Disney Frozen Polar Nights: Cast Into Darkness

Jen Calonita & Mari Mancusi

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Amazon Summary:

Anna, Queen of Arendelle, has been tirelessly preparing for the Polar Night’s Celebration that is held every year to welcome the time when the sun doesn’t rise in the Polar Circle. She has been working so hard, her fiancé Kristoff suggests she take a night off to visit her sister Elsa, the Snow Queen. Anna loves the idea. Accompanied by Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf, Anna reunites with Elsa in the Enchanted Forest.

After telling spooky stories around the campfire, Olaf swears that one of the creatures of their tales has come to life! Who else is responsible for the sudden onset of storms and the earlier than normal darkening of the skies? Why else is everyone starting to become so forgetful?

Anna and Elsa join forces to determine what is going on. Together they recall Kristoff’s terrifying tale about a princess who turned into a draugr―an undead creature that steals memories in an effort to make others forget the misdeeds it committed when it was alive. Is it possible that Kristoff inadvertently unearthed memories of a draugr, and thus unleashed the monster upon Arendelle? Anna and Elsa must uncover the real story behind the tale before everyone in Arendelle forgets who they are and is cast into darkness forever….

My Review:

9/10

I chose to read this book because it was Jen Calonita who everyone knows I love. If you look at my website, half of the books are hers. And so when I saw she was doing another Disney book, I was excited. I have never read a Mari Mancusi book, but I was excited to start one. I like the way Jen always writes in a way where you can visualize what the person's doing and saying. Perspective taking. It's two authors. Let’s talk about Mari Mancusi first. I have never read a Mari Mancussi book, but I know that in order for Disney to take on an author to do a movie retelling or something, they have to have a good resume. So I was excited about that. I could see when Jen Calonita was writing. And I think because I'm such a fan of her, I can just visually identify when she's writing, because her writing style is so unique. Jen and Mari DID NOT disappoint me. In the beginning I was iffy on the story line, but it soon got very interesting.

I feel like I didn't really click with the book in the beginning. To be honest, in the beginning, I was kind of not really interested in the story because the theme is on sisterhood. And I am not a girl, and I don't have a sister. So I don't know what it means to be like sisters. But I do have a brother. Yes. And we're not close, like the characters Anna and Elsa. I am not really a Frozen fan. It has passed my generation. I was like Lion King, Aladdin and stuff. So it was past my generation. So it never really clicked. But it was Jen Calonita and Mari Mancussi. Also I couldn't really understand it because it's sisters and I don't have sisters. I think that's what didn't connect with me. Those are the points of dislike, but there were many wonderful things about this book. If the ratio of positives to negatives it would be for every 5 positives, there was a little bump.

It was hard for me to just fit right in the shoes. But then once I got, like, 65% of the book, there was this major plot twist that made me drop my jaw. That plot twist just grabbed all my attention, and it made me interested in the rest of the story, which I really liked because I really wanted to enjoy it. The thing with Disney movies, when they retell a tale and stuff, is the characters, you know, you know them by heart, like you, you love them. And I think when Disney does retellings, they pick the right authors like Jen and Mari to take on what the sisters and the characters would say. Like whenever Olaf spoke in this book, I completely could picture Josh Gad saying the lines. It was so spot on. (which made it more enjoyable)

It's basically about a scary story that comes to life. And it's haunting the Kingdom of Arendelle. It was like this thing where it's like, if you tell the story of this monster on the day they died, the monster will come back and haunt people and the kingdom of Arendelle. The major themes were Sisterhood and how it bonds people and how you need to stick together. Not those are the two things. The other theme was lying and truth telling. The perspective switching didn't really affect it because it's not like their past and present, it is the same events just from different eyes.

OVERALL:

I don't really like the characters as much as other characters from Disney. So it'd be harder for me to write a Frozen book rather than Aladdin, which is my favorite character. It'd be so much easier for me to write in Aladdin Tale than Frozen. And I think part of that was not just dialogue, but also the other part of the reason was it's frozen. I'm like, I'm too old for that kind of thing, right? And because I'm not a girl, or I don't have a sister, I can't figure out a sisterly bond.

Any fan of Frozen, or of Jen Calonita and Mari Mancusi, should definitely pick up a copy of this book when it comes out. This will be perfect for collectors too. I am so happy for both the authors of this book, and can't wait to see what else they have up their sleeves.