Rapunzel’s Revenge

By Shannon and Dean Hale

Hale, Shannon and Dean. 2008 Rapunzel’s Revenge. NY, NY: Bloomsbury U.S.A.. ISBN: 978-1-59990-070-4

SUMMARY: Rapunzel was growing up living in a beautiful garden with her mother, Gothel, or so she thought. One day Rapunzel is brought outside the garden and meets a woman at the well.  They discover that the woman is actually Rapunzel’s birth mother.  Rapunzel goes back to the garden and confronts Gothel who banishes her to the tower tree.

Rapunzel eventually escapes and meets a man, Jack, who helps her get back to defeat Gothel and save her mother.  They have many adventures along the way but they finally do make it back to defeat Gothel and save Rapunzel’s mother.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

Rapunzel is a young girl who finds out she has been betrayed and lied to.  She interacts in the way a normal child would under those circumstances.  She contronts her mother and gives her attitude like most teenagers would.  Her story is believable as is her position in the story.  Gothel is like any other wicked step mother, trying to control her step daughter.  She is mean and manipulative.  The plot keeps the reader interested.  It is fast moving and consistent with the rest of the story.  Rapunzel finds herself on the other side the law and that compels her to learn to fight.  She becomes stronger after each incident and when she finally returns to the garden she is able to defeat Gothel. The theme of the story is good verse evil and it shows good prevailing over evil.  Each character has their own unique voice in the story.  The vocabulary changes slightly for each of the characters.  This work also includes images on every page to show the reader what is going on.  The reader is able to gain insight from the images and get a clear view of what is happening. 

CONNECTIONS:

*This story is a twisted version of a fairy tale.  Each student could take their        favorite fairy tale and create their own twisted version. 

*Compare this story to the original Rapunzel. What are the differences in her character, the setting, the plot, and theme? What are the similarities?

REVIEW:

Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers. Grades 5-8. --Tina Coleman

~Booklist