Be Prepared

Nala has to work with the one lion she has every reason to distrust. In this retelling of The Lion King, she and Scar are forced into an uneasy alliance and sent on a secret mission across the Pride Lands. Pride Rock is what they are trying to save.

The book is the twentieth in Disney's A Twisted Tale series, and Farrah Rochon builds it on the series' usual what-if premise. A single change of choice at a key point in the film sends events down a different path.

With more room than the film's running time allowed, the novel looks closely at what drives Scar and how resourceful Nala is. Two characters who normally stand on opposite sides of the story have to travel together and depend on each other.

Readers who know the film's beats will recognise the starting point and then watch it veer away. The question underneath the mission is what loyalty and family mean when the usual hero and villain share the same goal.