Name: Melissa Palmer's review of The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz
Item: The Isle of the Lost
Rating: 4
Author: Melissa Palmer

Melissa de la Cruz

Evil tree. Bad Apple? Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon to the Isle of the Lost--a dark and dreary place protected by a force field that makes it impossible for them to leave. Stripped of their magical powers, the villains now live in total isolation, forgotten by the world. Mal learns from her mother, Maleficent, that the key to true darkness, the Dragon's Eye, is located inside her scepter in the forbidden fortress on the far side of the island. The eye is cursed, and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She'll just need a little help from her "friends." In their quest for the Dragon's Eye, these four kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain't so bad.

A Descendants Novel

The Isle of the Lost

Renai

Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. Life on the island is dark and dreary. It is a dirty, decrepit place that's been left to rot and forgotten by the world. But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon's eye: the key to true darkness and the villains' only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it ... who will it be? Maleficent, Mistress of the Dark: As the self-proclaimed ruler of the isle, Maleficent has no tolerance for anything less than pure evil. She has little time for her subjects, who have still not mastered life without magic. Her only concern is getting off the Isle of the Lost. Mal: At sixteen, Maleficent's daughter is the most talented student at Dragon Hall, best known for her evil schemes. And when she hears about the dragon's eye, Mal thinks this could be her chance to prove herself as the cruelest of them all. Evie: Having been castle-schooled for years, Evil Queen's daughter, Evie, doesn't know the ins and outs of Dragon Hall. But she's a quick study, especially after she falls for one too many of Mal's little tricks. Jay: As the son of Jafar, Jay is a boy of many talents: stealing and lying to name a few. Jay and Mal have been frenemies forever and he's not about to miss out on the hunt for the dragon's eye. Carlos: Cruella de Vil's son may not be bravest, but he's certainly clever. Carlos's inventions may be the missing piece in locating the dragon's eye and ending the banishment for good. Mal soon learns from her mother that the dragon's eye is cursed and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She'll just need a little help from her "friends." In their quest for the dragon's eye, these kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain't so bad.

Melissa Palmer

Book #40 Read in 2016
Isle of the Lost by Melissa De La Cruz

This is the first book in a young adult series based on the offspring of the evil villains from the Disney movies. They have been exiled to an island where there is no magic as punishment. Their kids strive to be as evil as their parents, with varying degrees of success. This book had humor, action and interesting characters, as well as references to childhood favorites. The second book comes out later this month.

Izza

3 stars | Now i'm going to have to watch the movie and read the other books because I want to know what will happen. Why do I do this to myself.

Chloe Verhoeve

3,5☆

So this is the first book I finished in 2019! That's crazy!
So here is my first real review of 2019...
This is probably going to be all over the place :)

I really enjoyed this book. I'd already seen the two movies that are out at the moment and I can't wait for the third one that comes out this summer!

This book takes place before the first movie, like exactly before the movie, like the book ends where the movie begins.
In this book we get to know the villain kids, Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay, a lot more. The first half of the book is just about the characters, there isn't much plot happening. But for me this wasn't boring, I actually enjoyed getting to know the characters more.

About half way through, the plot actually begins. But still, the characters and their thoughts were more important than the plot. Most of the times I actually dislike these kind of books, but with The Isle of the Lost I really enjoyed it. You get to see how the villain kids sometime struggle with being evil and doing evil things.

Because I've already seen the movies, I already knew the ending of this book. But still the book wasn't what I expected it to be! 

I really recommend this to everyone who has seen the Descendants movie(s) or who plans to watch them, it is a must read! I totally plan on reading the other two books in the series.

Ashley Wendt

3.5 Stars...This was a fun, cute story! Such an easy read. I wish I would’ve read it before I watched the first Descendants movie. It gave so much more depth to the characters struggles and back story and makes you see the 4 VK relationships in a new light.

Evil tree. Bad Apple? Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon to the Isle of the Lost-a dark and dreary place protected by a force field that makes it impossible for them to leave. Stripped of their magical powers, the villains now live in total isolation, forgotten by the world. Mal learns from her mother, Maleficent, that the key to true darkness, the Dragon's Eye, is located inside her scepter in the forbidden fortress on the far side of the island. The eye is cursed, and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She'll just need a little help from her "friends." In their quest for the Dragon's Eye, these four kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain't so bad. Praise for The Isle of the Lost"Disney lovers and fairy-tale fans alike will need to get their hands on this book." -School Library Journal

Helene Utterback

Maybe I;m just too old for this book. I really wanted to like it more, but I couldn't seem to get into the story. I really like the concept though, and would most likely read a sequel. I mean, kids of Disney villains is a pretty unique idea.

Grace Holding

** spoiler alert **
           Well I’m obsessed with Disney, such a Disney geek, and honestly the book is good, really love to read how Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos became friends, the whole adventure was impressive and honestly really well thought, gonna watch the movie (for like the 10th time) and then read return to the isle of the lost!

Just want to get more insight on Ben and Mal’s dream about each other 
I mean they do not show that on the movies, after reading the book kinda feels like that’s the reason why ben stares at Mal for too long when they first met and she makes a face, but wish we could get more.
Hopefully there’s something on the next book.

Katie Holem

It was a cute read. Wasn't great, but it was entertaining. It was cool to see how each villain kid and Ben got their start before the movie.

laura

Cute read that goes along with the disney movie. I liked learning more about the characters and just getting into their heads. Quick and easy read!

Jelke Lenaerts

I was not sure how I was going to feel about this book because I didn't like the Descendants movie at all. Then why did you pick this up? Well ... the second movie looks/sounds epic (bet on it I won't like it again), so I wanted to prep for that by reading the books.
I really liked this book a lot. The storyline was very, very good. I didn't like the writting that much, at some moments it felt a little young to me. The parts where we followed Ben weren't that intresting compared to the main story line on the isle. They felt like they didn't belong there and took away from the emersion (is that even how you spell that?) of the main story line. Maybe I just remembered him wrongly because it's been a while since I've seen the movie but Carlos didn't feel like movie Carlos which kind of bothered me. The friendships also were very different than in the movie but thankfully that develps later on in the book. 
I feel like if you're a Descendants fan you'll absolutely love this.

Alexis 

3/5 stars 

I'm gonna be honest here, I was a little let down by this book. That is completley my fault, all I knew going in was that it was associated with the Descendents movie. While I completley adore those movies this is very different. In the end, I did enjoy the book. I doubt I will continue with the series, but I had a good time and would still recommend this book.

Michelle Boyea

Growing up, I was never that big into the Disney fairytales. I knew the stories of course, but they never really interested me. I never had a favorite princess or a favorite fairytale. If I had to choose, I would choose Ariel with The Little Mermaid, or Belle with Beauty and the Beast. 

Lately, I have become more and more interested in the fairytales, both Disney and non-Disney, both traditional and reimagined. When I saw this series, I knew I had to give it a try.

Even though this book is written for a younger audience, I loved it. With the stress of day-to-day life, it is the perfect getaway book where your mind can wander and a new reality takes over. The descriptions were great and I could see the way the book developed in my mind. 

Or maybe it helped that I was reading it at night before sleeping. Either way, I loved it.

While I don't like that all the villains were banished and basically trapped under a dome, I do like the way that the children are starting to choose a different path than their parents. Even though they desperately want to please their parents, that does not mean that they will blindly follow their paths and make the same mistakes.

So far I am very intrigued by Mal and Jay and love the friendship that has developed between the two. Evie and Carlos are adorable and I find myself thinking of them as the younger siblings to Mal and Jay, even though they definitely are not.

And Ben and his mystery dream woman....Mal perhaps? That's my theory anyways. Let's see what book 2 brings.

Ava Shaffer

very fun and i liked the specific quests in the end!

Elize van Heerden

This book had so much potential and it just fell flat. It didn't grab me as much as it could've. Really dissapounted

It's so good it's really good to read this first than watch Disney's descendants because it explains how Maleficent gets her staff

Aly Valenz

Becca Futrell

it’s fun & there’s a liv & maddie reference which, in my book, means it’s pretty dang good.

Krystal Campbell 

I really enjoyed the disney references in this and I love the idea of disney villain descendants going on a mission to find the one thing that can remove their banishment. 

Who doesn't want to read a book where beauty and the beast rule? 

There was so much creativity, character building and fun in this book. Can't wait to read book 2.

Lorien O'Brien

After reading Maleficent and being disappointed, I was worried that I wouldn't like this book. And while some things don't match the movie trailers playing like crazy on Disney Channel, I actually really, REALLY liked it.

I adored learning more about these characters, and just what they are going through as the kids of the greatest villains in Disney History (although Cruella is STILL a really odd choice cause greatest and her don't match much). It really sets the stage, leading right up to where the trailer makes it seem the movie will begin.

Shannon Jade

Read my full review on the Shannon A. Jade Books blog!

My The Isle of the Lost Top 3:
- Disney references galore!
- The ultimate fairytale retelling
- Redemption arcs

Kate

As a huge disney fan, I decided to give this a read out of pure curiosity and in most aspects it didn't disappoint me. It was fun to read about disney characters from a different aspect and get to see these well known characters from their children's point of view.There were a few things I didn't love about this book but I think most of those reasons are purely due to the fact that this isn't a young adult book (which I didn't realise until after I had purchased it). For a younger reader I think this would be really fun, I can imagine my younger self absolutely loving it! I enjoyed it but not as much as I had hoped.

Renai &
The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

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