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Descendants: The Rise of Red Junior Novel

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This junior novel relives the excitement of the Disney Original Movie The Rise of Red and includes an eight-page full-color photo insert.

Based on Disney+’s most-viewed Disney Channel Original Movie premiere ever!

Descendants superfans can relive the Disney Original Movie The Rise of Red in this novelization, featuring an eight-page, full-color photo insert.


In this newest installment in the mega-hit Descendants franchise, former Villain Kid Uma, now headmaster of Auradon Prep, extends an invite to the school to another VK – Red, the rebellious daughter of the tyrannical Queen of Hearts from Wonderland. The Queen of Hearts has long held a grudge against Auradon, and especially Cinderella, and seizes the opportunity to seek revenge when she drops her daughter off at school. When the Queen of Hearts incites a coup against Auradon, Red must team up with Cinderella’s perfectionist daughter Chloe and travel back in time to try to undo the traumatic event that set Red’s mother down her villainous path.

Add to your Disney Descendants collection

The World of Royals and VillainsWorld of The Rise of Mal’s SpellbookDescendants 3: Audrey’s DiaryDescendants 3 Junior NovelDescendants 2 Junior NovelDescendants Junior NovelAnd more!

142 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 16, 2024

63 people are currently reading
113 people want to read

About the author

Kelsey Rodkey

6 books394 followers
Kelsey Rodkey is the author of the young adult novels Last Chance Books, A Disaster in Three Acts, Plus One, and Class Act. She is a banter enthusiast always in search of scary movies, delicious carbs, and her next five-star read. She once helped a British film crew make a documentary about creative dog grooming and has a terrible fear of waterslides. She lives in Pennsylvania with her partner and their cats, Cheese and Tux.

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5 stars
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23 (19%)
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Katie.
444 reviews4 followers
July 20, 2024
Decent novelization. Adds a bit to some scenes, but not a lot overall. Awkwardly translates the songs by paraphrasing them rather than just turning them into regular dialogue.
40 reviews3 followers
December 29, 2024
Reading this to my kid has been so much fun. She LOVES these movies and stories, so I definitely have to count it! I've read it like 8 times over at this point haha
Profile Image for Tiffany Spencer.
1,974 reviews19 followers
September 12, 2025
Descendamts: The Rise of Red
Uma is made the headmistress and principal of Auradon Prep. She tells the Fairy Godmother (who was now chosen as the President of Auradon University) that her first order of business will be making sure Auradon Prep is open to all the kingdom’s kids. Even Wonderland… Fairy Godmother is reluctant about this decision. The Queen of Hearts turned turned their invitation to unite and sent an army. They had to close off the Rabbit Hole. Still, Uma gets her to send an invitation to Princess Red.

Wonderland is now being run in a militant fashion. The citizens rush home in orderly lines and try to make it there before curfew because the streets are guarded by the Queen’s soldiers. Rebellious Red tho decides to cause a little mayhem in the town’s square. She’s almost caught by the city’s guards but is rescued by the hooked device of her friend Maddox Hatter (son of the Mad Hatter). When he expresses concern about keeping her alive to make sure she has a future she says she has no future. Her mother will never let her leave.

He tells her (her) mother wasn’t always like that but Red says she just wants her to be her clone and she wants to live her own life. Maddox then shows her a pocket watch that’s actually a time travel machine. But he warns her that if she uses it everything could change. He decides tho that it’s too dangerous and maybe when she’s more mature. He then kicks her out before he’s caught. Back at her castle, Red takes out the pocket watch (that she’s stolen from him) and decides she’s not quite ready to use it.

Meanwhile Chloe Charming and her father (the King) are sword fighting. Chloe takes her sword fighting seriously. Her mom joins them and gives her a present (glass boots) for making all A’s and volunteering at the volunteering at the Auradon Historical Society. Cinderella says more than that she’s a good person and she knows she’ll make a great Queen. Red joins her mom at a trial for the Jack of Diamonds. The Queen lets her choose his punishment since she’ll be queen one day When she fails to give him the proper execution (and says off with his hat) her mother expresses her disappointment.

She tells her its either the Jack will be punished or her. Luckily, she’s interrupted by Uma’s invitation. Surprisingly, to Red the Queen accepts the invitation. There’s an awkward tension when Bridget and Ella are reunited. The meeting of Chloe and Red isn’t much better. Red asks her mom about the tension and she says that she and Ella were once class mates at Auradon Prep back when it had a different name. She says that Cinderella and the rest were two-faced and warns Red to be on guard.

Cinderella tells Chloe not to take the Queen’s attitude to heart. She says that sometimes people lash out when they’ve had things done to them in the past and the Queen had an awful prank played on when they were in school. She doesn’t elaborate any further. Chloe tho notices her mother has a guilty expression. During Uma’s speech, the Queen of Hearts stands up and unexpectedly launches a coup with her pack of cards. She tells Cinderella to bow to her but she refuses. Red then is forced to make the judgment to behead Ella for treason (which makes her mother proud). Red thinks of using the pocket watch to go back in time but is attacked by Chloe. Chloe accidently presses the watch’s button and activates the watch sending both girls back to the past.

Chloe and Red find themselves at Merlin Academy (future Auradon Prep). After fighting it out (to get the pocket watch) they decide that they must have got sent there for a reason and decide to work together. They explore the grounds and see a poster announcing Castlecoming and realize this must be where the horrible prank was played (in other words when her mom became her mom). Merlin gives them a tour and then takes them to his class. He instructs Bridget and Ella to help them get sorted.

Red learns that her mom makes amazing cupcakes and is actually nice… She says her only friend is Ella but she hopes she’ll have other friends soon. Only when they eat the cupcakes something on them turns pink. Chloe is surprised to see her dad (who Red thinks is cute). The VK’s show up (Hook, Margie, son of Morgana le Fay, Hades, and his girlfriend Maleficent. Then last but not least Uliana (the younger sister of Ursula).

Uliana snatches up one of Bridgit’s cupcakes but she eats all the feathers on top and turns into a flamingo. Ella pulls Bridgett away when Uliana starts to chase her. Uliana loses her balance and falls into a lake. When Uliana emerges she’s turned back. She then declares she’ll get revenge on Bridgit. Chloe finds out her mother has a thing against royalty and turns down her father’s invite to Castlecoming. She instead offers to go with Bridgit (whom no ones asked).

At Ella’s house, Chloe learns that all the stories her mother told her are true after watching her mother’s evil step mother ground her and call off the dance after she (Chloe) accidently breaks a vase helping Ella clean up. She tells them that Ulina is trying to follow in Ursula’s footsteps and she and the rest of the VK’s hang out at the Black Lagoon, but don’t part on a good note after her stepmother comes down hard on her and she sends (Chloe and Red) away.

Red and Chloe find the VK’s secret hideout and overhear them decide on a plan to give Bridgit a cup cake that will turn her into a monster using a sorcerer’s spell book. Red then saves Chloe from one of the Black Lagoon’s eels. They decide to ask Bridgit about the cookbook. Red is surprised to hear how she feels about her mom is the same way she feels about her. (She hates who she is and her style). Bridgit has the Looking Glass (it shows you the future) but she hasn’t looked into it. She doesn’t want to spoil the future. Bridgit doesn’t have the book but she says it might be a banned book and Merlin keeps all those in his study. Chloe wants to tell Merlin what’s going on but Red wants to just break in and steal it. Red calls Chloe a goody goody. Chloe says she’d rather be a goody goody than a bad person and this offends Red. Chloe tells Red she’s like her mom and she says maybe but she’s gonna save them and storms out.

Chloe goes to her mother and she advises her that sometimes a good thing can be done for a bad cause. Ella tells her that she should do whatever her heart told her was right or to save someone’s life. In Merlin’s office when Chloe and Red spot the book they’re attacked by swords and stone owls. They’re able to fight off the defenses and get the book. Chloe’s glass shoes are destroyed when she flings them at the owls. However, the villains are able to take it from them, but because the book should not fall "into the wrong hands," they are magically frozen, and Merlin discovers them and gives them detention.

*(They return to the time Uma was giving her speech, and the Queen of Hearts delivers the same lines she gave in the original timeline. Red is initially scared that nothing changed, but is relieved to see that her mom is wearing a lighter gown and creates a series of heart bubbles for the celebration)-a does a card trick-/

Rating: 8 I liked this one! With the previous ones I’d watched the movie first so I knew what to expect in the books. With this one I just went in. The cover stood out. The actresses portraying Chloe and Red were (are) pretty. I did have the movie on my Disney Plus watch list but oddly it kind of disappeared and it kind of went out of my head to watch it. So, even as I’m typing this I have the movie playing and from what I’ve already watched so far, I’m liking it. I’m enjoying the songs. I’m enjoying the *look* of Wonderland. I’m loving that Brandy was reprised in her role as Cinderella. I’m loving that unlike in Disney animated movies were we just got 1 black princess (Tianna), Uma is black, Cinderella is black, and Chloe is half black. And also in the live the Lil Mermaid was black. Disney really has been trying to diversify. I give them credit for that. I have to say that this one is probably my favorite Descendants book so far out of ALL of them (and there’s quite a lot of them). I am definitely recording this one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
9 reviews
January 15, 2025
Blue Vs Red- Daughter Change the Past

This is basically a recap of The Rise of Red through pictures.

It's short and simple than sitting through the whole movie.

It's a nice little book
7 reviews1 follower
June 1, 2025
I liked Descendants The Rise Of Red because it was surprising and it had a lot of twist and turns.I recommend this book to anyone who likes Descendants.I also recommend Zombies the movie or the books.I can’t wait to read the other books of Descendants or Zombies.I really liked the story.
1 review
August 20, 2025
I saw the movie Descendants The Rise of Red it was so good, and I enjoyed the movie and I like the songs and the characters and the choreography and the costume. It was fantastic and awesome good job with the movie.
Profile Image for Fausti.
78 reviews
January 31, 2025
yo todavía no entiendo como los escritores de esta peli no se dieron cuenta del TERRIBLE HUECO O HUECOS que dejaron.
36 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2025
Loved it. Was a great way to see the movie without watching the movie. Recommend it for anyone who doesn't have streaming services and for those who do
Profile Image for 32_infinity.
178 reviews
May 29, 2025
Fácil de leer, todo se puede resumir a que la hija de la reina roja y la hija de Cenicienta cambian el pasado.
Profile Image for erick.
11 reviews
August 15, 2024
A perfect complement to the movie, especially because it includes details of some things. Quick to read and very funny.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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