Reflection: A Twisted Tale

Mulan is my favorite Disney movie, so while perusing books to read on my Kindle, in between bouts of flu-induced naps whilst curling up in a ball and asking what sins I've committed to deserve this suffering, there was really no question about indulging in a bit of Mulan fanfiction to make myself feel better. REFLECTION is part of the Twisted Tales series that Disney has put out, in which the corporation asks, "What if...?" hypotheticals that put spins on their original retellings of the story and then hire out young adult authors to write them. Most of the books are written by Liz Braswell, but they actually got a Chinese author to write the Chinese story - how woke.REFLECTION takes this new approach to Mulan: instead of Mulan getting slashed by Shan-Yu (and betraying her identity as a woman), Li Shang takes the blow for her instead. The wound is fatal, and to save him, Mulan makes a deal with King Yama, the ruler of the Chinese Underworld (Diyu) to find and rescue him and escape from the 100th level of the underworld before time runs out and she's imprisoned there - forever.I'm a sucker for underworld retellings, and this one smacked a bit of Orpheus and Eurydice, as well as Dante's Inferno, but with Chinese mythology instead. The writing was pretty simple (I think this book is for a middle grade audience) but could be vivid. At times, I could imagine this as one of those direct to VHS sequels that were so popular in the 90s. It really should be a movie; it'd be amazing.There are a lot of call-backs to the movie, which is to be expected, and I thought the author did a good job staying in keeping with the characters as they were portrayed in the movie, although Mushu fell somewhat flat here in comparison to his portrayal in the movie. While I enjoyed the portrayal of the Chinese underworld and the trials Mulan had to undergo, at times the pacing was inconsistent and the middle section in particular got kind of tedious, although it picked up again by the end.Overall, this was much better than the cash cow I was expecting. It entertained me and even moved me to tears at a couple points. If you're a fan of the Mulan movie and have always wanted more, you should pick up REFLECTION.2.5 to 3 out of 5 stars

I have read all the twisted tales released to date and I have to say Reflection is the best of the four. It's well written and the story flows well with wonderful character development. The other books seemed to repeat themselves to the point of annoyance, but Reflection doesn't do that at all, knowing the reader can remember what happened in previous chapters. Elizabeth Lim is a fantastic writer and is quite apt at capturing the reader with her words and descriptions while keeping the reader guessing at what is next.

For the longest time I’ve been debating whether or not to read the Twisted Tales from Disney. Typically, I’ll read any Disney related book, but the first two books in the series got such mixed reviews, that it deterred me from picking one up. Then the Beauty and the Beast one and this one came out and they got better reviews. So I finally decided to try one out. I’m so glad I did because this was really good!First off, I was really happy that Disney choose a Asian author to write this book. I think #OwnVoices literature is so important. You can tell that the author knew the culture so well. She did a great job incorporating the Chinese underworld and mythology into the story.I also have to give the author major props for doing her homework. It was very clear that she watched the direct-to-DVD Mulan 2 movie. There was one part where Shang says, “Perhaps when I marry, I’ll combine the ancestral temples so my bride won’t have to leave her family” (175). That is exactly what ends up happening in Mulan 2. When I read that line, I immediately remembered that part in the movie.Since the book starts during the battle against the huns on the mountain, I was happy that it still referenced earlier events in the movie. They were woven into the story nicely.Overall, I just think the whole book was so well done. From the writing style to the incorporation of mirrors and reflections, it hit all the checkboxes.

Okay, this book sent my little shipper's heart all a fluttering!I'm going to be brief with this review because I don't want to reveal spoilers, and in the fact of that there's SO MUCH that happens in this book. I will tell you guys right up front, this book pays homage and does its predecessor justice with its twisted retelling, where it sends your Mulan X Shang shipping heart all the feels. It's a fanfic come to life!The story takes place after the battle on Tung-Show Mountain, where Mulan as Ping shot their last cannon at the mountain causing the avalanche that obliterated Shan Yu's army. Instead of Shan Yu striking Mulan, Shang leaps in front of her and takes a fatal blow. From there on, facing the possibility of Shang dying from the wound, their descent from the mountain becomes weary. One night, after Shang's condition worsens, General Li's spirit comes to tell Mulan that there is a way to save his son's life. After that, Mulan finds herself in Diyuu, the Chinese version of the World of the Dead, where she strikes a deal with the Underwold ruler himself, King Yuma, that if she can find Shang and escape Diyuu before morning, Shang will live.Mulan, Shang, and the Li family's guardian, Shishi, go through tremendous obstacles throughout Diyuu, where all of them must face both inner and outer demons; Mulan especially. There's even the big reveal of Mulan's gender in this story, in which I find myself favoring over the movie's version of it. And the relationship between Shang and Mulan is just as invigorating as in the movie itself, and even more so in this book.At the end of this book, I wish it were in the canon-verse of Mulan.