A compelling Aladdin retelling | The Forbidden Wish

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

Published: February 23rd 2016 by Razorbill

Genre: young adult, retelling, fantasy

Goodreads summary: 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.

REVIEW

Since the beginning of the year, I've been looking for an AMAZING book about jinnis. I've tried Exquisite Captive and Rebel of the Sands, but neither did the trick for me. But finally, I picked up The Forbidden Wish… And it totally worked. It was my first book by this author, I'll check her Goodreads page to see if I'm interested in her other works, because this one was amazing.

This book is an Aladdin retelling and I must say it's the first that I read. It was indeed reminiscent of it, but a lot of things changed, which made it even better. First off, the genie is a girl, which changed a lot. We still saw an evil Jafar, a kick-ass Jasmine and a weak king - they didn't have the same names, but it's who they were. I found this book to be more complex than I was expecting, because it was so much more than an Aladdin retelling. The writing was vivid and I really enjoyed it, I felt like it fitted the story so well.

I struggled a little to get into it, I'll admit that. I read the first chapter but totally wasn't in the mood, then read a book I knew I would love and then got back to it. After that, I got hooked and read it in a few sittings. I liked that the plot was pluri-dimensional, because it was about Aladdin's wishes and revenge, about Zahra and her freedom, but also the fate of the kingdom. Since we were in her head during the whole book, I loved Zahra's storyline even more, but I wished it would have been developed sooner. This book is mostly set in the palace and I admit that at some point, I wanted more things to happen there, because it was a little monotonous. But things picked up soon after, so I was satisfied. Within the palace there were dinners, dancing, spying and action scenes, I couldn't have asked for any better.

The world building was phenomenal. Even if the characters almost only stayed in the city, we learnt a lot about the outside world, but also about the history, thanks to Zahra who is over 4.000 years old. Learning about Roshana's time was really interesting and added a lot to the story. I loved learning about the jinnis, with different types of them, but also they're hierarchy. Their world also inflicted on Zahra's story, since she was on a mission to gain her freedom. Moreover, a law forbad jinnis to love a human, and it also included friendship, which was really interesting and didn't put all focus on the romance.

I loved every character, even if I struggled a little to keep up with all the names. Aladdin was different from the original story, he was flirting all the time, but I didn't mind it, I still liked him. It was interesting to learn about his backstory and how everyone expected him to lead a rebellion when he just wanted to live. Zahra was much  more serious, because she knew of the consequences of her actions. I was able to relate to her pretty easily since I was in her head and saw all her weaknesses and mistakes, it was really enjoyable since she was supposed to be so mighty. Caspida was also an amazing character, she was bounded to be queen but wanted to be different from other rulers, I really enjoyed reading about her. The Watchmaidens were so kick-ass, I loved them and the idea of them. Like asezfhzei. Most of the time, in YA fiction, the main character is a girl and we don't see a lot of other interesting girls around her but here… Female characters were all over the place and I loved that. It makes me rejoice every time, because it changes from the usual trope.

I was scared the romance would be all over the place, but it wasn't the case. I liked the way it built up since the beginning of the book. Since the first pages you could feel the chemistry between the characters (I loved when Aladdin called her Smoky, it was so funny) and it didn't felt pushed. Moreover, they had a lot at stakes, which also made them think about it -- especially Zahra. It also changed from the original story, where the thief fell in love with the princess.

Towards the end, this book reached such a climax, I was on the edge of my seat and wanted to know how it would end. It was gripping and I wasn't disappointed at all. I was scared the ending would be a little too open for me, but a last chapter wrapped things up nicely and it was an open ending, since it was a standalone, but there were hints there was room for more. Like someone is called Sinbad so ummm? Companion novel anyone? I wouldn't mind it, but this book was great as a standalone.

 Overall, you should definitely read this book, a compelling Aladdin retelling. It was set in an interesting world and featured amazing characters. The plot definitely kept me entertained, even if I had wished for a bit more when the characters first arrived at the palace. I found it to be pretty unique and I found my jinni book, so my heart is so happy!

Do you love Aladdin? Have you read this book/are you planning to? 

Do you know other retellings of Aladdin? 

Do you know great books with jinnis (I'm hunting them... In a good way ;))?