Amanda Hupe's Reviews > Once Upon a Dream

Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney princess movie. So obviously I had to read this book. Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell begins with the defeat of Maleficent. Prince Phillip goes to wake his princess with true loves first kiss. When their lips meet. Prince Phillip collapses and Aurora does not wake up. Little does Aurora know that she is trapped inside a dream world. Her parents are evil, Maleficent is Queen but treats Aurora like a niece. No one is allowed outside the castle and it is surrounded by thorns. Aurora starts having memories–memories that don’t make sense, and the only way to discover it is on The Outside. The only way to escape is to discover who she truly is and who she can trust.

So…because this is my favorite Disney princess, this book will be held to a higher standard. So I actually love the premise of the book. More than I liked the movie, Maleficent. (Angelina Jolie made a great Maleficent until the final 15 minutes when she turned into Maleficent tomb raider. Sorry, not sorry. ) I love the fact that Aurora has a voice in this book. In the Disney movie, we don’t actually get to know her that much after she gets cursed. So this book we get to see her courage and her frustrations with just being gifted with beauty and song.

So the things I did not like…the dialogue. The dialogue felt childish and immature. However, I felt like I was reading about two random characters. It did not feel like I was reading about Aurora and Prince Phillip. I understand this book is meant to put a twist on the story, but the characters felt entirely different, unrecognizable. Sigh.

I did read this book in just a few hours during an afternoon storm. It is a book that Disney lovers will enjoy. So I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.