Editorial Content for Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch

“Yes, I’ve had the odd complaint, but on the whole I’ve been a saint --- to those poor unfortunate souls!” (69). Everyone knows the tale of the little mermaid thanks to Disney, but not many care to consider the other side of the story. What of Ursula, the supposed villain, the evil sea witch? What’s her deal? On a quest for revenge, Ursula teams up with Lucinda, Martha and Ruby ---  the three odd sisters --- but she has her own agenda. She’ll stop at nothing short of death to get her sweet revenge against her brother, Triton, king of the sea and father of Ariel, the one and only little mermaid.

“Valentino’s POOR UNFORTUNATE SOUL sheds the sunny, calypso-laden animated tale and returns us to the original genre, with torture and bloody murder in the very first chapter.”

Disney has always had to dampen down the original oral fairy tales for kids to experience them visually. Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast are great examples of this. In the original fairy tales, thorns gouge out the eyes of Rapunzel’s prince, the prince rapes Sleeping Beauty and the Beast eats the Beauty after their marriage. Author Serena Valentino’s POOR UNFORTUNATE SOUL: The Tale of the Sea Witch sheds the sunny, calypso-laden animated tale and returns us to the original genre, with torture and bloody murder in the very first chapter.It’s on a level with the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The Sea Witch is unfathomably evil. There are no redemptive qualities to her, no matter what. As you read, you hear her sing about those poor unfortunate souls, but the only truly unfortunate soul is Ursula herself.

Serena Valentino links those animated films we grew up watching in a new and unique way, placing a trail of dots for us to connect as the Villains series progresses. Snow White’s Evil Queen, Beauty’s Beast and now the Sea Witch have all had their tales written, and POOR UNFORTUNATE SOUL immediately sets up for the fourth book, featuring the Dark Fairy, Maleficent. It is an excellent idea, taking the children’s tales and putting them back in more of their original form of terrifying stories told to scare kids, changing the interest from a happy story appealing to children to one with darker and more complex elements that appeal to teens.

Serena Valentino’s POOR UNFORTUNATE SOUL is a wonderful tangent of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and the third book in the Villains series. The origin story of Ursula and the continuation of the tale of the three witches is a must read. There is quite the creepy tone, and the book does feature torture and murder, but teens who enjoyed their princess movies as children will love this book.