LS 5623 Advanced Literature for Young Adults

Hale, Shannon and Dean. 2008. Rapunzel's Revenge. Bloomsbury: New York. Illustrated by Dean Hale.
ISBN: 9781599900704

Rapunzel lives a quiet life behind the walls of the castle with her mother, Gothel. One day, bored of everything and dying with curiosity to know what is behind the wall, she disobeys her mother and finds a way over the wall. What she finds is a barren land and a line of dingy people waiting to get water from a well. One of the people, a woman, looks familiar. Rapunzel realizes that this woman is her real mother and that Gothel had taken her from her real family. When Gothel finds out she's discovered all this, she has Rapunzel placed in a large tree tower with no way down, located miles and miles from the castle. There she stayed for four years until one day her hair has grown long enough for her to lasso a neighboring tree to swing herself over. She journeys back to the castle, meeting Jack and his golden goose and other wronged citizens of the land on her way. Then, as all fairy tales must end, she defeats Gothel and liberates the whole kingdom.

An interesting take on the Rapunzel tale, this version features a wild west quality about it; with Rapunzel wearing a cowgirl outfit and using her hair as lassos. Even the dialect of the story carries that western twang. Perhaps the most interesting twist in the story itself is that Rapunzel, instead of waiting around to be rescued, gets herself out of the tree, and even passes a pseudo Prince Charming on his way to rescue/take advantage of her.

As a graphic novel, the colors are vibrant and the drawings are excellently suited to the story. Nathan Hale does an especially good job of bringing the landscapes to life. The arrangement of the panels remains dynamic enough not to bore the reader while also remaining easy to determine the direction to follow to continue the story.

Rife with humor, adventure, and a little romance, this book is recommended for readers 6th grade and up. Also recommended for those who like altered fairy tales, especially ones where the helpless maiden is transformed into a butt-kicking heroine.


Image taken from: http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/h1/h8093.jpg