A Whole New World

by Liz Braswell

“Don’t let life’s unfairness, don’t let how poor you are decide who you are. You choose who you will be, Aladdin. Will you be a hero who looks after the weak and powerless? Will you be a thief? Will you be a beggar—or worse? It’s up to you, not the things—or people—around you. You can choose to be something more.”

You can choose to be something more.…

“You’re only a fool if you give up, boy.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem!”

“There’s another way. You don’t have to choose this life. You could be something more.”

“The problem is, Iago, you still don’t understand how you need to keep your mind open and be ready to seize whatever life hands you. How you can turn disappointments and failures and setbacks into triumphs. It’s all about perspective.

And next to it was a book with a blackened cover and what looked like a living human eye set in the leather. Al Azif.

Like this isn’t screaming Hocus Pocus

And then everyone else, side by side, together as one. “Agrabah is yours.” “No,” Jasmine said, looking out at the sea of guild leaders, and the thieves, and the genie, and all the people of her city. “Agrabah is ours.”