Welcome to another exciting month in the Hobbits' Library. It's my turn this month, and, as soon as I saw the theme, I knew the perfect book to write about. Disney's Twisted Tales series takes the much-loved Disney stories that both Magical, and Muggle worlds love and adds a twist to the story that changes the plotline and gives another way to see the popular tales.
This month I decided to read "Let It Go", which is the Frozen Twisted Tale written by Jen Calonita. The tag line at the bottom reads 'What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other?" and that is something that I would never have considered. How much would it change the story? The answer is quite a lot.
At the start of the story, Anna is being raised in a village called Harmon in the Kingdom of Arendelle. She has no memory of her previous life at all. That's the first difference from the movie plot. Anna's adoptive parents are bakers who are visited by a woman called Freya, who tells Anna of Arendelle and Elsa, without Anna knowing who Freya truly is. There were hints that could be picked up that Freya may actually have been Queen Iduna of Arendelle and, therefore, Anna's birth mother.
Meanwhile, Elsa is being raised alone in Arendelle Castle by her parents, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna She studies alone, in fact, she does most things alone, but the one thing she wants is a sister to play with. Her memories of Anna have been wiped, and she cannot remember she has a sister because of the curse placed on Anna and Elsa.
I love the way that some of the movie plot is woven into the story, especially as that can still be affected because of the twisted element of things. The royal ship sinking does happen, and this leaves 18-year-old Elsa as the Queen of Arendelle, but she cannot take the throne until she turns 21, and this leaves Lord Petersson as Regent until that day comes.
Agnarr and Iduna's deaths led to a lot of things happening... Elsa locked herself away, and her powers became unstable, and that meant trouble as she was unable to control them. I can imagine Elsa is rather scared. She doesn't have anyone to help her; She's alone and, when triggered, her memories of Anna return.
The next major thing is Elsa's powers are revealed, and she runs away across the fjord and to the North Mountain. This only increases her resolve to find Anna, who, at the same time, has set off with Kristoff and Sven towards Arendelle to see what is happening. Elsa has created her ice palace and, for once, is free to be who she wants to be. She begins to set off on her own journey of discovery to see if she can piece together her forgotten past.
I love the whole idea that stories we know and love can have a twist on them that adds a new point of view to the story. The whole idea of Anna and Elsa not knowing each other but knowing that something is missing is tragic and yet beautiful at the same time. We all have those moments in life where we feel that something is missing, and usually, it's so small, but, certainly, for Anna and Elsa, it can be something big that changes their lives in a way that nobody could ever see happening. I really like the concept of everything that can change a story, as the Twisted Tales do.
Now, you will have noticed that I haven't said much beyond the fact that Anna and Elsa have set off on journeys to find each other, and that's because a. I haven't quite finished the book myself, and there will be no spoilers here. I would say, though, that I have skim-read the book, so I have a rough idea of how it ends but no idea how they get there.
Now I'm going to head back and read the rest of the book, so I can see how the end is reached. Cissarose should be back next month, so she'll see you all then. Go and read the book, though!
Lots of love,
Ellieanarose xx