"Almost There" by Farrah Rochon Review (Spoiler Free!)

Swamp background
Princess and the Frog (2009)

My rating of Almost There is 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Almost There's major trigger warnings include, but may not be limited to, death, death of a parent, and racism.

"Perhaps because, as easily as he could think

of all he would gain by returning home,

it was just as easy to consider all he would lose."

Tiana and Naveen "I suppose you want a kiss" gif
Princess and the Frog, 2009

This book has easily twisted its way into my heart, where it'll stay for quite some time. Disney's 2009 Princess and the Frog, the last film with Disney's traditional 2D animation style, is one of my Top 2 favorite films from Disney, and arguably within my Top 5 favorite films in general. As a result, I went into this book with pretty high expectations I was attempting to manage.

Almost There, the thirteenth installment of Disney's Twisted Tales series, revolves around the following premise: "What if Tiana made a deal that changed everything?" All is not as it seems, both for the characters followed and for readers, which is a main focus of this story.

Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff, Charlotte "Lottie" La Bouff, and Tiana gif
Princess and the Frog, 2009

The character development in Almost There was encouraging to see, especially where Lottie, Naveen, and Louis were concerned. Tiana does have character development, but it pretty much mirrors her development in the 2009 movie. While it's not hard to be inspired by her character development in the book, I don't know if I can comment on it without constantly comparing it to the movie. (Not that this would be "bad" per se, but with all things considered, I'm going to assume that everyone reading this has seen the movie, so I'd rather focus on the book.)

Tiana's journey parallels her movie journey aside from the tiny detail of having made a deal with Dr. Facilier, the "Vodou witch doctor" of New Orleans. On her journey to rectify the deal she made, Tiana - along with Naveen, Lottie, and Louis - meets Lisette and Tee Lande, two characters with pretty strong connections to Mama Odie. I absolutely loved the references to Vodou, Vodou-related deals, the universe, and how the universe reacts to Vodou. I definitely recommend this book as a read, because we see so much from the characters and Tiana's New Orleans.

Tiana and Naveen, as frogs, dancing in the Bayou
Princess and the Frog, 2009