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Release Date: November 22, 2013
Pages: 302, Paperback
Goodreads Rating: 3.9 stars
My Rating: 3/5 stars
My Content Rating: PG (Nothing more than kissing)
Summary from Goodreads: My tale has been told again and again, and I’ve heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children…but the children wouldn’t have laughed if they’d known the real story. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know the truth. Nobody did.
My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.
My Name is Rapunzel is an interesting take on the original fairy tale. In this version, Rapunzel is cursed by a witch just as she is about to run off with her true love, Henry. The witch kills Henry and curses Rapunzel with immortality, forcing her to live with her loss forever. Rapunzel is trapped not just by the witch, but also by a dragon, who she sometimes fears and sometimes believes is protecting her. The story spans over 250 years of Rapunzel's life.
The negatives:
- Confusing timeline. One issue with this book is the fact that it's not told in order and some events are repeated. This can work when it's done well, but I just didn't think it was well-executed in this book. We start with a prologue that seems like a climactic point in the book, then we go 100 or so years in the past (back to the 1700's) and see the story of how Rapunzel ended up cursed and how her true love was taken from her. We see parts of her life up until her father dies and then we skip 200 years into the future (to present day). The event in the prologue is mentioned again, but barely - it's not nearly the climactic moment that I expected to be and it's really just glossed over later in the book. In the present day, Rapunzel decides to tell her story to a reporter via letters where she describes parts of her childhood and re-tells parts of the story that we've already heard (sometimes almost word for word!). We also hear some other very important events in her life that happened in the past 200 years, but (perhaps since they are all told via letter), they seem to lack emotional impact. These were some of the best scenes in the book, but I think the letter format just made them fall a little flat for me and I wasn't able to fully invest in the characters because of this. I wished that a bit more time had been spent on these important events in the middle of her life.
- Predictable twist. The main twist in this book was pretty predictable - I had it figured out very early on. There were a few other twists that I didn't see coming, though.
- Undeveloped characters. I just didn't feel like most of the characters in this book were particularly well-developed. We only get to see Henry for one scene before he disappears, so it's hard to understand why she pines for him for over 200 years. And most of the other characters are also just surface characters - the reporter who may or may not believe Rapunzel's story and who Rapunzel is alternately angry with and enamored with, the "best friend" who Rapunzel talks to now and then at the mail box, even the witch who lives with Rapunzel for her entire life - I never really felt like I got to know any of them, so it was hard to be invested in them.
What I enjoyed:
- The alternate fairy tale story. I enjoyed the concept of Rapunzel being a real girl who had lived for over 250 years and her story had been told (but twisted) over the years. The backstory between Rapunzel and the witch was interesting and made the story more unique. Seeing Rapunzel try to maneuver in a modern day world was fun and I also thought that the addition of the dragon to the story made it much more intriguing.
- The dragon. I think the dragon was my favorite part of this book. I loved figuring out his motivations and how he was tied to the witch and to Rapunzel's curse. I often actually felt very sorry for the dragon and liked him better than many of the human characters in the book!
- Twists. Like I said, I had the main twist in this book figured out, but there were a few other twists in the end that I did not see coming and that I enjoyed.
This book is a cute retelling, but there's nothing amazingly compelling about it. While I did like the fresh take on the fairy tale, I wish that I'd been able to connect to the characters a little more. Overall, I give it 3/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
ABOUT K.C. HILTON
Born and raised in Aurora, Illinois I spent my childhood climbing trees and playing street games with the neighborhood kids. I was a proud tomboy, until the day I didn’t want to hike the land to an old graveyard. From that point forward I was considered a “girl”.At the age of seventeen I moved to Kentucky and eventually began to raise a family of my own. Having worn several “hats” my life has been an adventure all on its own. Still, to this day, I yearns to be a mechanic and own a pink toolbox with pink tools.
I can usually be found updating my website, reading great books, watching awesome movies or creating videos for my YouTube channel. Most days I craves Diet Coke, pizza and chocolate, in no particular order.
I don’t read scary books or watch horror movies… I’m way too scared! Lol.
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