Genie in a Bottle

Whatever After #9

by Sarah Mlynowski

The next installment of this New York Times bestselling series takes Abby and Jonah into the story of Aladdin!

Be careful what you wish for...When my brother, Jonah, and I travel through our mirror into the story of Aladdin, we're excited. There will be magic lamps and genies granting wishes. Right? Wrong. The genie we meet isn't QUITE as helpful as we expected. And if Aladdin's wishes don't come true, he won't get to marry the princess and live happily ever after!

Now we have to:
- Escape an enchanted cave
- Find forty buckets of jewels
- Plan a parade
- Learn to fly a magic carpet

Otherwise we'll run out of wishes... and never get home!

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fairy Tales, Audiobook, Childrens, Retellings, Fiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published April 26, 2016

About the author

Sarah was born in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from McGill University, she moved to Toronto to work for Harlequin Enterprises. While she never met Fabio, she used her romance publishing experiences to fuel her first novel Milkrun.

Since then, Sarah has written four additional novels for adults: Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, and Me vs. Me; the New York Times bestselling middle grade series Whatever After; the middle grade series Upside-Down Magic (with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins); and the teen novels Bras & Broomsticks, Frogs & French Kisses, Spells & Sleeping Bags, and Parties & Potions (all in the Magic in Manhattan series), as well as Gimme a Call, Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have), Don't Even Think About It, Think Twice, and I See London, I See France. Along with Lauren Myracle and E. Lockhart, Sarah also wrote How to Be Bad, and along with Farrin Jacobs, she wrote See Jane Write, a guide to writing. Sarah also co-edited two bestselling charity collections (Girls' Night In and Girls' Night Out), and has contributed to various anthologies (American Girls About Town, Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday, 21 Proms, First Kiss (Then Tell), Fireworks, and Vacations from Hell).

Sarah is also a co-founder of OMG BookFest, a celebration of books aimed at the early to middle grade reader (ages 7-12) that brings together commercial and award-winning authors with underserved local communities for an exciting experience of books, games and activities.

Sarah's books have been translated into twenty-nine languages and optioned to Hollywood. She now lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

You won't succeed if you don't try.

What a great message to learn from the retelling of Aladdin. Abby and Jonah find themselves in the tale of Aladdin with little dog Prince tagging along. As is her practice, Abby takes time to give Jonah the facts on the fairy tale as originally told and the many variations. (By the way, Disney has taken some liberties with their adaptations.)

Once they know how the story is supposed to go, they do their best to help it along. They find out that making wishes is harder than it looks. And when they find themselves working with a young and inexperienced genie, some pretty funny situations develop. Through it all, they are patient and supportive of each other and work as a team.

The lessons learned behind the magic mirror are also helpful back home. I love the little reminders Abby sees in the pictures on her music box to remind her of the stories they have been in so far.

[Kami · Rating 3 out of 5]

- This book wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. I liked it, but it is one of those books that sits right in the middle of a rating scale. It is enjoyable, but I think I'm getting burnt out on this series.

- I really liked the twist on genie in this book. It was fun to see the genie learn new tricks, and she had a fun personality.

- Aladdin seemed really young. I felt like he wasn't much older than Abbey.

- The story was a fun play on the original story. I never know how things will change in these stories, but I'm always pleased.

- I'm still curious about Maryrose and what happened to her. Will I ever get to find out? Does this series end?

[Rodney · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read the first eleven books in this series, and I highly recommend them (if you have a little one who's amenable to princess stuff).

This one is definitely in my top three for the series. The twists and turns are pretty great. My 6 yr old & I had a lot of fun reading this one together.

[Cullen P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whatever After Genie In A Bottle This book is about a girl named Abby and a boy named Jonah. They go through their magic mirror this time because, Abby wants to free Maryrose from their mirror. Maryrose is the fairy trapped in their mirror and was cursed to be stuck in there. So they land into the story of Aladdin. So Abby tells Jonah the real story of Aladdin, and Jonah is very disappointed because, he wants to ride on magic carpets. When Abby and Jonah first get in the story they land where Aladdin's friends are. Most of the kids don't have homes. Aladdin has a home, but is very poor. In the real story the evil magician asks Aladdin if he would get the lamp from the cave. Aladdin says yes and goes to get the lamp. So when Abby lands the kids are playing duckball. Jonah really wants to join so Abby lets him. Abby also joins and Aladdin asks her if she will try to hit him. Aladdin says he is very fast so she won't get him. Abby throws the ball and hits him right on the nose. His noses starts bleeding and he goes home. While Abby and Jonah wait they spot the evil magician. Abby decides that instead of letting Aladdin do the job, she will do the job, with her brother. So the evil magician allows them to do it. He takes them there and says to bring the lamp back up. But to not touch anything, OR ELSE. But before Abby Jonah and prince(their dog from another series) go Abby remembers that threw evil magician gave the ring to Aladdin. So Abby asks the evil magician and he says she can't have it. So Abby just goes down anyway. When Abby and Jonah are down there, Abby gets burned from a hanging star. Soon Abby and Jonah find the lamp and open the genie. The genie comes out and is kinda mean to them. Abby accidentally asks to set him free and gets mad. She goes to the evil magician and gives him the lamp and he gives her the ring. The evil magician realizes that the genie is not in the lamp. So he shuts them in the cave. Abby gets the ring and remembers that there is a genie in it. She gets the genie out and this time it's a girl. She asks the girl to take her to Aladdin's house, but she isn't strong enough to do that yet. So they wish for a magic carpet and ride to Aladdin's house. When they get to Aladdin's house they meet his mom Nada. They ask if he wants to marry the princess. He says yes. So they wish for flowers and accidentally fly straight into the princess's waiting room. The princess is surprised and Aladdin and her fall in love. He asks to marry her and she says yes. But she has to ask her dad first. So they meet her dad the next day. He says you have to bring me 40 buckets of gems and 80 marchers. So the next they wish and when he gives the gems to the king, they turn into fruit. The evil magician got the ring. He then wished that the palace moved. The genie felt very bad. But Abby and Jonah went to the castle, got the ring and moved the castle back. But Abby somehow has to get home in time without getting caught. I like the part when Abby, Jonah and Prince meet the girl genie. I didn't like the part where the evil magician turned the gems into fruit. The book made me feel happy. I think people that like mystery and romance will like this book. I think this book is like the series they have. I hope you decide to read this book.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifteenth time I have read a book in this series. I have been reading these stories with my girls for over 6 years now. I read a few of these stories with my oldest starting in 2016. Now my youngest is reading them to me, and her sister handed down the first several stories in the series. And we have added the rest to have the complete series, at least what is available to date. My youngest insists we review everything that we read together, so this review from 2022 is part of that effort. And my youngest had been writing her own reviews of the books she has finished for the last year and is planning on starting her own book blog. Between reading with my oldest and youngest this is the seventeenth time I have read a book in this series. The stories have great staying power. Even as an adult I can enjoy these books, not only the first time but rereading them again and again.

Mlynowski always does a wonderful job with the story in this book, and all we have read in the series so far. My oldest was a reluctant reader. Back then when we read, I would read two pages for every page she read to me. The whole family loves these stories from 8-years old to 80 years old. It is a fantastic series. The stories are fun and entertaining, but also have some valuable lessons and insight.

My youngest daughter and I both give this story a solid 5/5 stars, she says this is her second favourite to date. She was also surprised by what happened at the end with the surprise last wish by Abby and Jonah’s gifting. This story had a lot of twists and turns that she had not guessed and took her completely by surprise. She was totally taken by what happened at the end, especially with Karimah and the street children. She loved the surprise around what happened to Abby’s jewellery box once the story was resolved, yet again this time.

The description of this story is:

“Be careful what you wish for...When my brother, Jonah, and I travel through our mirror into the story of Aladdin, we're excited. There will be magic lamps and genies granting wishes. Right? Wrong. The genie we meet isn't QUITE as helpful as we expected. And if Aladdin's wishes don't come true, he won't get to marry the princess and live happily ever after! Now we have to:- Escape an enchanted cave- Find forty buckets of jewels- Plan a parade- Learn to fly a magic carpet. Otherwise we'll run out of wishes... and never get home!

I enjoyed Abby’s growth in this story, she is continuing to grow and mature. She is also becoming better at troubleshooting issues and problems during their adventures. I was surprised by some of the twists in this one. It is one of the best in the series.

We always enjoy Mlynowski’s twists and takes on old tales. Another great take on a familiar tale. The writing in these stories is excellent. My daughters and I love reading them together. And the retelling of this story surprised both of us at several different points and I am certain it will surprise you. It is a great book in an excellent series.

[Carly S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was a great book! I think this because I never wanted to put the book down! This book is about a girl named Abby and her brother Jonah who have a magic mirror in their basement! They realized that they were in the fairy tale Aladdin, after they messed up their story! First, Abby gave Aladdin a bloody nose. Second, Abby let the genie escape. And now they don't know how to get Aladdin to marry the princess, save Maryrose (the girl who lives inside their magic mirror) and get home! Will they be able to save Maryrose, or get home before it's too late? Read the book and you'll find out!

[Angelica Donato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book.The whatever after series is my favorite series,so I was super excited to start reading this.I read the audio version of this book.I personally think that you have to like fairytales to like this book series.I definitely think this is a fast read especially because it's super good and interesting.I didn't really say much about this book because I don't have anything to say but that this is an amazing book.I recommend this book to fantasy-lovers!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still cute and fun like the other ones but I didn't like it as much probably because I really love disney's Aladdin and I don't think anything can top it. I felt myself getting kinda bored halfway through cause the series is getting a bit repetitive, but maybe I'm just being too harsh on a kid's series.

[Lori Galaske · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book at the insistence of my 9 year old grand daughter. She loves this series, and I can see why. However, I would definitely read this book and NOT LISTEN TO IT! The reader adopts a valley girl-ish accent as she reads, which is like, so, totally annoying!

[zane deann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still cute. But for me it was just okay.

[Sting Key · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book! I read it in one sitting, and couldn't stop!
I would recommend if you like a quick and exciting read, that has lots of magic, and fun!

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a Squirrel in this book.
I LOVE SQUIRRELS!
And even, This book is amazing!

[Rebecca Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abby is still trying to think of ways to help Maryrose. She is competing in a read-a-thon at her school in hopes that, if she is the winner, she will be able to request that her school library stock some books that will help her to break Maryrose's curse.

However, it does not look like Abby is going to win. So, instead, Abby decides to go through the mirror on an adventure to see if she can free Maryrose. At first, Abby and Jonah feel like they've hit the jackpot. They're in the story of Aladdin. Surely, they can just wish for the genie of the lamp to free Maryrose and all would be better.

As usual, they mess up Aladdin's story. They mess up dealing with the genie of the lamp. They end up with an inexperienced ring genie named Karimah, and hilarity and fun ensue. Eventually, the story ends well in the fairy tale land, and when Abby and Jonah come back to their home, Abby finds that one of her friends has won the read-a-thon and is allowing her to help choose the books that she asks the library to order.

As usual, these books are very formulaic and simple. Yet, I read this one with my children, and they wanted to give this book five stars because the genie is funny, and all the things that go wrong and truly amusing. I also admit that I enjoyed the book, although I would like to see some further resolution of Maryrose's story because this book provided very little information on Maryrose, and I thought we had gotten to a place (ten books into the series) where we were deeper into a "real" story. Oh well. Maybe in the next book.

[Abbas Yazdanpanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

این کتاب رو هم دوست داشتم

مهمترین چیزی که توی این داستان دوست داشتم تعارض ایبی با کامل نبودن بود. یعنی از اول داستان همه چیز به نظر میرسید که درست پیش میره ولی کلا بخاطر همین کامل نبودن داستان تغییر میکنه. اینکه به بچه‌ها یاد میده چطور با این ماجرا کنار بیان جالب بود.

نکته بعدی انه که داستان با کارتن علاالدین کاملا متفاوته

[Jayla Patrick]

The book, "Whatever After, Genie in a Bottle" by Sarah Mlylowski is about two kids a girl and a boy that go into a fairly tail of Aladdin. They use a magic genie ring that helps Aladdin get married to the princess. They went through many obstacles to make the king let Aladdin marry his daughter but it was all worth it.
What I liked about this book is that it was very intense and they would be so close to doing what they wanted to do to help Aladdin and then something else bad happened. It got me at the edge of my seat but it was a really good book.
I would recommend this book to people that love fairy tails and love the excitement. I would recommend these books to girls because boys might not be interested in princess fairytales.

[Jill Jemmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

There has been a renewed interest in the story of Aladdin since the live-action remake of the Disney movie came out, so it is the perfect time to read this story.

I love that there have been some fairytales featured in this story that have boys as the main characters. Many fairytales are geared towards girls because they are about little girls or princesses. There are some stories, like Aladdin, which are about boys.

I couldn’t figure out how this one would end while I was reading it. Abby and Jonah messed up the fairytale so many times, and I couldn’t guess how they would fix it this time. As always, it worked out in the end.

I loved this story! The next one is about Hansel and Gretel, and I’m excited to read it!

[Madeline Malfoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this as an adult (after reading the series as a child) is kinda fun. I started remembering cute things like how Jonah always thinks it’s Jack & the Beanstalk or Abby’s jewelry box always changes after the story. I know I’m too old when I take my criticism too literal: the modern references like granola bars in ancient times, how Jonah probably could have had his fill of 3 wishes per day since the evil magician swooped the ring and the wishes reset, or how the freed genie had magic so the wish limit could have been avoided)
Would 9-year-old me ask those questions??

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

157 pages. Another book in the series of Abby and brother Jonah who go back through the magic mirror to the world of Aladdin to help Maryrose get free from her curse. They encounter an evil magician and once again find many ways to mess up the story by their unfortunate mistakes. The plot was pretty good in this one and I liked how they managed to solve things later. Highly recommended for Grades 3-5.

[Tam Tam · Rating 2 out of 5]

PSA: Clean read for kids.

I love reading kids books, but this one was ridiculous.

Spoiler alerts-"Jasmine" and Aladdin fall in love way too quickly. In about an hour or so and want to get married. I'm like whoa nu uh. And my child read this one before me. Yeah I know it's just a silly book, but all they did was clean up flowers together, giggle, and stare at each others eyes and bam, they're getting married. LOL. LOLOLOLOL.

[Dania · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great book. This is the only book that the two fairy tale MCs fall in love at first sight.
And the princess's name is Badr-ul-Badur? What a mouthful!!
And a read-a-thon? Yes please! Me and Frankie need to be friends, the girl read 21 books!!! I als love the fact that these books are based after the original fairy tales, not the Disney ones we've grown up with.

[Rachel E. Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a little more than the previous book. This time, Abby and Jonah get into the tale of Aladdin. One of things I like most about these books is how they get into the original tales, not the Disney versions. Even though it was weird that Aladdin and the princess fell in love at like 12. But I loved the girl genie. She was awesome. Another cute tale.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. my name is Abigail so the fact that the girl's name is abbey and she's ten like me. I love her! And they travel into fairy tales,which I love. And she has a little brother who's 7 like me. I just absolutely love this series. And the awesome thing about these books, is that you don't have to read them in order.

[Kalayla Seehafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Mlynowski has done it again for hte ninth time in the Whatever After series. She pulls you into the story making you want to never turn away. Hey, got it the 11 and finished it the next morning! This I think was one of my favorties(first is Rapunzel). It was funny and had lots of fun twists!

[Hailey Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very adventurous and beautifully done like all of Mylnowski's books! Can't wait to read her next book!

[Madeleine Dominguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was awesome! I loved all the details!

[Amer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome!!!!

A very interesting series that you just CAN'T put down once you've started!!!!!!!
Recommended for girls age 8-12 (tweens)
Amazingggggg

[Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really exciting and good

[Myrtle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good but I don't get why Abby doesn't go to the town library if she wants books so much, but overall a good book

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the WHATEVER AFTER SERIES, brother and sister Abby and Jonah have a magical mirror in their basement. The fairy Maryrose was cursed and forced to live within it. With Maryrose's power, Abby and Jonah enter the fairytales we've all come to love to see if they can break Maryrose's curse.

In GENIE IN A BOTTLE, Jonah and Abby enter the world of Agrabah and into the story of Aladdin and Jasmine. What better place to try and free Maryrose than somewhere with genies? Except as usual, everything goes wrong and they wind up stuck with a rookie genie. Jonah and Abby need to fix the story or else Jasmine and Aladdin won't even meet.

I really liked that the author stays true to the original story of Aladdin instead of the Disney movie version. I also really love how it ended and it makes me want to read more from this author. This is perfect for young fans of fairytales.


Final Verdict: This was a very fun and entertaining read that puts a new twist on the fairytales we all know. I recommend this to fans of fairytales and fantasy.

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really loved this one. The story starts off which a book challenge! One of my favorite things, but Penny is being obnoxious about it, so Abby can't request the books she was hoping to add to the library.
Of course, she and Jonah get pulled into another story, so Abby and Jonah try to help Marie Rose by using a genie! This, among other things, ruins Aladdin's part of the story. But for once, Jonah and Abby are so thoughtful towards both each other and others so in the end it all leads to good things and a magical adventure 😍 And super cute romance between Aladdin and his princess hehe
I also learned a little bit about the original story which was fun. I really should read the originals one day haha