probably deserves her own story. Sequel possibly?!? *wink wink nudge nudge* I'm talking to you Khoury!
So overall, I give this book 4 stars! It really has several great elements without anything lacking. Strong writing, great character development, the characters have depth, the universe that was created is beautiful, and the pace of the story was great!
Through the character of Zarah, Khoury created a whole universe with a past, present, and possible future. The past holds the beginning of the world with jinnis and magic, Zarah's history before a being a jinni, and Zarah's past as Queen Roshana's jinni and best friend.Most of the story is told at the present with Aladdin as her new master who wants to seek revenge on Sulifer who murdered his parents. It takes place in the same land that Zarah had once lived in with Roshana,Parthenia, but time has passed and now people hate and fear jinnis following the war and devastation that was brought down on them. This provides the foundation for most of the conflict that will occur.
The future is something that is kept open in the book. Zarah, as a jinni, wants a future free from her lamp, but does not allow herself to dream and hope for it. Aladdin wants a future free from his past and with a possibility of his home being free from Sulifer.
Now, on to Aladdin! I loved the Aladdin that Khoury created. He is realistic, flawed, brave, and someone that the reader can easily fall in love with. He still had traces of the Aladdin from the Disney movie. Ladies man, thief, clever, smart and an outsider, but Khoury created more depth to Aladdin. We get more of a story of his past, inner conflict between doing what is right and what he wants to do, and struggling to move forward from his past. Plus, falling in love! Khoury does not keep Abu in her story, but it is understandable why. It wouldn't have really added too much to the story and it isn't really essential. Also, the magic carpet was mentioned in the beginning, but was not continued throughout. This demonstrates the lack of magic available to Aladdin in this retelling. He solely relied on Zarah and his wishes for magic.All of the secondary major characters are interesting as well. Caspida, Caspida's handmaidens, Sulifer, and Sulifer's son (his name is drawing a blank on me at the moment.) I don't even know if I would really categorize Caspida as a secondary characters. Her character is written very compellingly. She is a very bad ass character in herself and could easily have her own story. Khoury could have written the story between Aladdin's and Caspida's point of view and it would still be interesting to read. She really holds her own, is noble, strong, and courageous. She is truly a modern woman in a not very modern time. A woman in authority is looked down upon and is considered ludicrous, but she does not let that stand against her. Instead she is inspired from women from the past and surrounds herself with strong women as her handmaidens. Again, I repeat myself. Caspida really probably deserves her own story. Sequel possibly?!? *wink wink nudge nudge* I'm talking to you Khoury!
So overall, I give this book 4 stars! It really has several great elements without anything lacking. Strong writing, great character development, the characters have depth, the universe that was created is beautiful, and the pace of the story was great!
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