This book is a retelling of Rapunzel. I’ll keep this short. I didn’t particularly like it. It wasn’t badly written or anything, but I think I’ve just decided I don’t really like fairy tale retellings. I recently tried to start A Curse As Dark As Gold (retelling of Rumpelstiltskin) and just couldn’t get into it, and I’ve never been able to get into any of the Cinderella/Snow White/etc retellings either. I just like fairy tales in their original, I suppose. I don’t mind retellings in movies (like in Ever After) but I don’t really like them in book form.

It doesn’t help that I was sick when I read this book. I’m sure that made it even more distasteful for me. It lodged in my brain and then I dreamt about it all night long, obsessively. I never do well with books/songs/movies/etc that do that. But even without the sickness and weird obsessing, I doubt I would have liked this book much. It’s just not my type of book. Rapunzel was never my favorite fairy tale to begin with, and part of this retelling just didn’t make any sense. For example, it’s never explained why Mother thinks it’s necessary for Zel to grow her braids out. Don’t take my word for it though. Many people like this book. It just didn’t work for me.