Almost There: A Twisted Tale Review

Hello everyone! Finally at the end of April, I have another Twisted Tale review out! Life is still busy, but I’m glad I was able to sneak this review in by the end of the month. I don’t really have much more to report since my last review, but I’m excited to say that my process with the Disney College Program has been moving along smoothly, as well as my next addition to my Twisted Tale series; “Adventure is Out There!” by Liz Braswell based on Up. All very exciting stuff coming within the next few months, so I’ll be sure to keep you all updated. Till then, hope you enjoy the review and thank you as always for reading! – GP

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“What if Tiana made a deal that changed everything?”

Welcome back to another entry in my Twisted Tale review series! Even though it took me a little longer to finish this book, there’s still so much that I can’t wait to discuss with you guys, as it honestly might be my favorite one that I’ve reviewed so far. If you aren't familiar with the books, each story contains a “what if” question that can sometimes drastically alter the plot and events of the original movie they're taken from. Today, I’ll be discussing and reviewing the 13^th book in the series, “Almost There” by Farrah Rochon based off the 2009 film, The Princess and the Frog. I did find it to be a funny coincidence that I reviewed the first two entries for the Twisted Tale series that were written by Farrah Rochon (both this, and my previous review of “Fate Be Changed” based on Brave). While I did have my issues with Rochon’s Brave retelling, her first outing with Princess and the Frog did not disappoint, and I think stands in high regard for what these stories can accomplish if approached with tact and poise as a “what if?” story based on an existing premise. I’ll tackle this more as I go into my review, but we can save all of that for later. For those of you who may not know, my review will follow the usual format I have for this series; my overall thoughts and feelings throughout the first half of this review, a brief discussion of tone, writing style, and pacing, the “twist” itself and my critique of the book, as well as what I thought could be improved. With all that covered and out of the way, let’s begin with my overall thoughts. Overall Thoughts

            Overall, I thought that this book was an amazing way to prime new readers of the Twisted Tale series to see what it’s full potential could be and flesh out the possibilities of a “what if?” type of story from Disney. The story follows a kind of continuation of the story with alternate events from the main plot of the film, specifically the ending. I think fans who are intimately familiar with the source material won’t get lost by the new additions Rochon adds to her retelling, while still hiding a few surprises that keep the reader engaged. The whole idea of the Faustian deal that Tiana makes with Dr. Facilier from the end of the original gets repurposed into something that’s entirely fresh yet cozy in its familiarity. I also want to briefly gush about the way in which this particular book conveys its setting, because oh my gosh, the detail here is impeccable. The setting in this book is one that I’m honestly glad I was able to just experience throughout the course of reading. There are some books that you just can get enveloped in and lose yourself in the magic of well-written description and prose. It’s no wonder then that the setting of late 1920s New Orleans is so intricately captured through something as small as even the description of a plate of jambalaya. Rochon clearly did a lot of homework in researching for this book (doubly by the fact that Rochon herself is a native of Louisiana), and it clearly shows. All of the little details of cultural references to real life people and places made the setting feel even more lived in, which I think strangely grounded the more fantastical elements from the original, which we can discuss now since it leads mainly into my thoughts about the tone and style of the book. Tone, Style and Pacing

            Similarly to the way in which “Fate Be Changed” was written in multiple perspectives, “Almost There” follows the same formula, but does it in a way that gives an interesting side to something we didn’t see in the original: the backstory of Dr. Facilier (or at least an imagining of it.) The main POVs we follow are of Tiana, Prince Naveen and Dr. Facilier. I’ll get more into the main reason why these three are so interesting when it comes in context with the twist because it does require spoilers. However, I thought the characterization was incredibly strong from all the characters from the original, but each one did get several moments to flesh themselves out in a way that naturally progressed their character, especially Dr. Facilier.

            Additionally, the pace was very consistent throughout, and even though there were some moments in the latter half of the book that slowed things down, I still felt held on by the overall narrative, even sometimes when I couldn’t put the book down and had to read just one more chapter. There is a very distinct stylistic choice with leaning into the darker aspects that Twisted Tale retellings tend to focus on, but to me, Rochon’s writing style (and coincidently the movie she was pulling from) had the perfect way to do this with Facilier’s “friends on the other side” and the subject of Vodou spirits. At some points, the imagery was so vivid that I forgot that the source material was from a DISNEY MOVIE, but it just shows the testament to Rochon’s talent and skill as a writer to fully immerse you and hold your attention until the last page. The charm from the original is still there, but there is this subtle sense of dread that lurks throughout each beat of the story akin to a thriller novel. To me, it did feel almost grim and gritty, which when contrasted with the cheerful and colorful impending Mardi Gras celebration (a piece which was adapted from the original) made me love the book even more. The “Twist” (SPOILERS)

            With “Almost There” mainly following events that happen after the main plot, nothing is really spoiled (at least nothing that you could read from the outset of the jacket blurb). That being said, I am going to be talking about the twist and how it differentiates the ways in which each character is shown throughout the book. For sake of clarity and conciseness, I’ll cover the main three perspectives, with little sidebar discussions for any other characters who are necessary to cover. If you don’t want spoilers at all though, stop reading here and go check out the book for yourself. If you want my rating, I give the book an easy 10/10. If you’re still going to read on, final warning for spoilers just for good measure.

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Part I. Tiana

            The clear place to start talking about character is with Tiana, and I was honestly pleasantly surprised with how Rochon developed her character throughout the novel. The Tiana we follow in “Almost There” begins the book in a state of, what I would argue to be arrested development. Even though she received her happy ending by getting her happily ever after with her newly resurrected father and the restaurant she’s always wanted, something’s missing. Tiana is constantly running from her past, and that’s something that is always shown to the audience through her constant fears and doubts of losing all of it to Dr. Facilier. In spite of this, however, Tiana always remains confident in her abilities and her hard work ethic, which Rochon nails in the way that Tiana is written to almost feel stubborn at times. Tiana is always working in busybody mode, but it does make her relationships with her childhood friend Charlotte La Bouff (aka Lottie) and Naveen feel really sweet when she does let her guard down and let them help her with a few key situations that happen throughout the book (which I’ll touch on in more detail in a bit). Speaking of Lottie, I thoroughly enjoyed the way that Rochon still kept her personality mostly the same, which is very entertaining from the original. Even though it was all through prose and dialogue, I felt as though I could still see how Lottie was reacting to certain situations. Her character is probably one of the most expressive from the film, so it was fitting that her character in the book would feel the same way. Although Lottie was still relatively unchanged from how she was in the movie, she still had some very interesting depth when it came to how she evolved over the course of the story. It becomes very clear in the latter half of the book that Lottie has taken an interest in civil rights after an altercation happens between Tiana and a department store worker. During a trip back to the bayou at one point, Tiana and Lottie get into a small argument about Lottie’s own class and social status and how much it contrasts with Tiana’s. I won’t go into as much depth with the conversation itself, but it stands out to me as one of the best highlights of the book because it actually forces Lottie to grow from what would seem like a stagnant character into one that could have as much emotional depth as any of the main POV characters. It’s really great stuff, and this one example only scratches the surface about how much I really did appreciate Lottie’s character in this book. If you’d want a further look into her character, I would suggest this video. It’s a good look into how Lottie’s character is from the original film and how much of a change it is for a character like her to exist at all. Part II. Naveen

            One of the key differences about “Almost There” and The Princess and the Frog is that the original premise of both Naveen and Tiana turning into frogs is entirely absent in the book (outside of the beginning). I think that personally this does make the book way better at being able to have more nuance with both of them still being able to interact just with a different circumstance: Naveen is now Lottie’s best friend and doesn’t know Tiana straight away. This does make their fleeting moments of romantic tension still palpable, but in a sense that Tiana and Naveen have clear chemistry; he just doesn’t know why until the end of the book. Naveen’s sense of purpose and character agency also does change radically from the film to the book, but I think in a much more natural way. Rather than having to contend being a frog for the whole of the story, Naveen instead has to grapple with proving himself and showing his own sense of worth by wanting to work his way up in Big Daddy La Bouff’s sugar company. This even further complicates things when his family halfway through the book, want him to come back to his home country of Maldonia and to his rich lifestyle, which he doesn’t want to do. Add in his romance with Tiana and his friendly banter with Lottie, and Naveen ended up being one of my favorite characters to follow, just to see how he would get from the beginning of the story to the end. It was also really cute to see (even briefly) his country of Maldonia and his interactions with his family at the very end of the book. His charming self is still there, and even though his journey in the original movie was still good because of his growth and his accountability, “Almost There” Naveen still stands as a good (if not even better) version of this character. Part III. Dr. Facilier

            Dr. Facilier. Oh, Dr. Facilier. Where do I even begin? Besides being one of my favorite Disney villains of all time, with arguably one of the best villain songs of all time, I was very curious how he was going to be in this book. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Even though I feel like Facilier, much like Naveen doesn’t really change as much personality wise, he gets a similar treatment to Lottie in a way where his internal depth and backstory get fleshed out a lot more.

            Facilier is established very early on to have come from a family background that studies Vodou, particularly his mother. I think that this decision to tie in Facilier’s “friends on the other side” with the real life Vodou spirits and magic was just brilliant. It’s such a small change, but it makes the “realistic” ways that some of the Twisted Tale books operate make so much sense in the internal consistency of the world. Additionally, it makes Facilier’s use of magic tie into the way he looks at the world of rich, powerful men ruling it make a lot more believable. He’s shown to be an orphan who had to ask the spirits for help to get him out of being destitute, which in my opinion makes him very tragic. He’s also even shown to at least still care about his past, highlighted by the fact that he gives money to an orphan he finds on the street instead of killing him for the spirits to satisfy their hunger. Once again, it’s such a small act, but it shows so much of his character and honestly made me feel a little sad when he died. Of course he was still evil, but I could still see the way in which Rochon made him feel like a scared little kid who just wanted control of his own life and lost it. It was sympathy for the devil, but a necessary evil for such a great character (along with his death scene being more gruesome than the original, which I won’t spoil but it was incredibly effective with its imagery). Part IV. Side Characters

            This part will be brief since a lot of the side characters didn’t change as much, but they were still effective as characters. Louis gets turned into a human, but not much is changed about him. If you liked him in the original, he’s basically the same in the book. Tiana’s mother and father were really cute, and I did like how the opening of the book does really lay the groundwork for Tiana and her father’s relationship, which makes the ending that much more heartbreaking. Mama Odie is not in the book until only a passing scene at the very end, but her niece Lisette (a new character for this book) was a welcome addition to the cast as her sort of stand in. Tiana’s group of friends gets fleshed out a little bit more, but not by much. They still are sort of one name only characters and that’s pretty much it.

These characters were all still really great, but there was still some hesitation from how the original story’s source material still does cause some concern in hindsight, especially from the African American community of fans. Critique and Improvements

            Throughout doing the research for this post, I did find out that there were a lot of people who were honestly mixed about The Princess and the Frog. While most loved it, I did see that there were some people who did comment about the wider cultural impact of the film, not only as one of the last 2D animation films that Disney has done in recent years, but also as a film about racial representation within Disney and its rippling impact since the movie’s release.

As a white, middle‑class reader, I recognize that I’m engaging with a conversation shaped by Black viewers’ experiences and interpretations. My goal here is to summarize those perspectives and analyze how the novel responds to them, rather than to evaluate their validity. There are a couple of videos that I will put here that go into much greater detail and in a much better way that I can explain on those perspectives, but I will look more so at the text of “Almost There” and the original movie. The Princess and The Frog (And the DEATH of Disney’s 2D)

Why Black America “Ignored” the Princess and the Frog The two main examples I want to just briefly discuss are Lottie’s role in wanting to pursue civil rights and the minor inclusion of the Fenner Brothers from the original. The Fenner Brothers are from the original film, and I have seen that some people were put off by their (and by the extension, the directors) veiled jabs at racism towards Tiana. Regardless of the filmmakers’ intentions, some viewers found the Fenner Brothers’ comments uncomfortable because they echo real racial dynamics. The novel does show one of the Fenner Brothers make an appearance and Tiana rightfully scolds him for his behavior, and I did think that was a very powerful move on Rochon’s part. To me, it reads as Tiana firmly staking her place as one of Disney’s heroines that doesn’t need to be criticized or judged by her race, but just viewed as a regular person with wants, goals and dreams. The book also doubles down on this by having Tiana talk with Lottie about their class and social status. It shows that she’s not blind to it, and in fact is readily aware of it throughout the book and the movie. There was also a viewpoint I saw about some people thinking of Lottie as some sort of “white savior” and while I could see that interpretation, I think the book does a really fine job of holding Lottie accountable for her own privilege. In the book, she becomes more aware of it and genuinely wants to use her position to make the world better for her friend. Lottie wants to support Tiana’s goals rather than overshadow them, which was clearly established early on through the department store scene and pays off in the bayou. In any case, this is the thing I would want more of in a book like this, and I was really glad that it was included. I really loved how Rochon opened the door for this conversation by having moments like this and not sugar coating the reality of it through some vague hints of racism. It was direct, and it got to the point of what it was trying to say through character action and reaction. With a strong writer and an even stronger baseline of characters to work from and adapt from, this made the book a powerful statement through its subtext that is a clear reminder of the importance of treating others with respect and recognizing the social forces that shape our own experiences. Final Thoughts

            This book was absolutely fantastic, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Twisted Tale series, fans of Disney or fans of the original Princess and the Frog movie. “Almost There” does enough to stand alone on its own as a compelling story while fleshing out the original to build on top of it. The book celebrates the ways in which the original movie was still impactful to a whole generation of Disney kids and adults that still make it one of the most enjoyable Disney movies in the last two decades. If anything that I said resonated with you throughout any of the review, please please please check it out! You won’t be disappointed.

10/10