Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch (Villains Series #3) by Serena Valentino

4 (3)
$18.99

Product Details

Web ID: 16292784

The tale of the sea king's daughter Ariel is a beloved one of losing- and then finding- one's own voice. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the mergirl wants more than her world can offer, and her father demands that she live within the confines of his domain. Her rebelliousness costs the little mermaid her voice and nearly her soul. But the power of good prevails, and Ariel emerges proud and unchanged. And yet this is only half the story. So what of Ariel's nemesis, Ursula, the sea witch? What led to her becoming so twisted, scorned, and filled with hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives. Here is one account of what might have shaped the sea witch into a detestable and poor unfortunate soul.

  • Product Features

    • Suggested age range - 10-14 Years
    • Format - Hardcover
    • Product dimensions - 5.4" W x 6.5" H x 0.9" D
    • Genre - Fiction
    • Publisher - Disney Press, Publication date - 07-26-2016
    • Page count - 208
    • ISBN - 9781484724057
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Ratings & Reviews

4/5

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9 months ago

Unfortunate

Ursula is literally my favorite Disney villain of all time so you can imagine how stoked I was to finally get to her story! However, I feel her story was everything else and she was a side character. I personally feel the author was way more concerned setting up Maleficent’s story using Ursula’s background and that’s about it. I just was very bummed

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

2 years ago
from Tampa, Florida

I Use To Fear Ursula & Now She's A Favorite!

his book is super good! Ursula is always seen as the Villain in The Little Mermaid & she is a villain, but reading her backstory really made me re-see her a human with emotions & not a heartless soul of a sea witch. Ursula went through so much growing up having no family to love her for what she truly is, she lost her father, she did have the sister witches (mostly Circe who Ursula also tricked) as friends, & she did want Ariel (who is her niece) in her life, but with her insecurities, trauma, loss, wanting revenge, & heart break, she only cared about herself at the end of the day. ALSO READ THE DEDICATION FROM THE AUTHOR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK: THERE IS A FUN FACT THAT GOES BACK TO THE OTHER BOOKS!

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  • Photo from kendallg

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

2 years ago

Poor Unfortunate Soul by Serena Valentino

Everyone knows the story of the little mermaid who fell in love with a human. The young mermaid seeks the help of a sea witch named Ursula so that she might find her true love and live happily ever after. However, we didn’t know the story of the sea witch until now. Why did Ursula want to hurt Ariel and Triton? What turned her into such a hateful, dangerous creature? Most fairy tale retellings, in my experience, continue to focus on the hero or heroine. The novels in this series take a different approach by focusing on the villains. This is the third novel in the series, and it focuses on the character of Ursula and the three Odd Sisters. The Odd Sisters were introduced in the first novel, and readers will struggle with their part of the story if they have not read the first two novels. I love how this story takes a look at Ursula before telling the story of the little mermaid. It tells about her as a young woman and her connection to Triton, a connection speculated about by fans but never truly established in the movie. We are never given a reason for Ursula's hatred other than the fact that she was barred from entering the kingdom. We are also allowed to understand more about Ursula’s Garden, which is not really addressed in the movies either. I found this book to be delightful. I am not usually one to read horror stories, but these tales truly interest me because I always felt that there should be more of an explanation behind the actions of the villains in Disney films. I believe that this book is appropriate for both older and younger fans; however, younger fans who are easily frightened should avoid these. These are children’s horror books, and as such, they contain scenes that might not be appropriate for all readers. I liked this book, and I gave it a four-and-a-half-star rating. I received my copy of this book from my husband as a Christmas gift, and the picture featured above is mine.

  • Photo from writerstiner

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com