Escape From the Isle of the Lost is the fourth book in the Descendants novels series, which serves as a prelude to the final movie, Descendants 3. It shows the characters dealing with what they plan to do with the next chapter in their lives, especially since neither Mal, Evie, Jay, or Carlos had really given thought to their futures when they’d been on the Isle (though we learn in this book that Carlos is a junior, unlike his friends). Meanwhile, the VK’s try to hatch a plan to get more villain kids on the isle to apply for Auradon Prep so that they can get off the isle and have a chance to better their lives.

So I have to say off the bat, I wasn’t impressed with this book like the others. As I mentioned, this book serves more as a way to give background information to the third movie. Just as well, it includes the little Descendants: Under the Sea scene in the middle of it… which again, doesn’t serve a purpose to the overall story-line. There’s really no “meat” to the story… it’s just empty. Honestly, there wasn’t really a need for this book because it’s not like it explained all that much in the movie that we couldn’t figure out for ourselves, whereas the first book in the series, The Isle of the Lost, gives background to these characters before the first movie, and it even gives background to King Ben’s decision to bring over some villain kids to Auradon.

If there had been a different plot to this book, then it might have been worth it. But if you’re a fan of Descendants and haven’t get read this book, I’d say hold off. While there are fun little nuggets in the book, it’s really nothing that you’ll miss terribly. Of course, that decision is yours. You might find that you like the book more than I did. I just personally think it doesn’t compare to the first two in the series. ( )

This Descendants novel takes place right before the third movie. Descendant fans will enjoy this story with many different character storylines throughout the novel. We get to read about Uma and what she has been up to since the second movie, and how well Mal is adapting to being with the King, and more from all your favorite characters. The book does a good job of making you wonder what is going to happen next in the movie. These books are all a series also, and though I have not read the other novels in the series, I have seen the movies and was able to understand what was happening to each of the characters in the story. ( )

I bought this book a few weeks ago, but when I heard about Cameron Boyce’s (who plays Carlos in the movies) passing, I knew I just had to read it now. My heart ached every time I came across Carlos in the book. Carlos is such a precious character and from what I hear, Cameron was an amazing person off-screen.

Like the other book in this series, this book was a lot of fun. These books aren’t meant to be much more than a marketing and promotional tool and I am 100% okay with that. I just love seeing more of the characters and their lives!

This book does a nice job setting up the new characters of Hades and Celia. It also shows what Uma has been up to since we last saw her at the end of Descendants 2. I’m very excited to see what they’ll all do in the third movie.

As always, I love the little Disney references throughout the book. For example, I loved the names of the colleges like Agrabah State University, Magical Institute Training (MIT), and Sherwood Forest University. Students even have to take the SAT (Salagadoola Abracadabra Test). How clever!

Overall, if you’re a Disney Descendants fan, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book. ( )