Golden: A Retelling of Rapunzel (Once Upon a Time Series)
"Once upon a Time"\ Is Timeless\ Before Rapunzel's birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress Melisande: If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future.\ After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue,...
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Before Rapunzel's birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress Melisande: If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future. After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue, who was cursed by a wizard years ago and needs Rapunzel's help. Rue and Rapunzel have precisely "two nights and the day that falls between" to break the enchantment. But bitterness and envy come between the girls, and if they fail to work together, Rue will remain cursed...forever. Rachel L. Wadham - VOYADokey adds to her Once Upon a Time series-Beauty Sleep (Simon Pulse/S & S, 2002/VOYA February 2002),The Storyteller's Daughter (2002/Paperback Update, VOYA April 2003), and Sunlight and Shadow (2004/VOYA December 2004)-another nontraditional fairy-tale retelling. In an ironic twist, Rapunzel is born without hair and is rejected by her mother. After she is taken in by the sorceress Melisande, time passes peacefully until one day Rapunzel finds that Melisande has a daughter, Rue, who has been cursed to live alone in a tower. Rue can be freed if she learns how to love, and it falls upon Rapunzel to help her. In the end, both girls find the love they seek, and Rue takes Rapunzel's name so that long golden hair will always be associated with it. By manipulating a traditional story, Dokey provides an appealing modern fairy tale. The distinctive twist brings some fresh, new insights by delving deeply into the inner thoughts and feelings of the well-drawn characters. Rapunzel will resonate with teenage girls as she struggles to find her place in both the heart of Melisande and the boy she loves. Although the story builds very slowly to the rushed ending, everything wraps up in a satisfying, happily-ever-after finale. Just the right amount of romance and adventure will make this novel appeal widely, and librarians should find it a good addition to their collections. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2006, Simon Pulse/S & S, 256p., pb. Ages 11 to 15.
\ Children's LiteratureThere is a reason for fairy tales: They are timeless, which means, among other things, that they are always readable. They are ageless, which means that readers of any age can enjoy them. Retellings and reinterpretations can be absolute page-turners if they are done well. This is one of those books that is a delight to read. First of all, the premise is fascinating. Rapunzel, she of the golden hair, actually has no hair at all. Her mother, who had expected a beautiful baby who looked just like her, refused to hold her, and happily turned her over to the witch next-door. The witch, Melisande, was not exactly a witch. She was an old-fashioned, "wise woman" who raised the child as well as she could for thirteen years. Now things begin to happen. First, a tinker shows up at their door with his apprentice. Rapunzel expects Melisande to throw them out, but instead she feeds them and offers them a place to stay. Times are changing, though, and soon the tinker tells them that the villagers are going to make them all leave. In a scene that reads remarkably like a pogrom, the fleeing "outcasts" find things out about each other and themselves. Melisande had a reason for taking in Rapunzel. She'd had a daughter of her own, Rue, who had been taken away by a wizard and kept in a tower—does this begin to sound familiar? Rapunzel is going to be instrumental in freeing the unfortunate Rue, if she can get over her jealousy. Rue is jealous, too—how could her mother take in another girl, is this girl replacing her? Now another point of contention appears—there is a prince who is searching for the girl held in the tower. Highly recommended. 2006, Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster, Ages 10 to 15.\ —Judy Silverman\ \ \ \ \ VOYADokey adds to her Once Upon a Time series-Beauty Sleep (Simon Pulse/S & S, 2002/VOYA February 2002),The Storyteller's Daughter (2002/Paperback Update, VOYA April 2003), and Sunlight and Shadow (2004/VOYA December 2004)-another nontraditional fairy-tale retelling. In an ironic twist, Rapunzel is born without hair and is rejected by her mother. After she is taken in by the sorceress Melisande, time passes peacefully until one day Rapunzel finds that Melisande has a daughter, Rue, who has been cursed to live alone in a tower. Rue can be freed if she learns how to love, and it falls upon Rapunzel to help her. In the end, both girls find the love they seek, and Rue takes Rapunzel's name so that long golden hair will always be associated with it. By manipulating a traditional story, Dokey provides an appealing modern fairy tale. The distinctive twist brings some fresh, new insights by delving deeply into the inner thoughts and feelings of the well-drawn characters. Rapunzel will resonate with teenage girls as she struggles to find her place in both the heart of Melisande and the boy she loves. Although the story builds very slowly to the rushed ending, everything wraps up in a satisfying, happily-ever-after finale. Just the right amount of romance and adventure will make this novel appeal widely, and librarians should find it a good addition to their collections. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2006, Simon Pulse/S & S, 256p., pb. Ages 11 to 15. \ —Rachel L. Wadham\ \ \ School Library JournalGr 6-10-This inventive reworking of a fairy tale explores issues of identity, self-perception, and true love. The story features two beautiful young women. The first, Rapunzel, is shunned by her vain mother at birth because she is odd looking (completely bald). Melisande, a sorceress, takes the infant as repayment for a theft from her garden, and raises and loves her as if she were her own daughter. The other beauty is Rue, the sorceress's real daughter, imprisoned for years in a magic tower by a wizard who once sensed thoughtlessness in Melisande and decided to teach her a hard lesson. As Rapunzel matures, her increasing ability to see into people's hearts allows her to discern the other girl's presence in Melisande's heart. When growing unrest results in suspicion directed toward the sorceress, she and Rapunzel, now 16, must flee from their farm, accompanied by a tinker and his boy, an orphan named Harry. Melisande takes them to the tower where she hopes Rapunzel will figure out how to save Rue, and the result is a happily-ever-after ending for all. Strong characters, a clever plot, some interesting moral dilemmas to ponder, and a touch of romance make this version of the fairy tale worth a second look.-Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.\ \
