The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury // A Memorable Retelling

The Forbidden Wish, by Jessica Khoury
Publication: February 23, 2016, by Razorbill
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

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.

My Thoughts: 

That was honestly a beautiful retelling that I could never have imagined that I would end up reading. Jessica Khoury's novels have stayed with me since the start of the my blogging career and when I began reading YA. Her novels, Origin and Vitro both stuck with me since the start with their unique, dystopian flairs. THIS BOOK HAD ALL OF THE GENIE THINGS THAT I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO READ ABOUT AGAIN SINCE I LET GO OF ALADDIN BACK IN THE DAY. As you may have already figured out, I am the BIGGEST fan of Disney flicks. Without them, I cannot imagine what kind of person I would have turned into. Minus Jasmine (for whatever reason), the fabulous Jessica Khoury placed together a new romance and story to tell from the perspective of the hottest fictional character I have read about in a long time. 

"'This,' I say, gesturing at myself, 'this isn't me. This isn't what I look like. This body you see belonged to someone else, long, long ago, and like the monster I am, I stole it. It is a mask. A lie." (189)

50 Reasons Why You'll Adore The Forbidden Wish (and why it is calling out to you):

Jokes.

This cannot be fifty reasons or you all would have left after reason number five. So, in that sense, let us just keep it at five.

•The cover, duh. I think that it is self-explanatory, but I am sure that you see the beauty in it from first sight. My ARC has the different, more pastel cover that has not been published, which I also love, but the colours and design on this one have that extra touch that just conveys readers.

•The nice take on Aladdin. I always dreamt of Aladdin flying up to my balcony or doorstep with his magical carpet and making me be Jasmine. I honestly think that was every little girl's dream. Now, for the first time ever, I suppose, readers are brought into the world of Aladdin once more. THIS STORY HAS A TWIST AND IT IS PRACTICALLY THE BEST RETELLING EVER. Aladdin actually falls in love with a genie named Zahra who gives Aladdin three wishes, and the novel is about him deciding what to do with the wishes and realizes what is happening with his life as he falls in love with Zahra, possibly making him choose the forbidden wish, letting her free of her being a genie. Instead of the blue genie we watched in the animated feature, readers gain a deep, mystical love story that shines. It is different from the rest and in those kind of books, that's what readers remember the most later on. It is nothing like the movie, which charms me even more. 

"Part of me feels shriveled and rejected. I am the weed cast out of the rose garden. I am the crow chased out of the dovecote. I am where I belong, and shouldn't that be enough? Doesn't that merit some sense of happiness or at least, fulfillment? Haven't I won the more important prize—freedom?" (237)

•How fast-paced this became. This is not your average retelling. Readers are honestly taken on their dream magic carpet ride through the streets of Agrabah. This time around, Aladdin is basically treated as royalty. It is an interesting twist, though we do see the accusations of him being a thief, which is really noted in the movie and makes his romance with Jasmine really shine. Anywho, I would say that this is extremely worth it to read. The plot moves quickly for the most part, and I expected that, coming from Jessica Khoury. Her books always have and I bet always will have that dash action-movie-like feeling that makes readers' hearts beat extra quicker. 

•Zahra. She's a jinni, and not the blue guy who somehow fits his way through the magical gold lamp. Zahra takes different figures and is very self-conscious about herself and her identity. I like her unsure-personality. If we had a confident jinni who overused her powers, I do not suspect that this novel would have been as good as it was. Zahra struggled with who she was and I somehow felt like she had the most best personality that I have read about in a while. She was fabulous.

•The wishes and ending. Aladdin continued to make good choices throughout the whole book... and all of this basically made the ending great too, since his decisions affected his fate with Zahra and all of that. I especially loved the take on the ultra-glamorous wedding at the end of the novel that Aladdin is interestingly part of. One thing I forgot to mention—Jessica Khoury added rivalry and evil characters who made the story ten times better. 

So my point here is that this book is unforgettable. Y'all need to pick it up as soon as possible or as soon as your car moves you to the bookstore. YES.

Have you ever read a book that retells a movie? I think that Jessica Khoury has done a first! Does this book captivate you somehow?

Vitro, by Jessica Khoury

Vitro, by Jessica Khoury

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Science-Fiction, Dystopia, Mystery, Adventure

Rating: 2/5 stars

Publication: January 14, 2014, by Razorbill

Format: Hardcover Edition (Borrowed)






Goodreads Summary: On Skin Island, even the laws of creation can be broken.

On a remote island in the Pacific, Corpus scientists have taken test tube embryos and given them life. These beings—the Vitros—have knowledge and abilities most humans can only dream of. But they also have one enormous flaw.

Sophie Crue is determined to get to Skin Island and find her mother, a scientist who left Sophie behind years ago. With the help of Jim Julien, a young charter pilot, she arrives--and discovers a terrifying secret she never imagined: she has a Vitro twin, Lux, who is the culmination of Corpus's dangerous research.

Now Sophie is torn between reuniting with the mother who betrayed her and protecting the genetically enhanced twin she never knew existed. But untangling the twisted strands of these relationships will have to wait, for Sophie and Jim are about to find out what happens when science stretches too far beyond its reach.

Review: 

"It seemed an eternity later, though in fact it was just a minute, that he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Sophie. Her eyes were open, and she was staring directly back at him."

  

   And not in a good way. Jessica Khoury has previously stunned me with her debut novel, Origin. It was moving, it was everything I was looking for in an unique dystopia-science fiction romance book. But in her second book that somewhat relates to Origin's events, I was very disappointed.

    Sophie is living an ordinary life in her home in Boston. She lives with her upsetting father and her stepmother and their children. When Sophie gets a letter from her mother, her biological mother that is studying in an island that is unknown to the world, she is quickly on her way to Skin Island. With the help of Jim, her childhood handsome friend, she arrives in Skin Island, with a crash. She finds out that a dark secret lies in the land of the island: scientists have been creating beings that are perfect except one flaw. Sophie quickly finds out that she has a Vitro twin: Lux. So basically, all it takes is one choice to change everything for Sophie. Her whole life is before her hands.

    

      Yeah... At least that was what the book was supposed to be.

      This book started off great. From the start, I could tell that it was going to be great. I was anticipating for a moving, beautiful plot with awesome kick-ass characters. At least, that's what I got for the first 75 pages. After that, everything went downhill. The plot became predictable and boring, too many characters were added and I got confused, and I was just plain bored. I didn't see any great importance in the book at all and the basic main idea was: for Sophie to decide what she wants. Yayy. Oh, and a dreamy (not really) romance with Jim. 

       The characters were okay, although there were too many. But I really hated Sophie. She was all whiny and so selfish the whole time. She thought that she was having trouble all the time when other people were and their situations were far worse than hers. She was just one of those characters that doesn't understand anything in life. Ugh.

       But I loved Jim and Lux. They were too good for Sophie and WERE AWESOME and total kick-asses. Mmm... I smell the taste of revenge. Sophie used them too much so now it's their time to use her. Gosh, I'm so evil.

        The romance in this book was just something added. It was very ew-ish and not needed. I feel like Jessica Khoury just added it for some more action which couldn't be completed in that aspect. There doesn't have to be romance in every YA book! :(

         Overall, this book really could've been great. It had the absolute potential. The idea was good, but it just didn't make that impact that I wish it did. The romance sucked, the plot sucked from the middle to end, and the protagonist was very disappointing. The things that I was looking forward for the most were the worst. 

Origin, by Jessica Khoury

Origin, by Jessica Khoury

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Science-Fiction, Dystopian, Romance, Mystery

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Publication: September 17, 2013, by Razorbill

Format: Paperback Edition







Goodreads Summary: Pia has always known her destiny. She is meant to start a new race, a line of descendants who will bring an end to death. She has been bred for no other purpose, genetically engineered to be immortal and raised by a team of scientists in a secret compound hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest. Now those scientists have begun to challenge her, with the goal of training her to carry on their dangerous work.

For as long as she can remember, Pia’s greatest desire has been to fulfill their expectations. But then one night she finds a hole in the impenetrable fence that surrounds her sterile home. Free in the jungle for the first time in her life, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Unable to resist, she continues sneaking out to see him. As they fall in love, they begin to piece together the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with nothing less than deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, electric new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever. But is eternal life worth living if you can’t spend it with the one you love?

Review:

"Am I really all that scary?" "Your beauty is," he whispers. I know what he means, because I feel the same terrified awe when I look at him. It tugs at my heart whenever he looks at me, whenever he grabs my hand and pulls me close. My memory is perfect, yet I can't recall ever not having Eio. I've hardly known him a week, and yet I feel as if it's always been us."

  Have you ever read a book where you just simply have an insta-love moment with from the first page, and that love keeps on going on forever? That really doesn't happen that often, but when it does, it really shows that the book was amazing and will stay that way until I finish the book. 

     I will protect this book with my life because it's just so amazing. Jessica Khoury has created a dystopia/science-fiction literature masterpiece, and I believe that this book should really be out there more. More teenagers and people of any age should discover this great book that has an original idea that is sure to stun people over and over again. I normally never re-read books, but I would definitely re-read this one, one day.

     This book starts off with us meeting the "perfect" and immortal protagonist, Pia. Her destiny and fate is to create a new race of immortal people who will sure begin an end to death. She has no other purpose, no other purpose to live, except to satisfy her uncle and the rest of the scientists in Little Cam. These scientists have begun to challenge her, to test her to see if she's capable of beginning this new race of people who will be just like her, roaming the rain-forests. On her seventeenth birthday, she finds a large hole in the fence that separates Little Cam from the rest of the wilderness, and when Pia sneaks out (when she's not supposed to) she meets Eio, a handsome boy with blue eyes who is part of a different race than hers. As they fall in love instantly, Pia keeps on sneaking out and they begin to piece together the mystery behind Pia's immortality. 

       An immortal race beginning in the Amazon Rain-Forest? Insta-love between two amazing characters? If you know me well with the way I judge and love books, you'll probably know that this is definitely my type of book. Everything about it was just so addicting and I fell in love with it from the start. 

        I basically had an insta-love with everything in this book. The characters, plot, idea, romance and details were amazing. The storyline left me wanting more after every chapter and I was having real trouble trying to let go of the book. It kept me up late into the night because in order to get a good night's sleep, you'll have to know what happens in this book or else you won't be able to count sheep. The suspense hidden in between the lines just made me so eager, and before I knew it, I was finished with the book and was mourning for more great reads from this author. 

         I still can't believe that this was a debut. It feels like this could've been the author's thousandth book. She has so much talent and her writing is so devouring. It's like watching chocolate melt in a chocolate fountain. You just feel like you can't put it down.

         My little problem was that Pia's and Eio's relationship felt a little rushed. It was plain insta-love and I wish that they took a longer time to fall in love. But, I will not say that they were a bad couple. NO. NO. They were an adorbs x1000 cute couple, but rushing isn't good.

          

         

           Pia was a rather.. AWESOME protagonist. Although she was classified as "perfect," she wasn't. She ended up being kick-ass and rebellious and just awesome. She went through so much and she previously couldn't live a life that she wanted, but when she met Eio, everything went the way she wanted it to. 

           

             Hey, Chase Crawford, you're my new Eio 'cause you've got blue eyes. :)

            

         

              Okay, but anyway, I love Eio. He wasn't a jerk. He wasn't afraid to put out his feelings for Pia and he let her know. He wasn't cheesy, either, and he was so adorable and gorgeous! Ahh, I had and still have insta-love for him. 

              This book was amazing. Despite the insta-love, it was perfect. I recommend this book to everyone, young or old. Go Pio!