The Orphan's Wish by Melanie Dickerson, 2018

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From the streets to an orphanage in a faraway kingdom, Aladdin has grown up alone. Until he meets Kirstyn. With a father who is the duke of Hagenheim and a mother who is the patroness of the orphanage where Aladdin lives, Kirstyn is a member of the most powerful family in the land . . . and way out of his league. Despite the difference in their stations, Aladdin quickly becomes Kirstyn’s favorite companion for taking walks in the forest, and their childhood friendship grows along with them.

Through his scrappy skills, intelligence, and hard work, Aladdin earns a position serving in the duke’s house. But he knows it isn’t enough to grant him his one desire: Kirstyn’s hand in marriage. If he hopes to change his station in life and feel worthy of marrying Kirstyn, he must leave Hagenheim to seek his fortune.

But once Aladdin leaves, no one is around to protect Kirstyn, and the greedy men desperate to take advantage of her father’s wealth take notice. Now, more than Aladdin’s background stands in the way of the future he’s worked so hard to obtain. His only hope is to rescue Kirstyn and somehow manage to win her hand as well.

(352 pages)

When I was younger, I had a friend who was obsessed with Melanie Dickerson's books. I never quite found the time to read many of them, so when I saw the opportunity to review The Orphan's Wish now I jumped at it.

I myself have always been a huge fan of fairytale retellings, so I love the idea of this Hagenheim series. Aladdin used to be one of my favorite bedtime books (though I have to admit that I can't remember seeing the Disney movie in full), so it was fun to see how Dickerson changed up the old story.

To be honest, though, there reaches a point where the book doesn't even feel like a retelling anymore. Besides keeping Aladdin's name and lack of social standing the same, Dickerson basically just made up her own story. She has Aladdin brought off of the streets and moved to Germany when he is still a small child, and he grows up in the orphanage near Kirstyn's home. I actually really love their relationship, so different from the original as it may be: I'm a big sucker for childhood friendships that blossom into something more.

Looking at the book on its own, separate from the movie it is very distantly based on, my main issue with it is that the main characters are basically all either pure good or pure bad. There is a little nuance, and Aladdin and Kirstyn struggle at times with accepting their flaws, but Aladdin is still just so amazing at everything that it becomes almost cringey at times.

I actually didn't mind it so much, though, just because I was rooting for him. He won me over pretty quickly, really. I liked Kirstyn, too, and I was horrified by the way she is treated by others in the book.

My main other concern with the book is the fact that it takes a story meant to be set in the Middle East, transports it to Germany of all places, and then skates past most of the racism that Aladdin would have likely had to face at that time and place. Since Aladdin was a made-up legend in the first place, though, I found it less offputting than if she had moved, say, Mulan to Germany.

Bottom line? I got very wrapped up in The Orphan's Wish. I rooted for the main characters, I hoped for the best, and I enjoyed the ride. It may have been a touch cheesy in places, and the characters may have been a little unrealistic sometimes, but it was still a fun read that I enjoyed. My friend was right–I need to read some more Melanie Dickerson books!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.