Rapunzel's Revenge Review

Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Author(s): Shannon Hale, Dean Hale

ISBN: 159990070X EAN: 9781599900704
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 144
Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Retail Price: ~~$18.99~~
Online Sale Price: $12.91
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Once upon a time, in a land you only think you know, lived a little girl and her mother . . . or the woman she thought was her mother.

Every day, when the little girl played in her pretty garden, she grew more curious about what lay on the other side of the garden wall . . . a rather enormous garden wall.

And every year, as she grew older, things seemed weirder and weirder, until the day she finally climbed to the top of the wall and looked over into the mines and desert beyond.

Newbery Honor-winning author Shannon Hale teams up with husband Dean Hale and brilliant artist Nathan Hale (no relation) to bring readers a swashbuckling and hilarious twist on the classic story as you’ve never seen it before. Watch as Rapunzel and her amazing hair team up with Jack (of beanstalk fame) to gallop around the wild and western landscape, changing lives, righting wrongs, and bringing joy to every soul they encounter.

User Submitted Rapunzel's Revenge Reviews

November 18, 2008
As clever as it is good-humored
Who knew Rapunzel had it in her? All those years spent locked away in that tower, waiting for some handsome young prince to come along and rescue her --- wait, she didn't need a man to get out of that predicament?

It turns out Rapunzel was actually a kick-butt heroine who had a feisty temperament and tenacity --- or at least that's how a trio of Hales have envisioned her. Shannon Hale, a Newbery Award-winning children's book author, has teamed up with her husband, Dean, to write RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE, which turns the original Brothers Grimm tale on its ear. They brought in the help of talented illustrator Nathan Hale (no relation) for help fleshing out the story.

RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE offers a thrilling reimagining of the fairy tale --- just look at the cover to see Rapunzel looking like she's straight out of the wild west. Inside, she's thrown into even more outrageous settings, all of which work somehow --- and it succeeds because of its unabashed spirit. The Hales seem like they're having a ball with this story, and they like to mix in generous helpings of other myths and legends to flesh out the action. (Also, a couple of other fairy tales find their way into the telling of RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE, but it would take an evil stepmother to give them away here.)

RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE sticks fairly close to the original at the beginning. Rapunzel is a young girl living with Mother Gothel, who rules over the land with an iron fist (and a little bit of witchcraft). They live in luxury (or boredom, to hear Rapunzel tell it), with Rapunzel having no idea what lies over the giant wall surrounding their castle. When she dares to spy over it one day, and finally meets her real mother living in poverty on the other side, she incurs the wrath of Mother Gothel and gets locked away in a small room at the top of a very tall tree.

When her hair begins to grow excessively long, Rapunzel formulates a plan. With a clever guile, she learns how to use her hair like a rope, rappelling out of the tree and into the wild forest around her. And here's where the adventure truly begins (as Rapunzel herself puts it in her narration, "This is where the `once upon a time' part ends."). And what an adventure it is. When Rapunzel meets up with a young scallywag named Jack, things really pick up. Both are on the run: Jack is a horse thief, and Gothel has put a price on Rapunzel's head. To make things worse, Gothel has locked up Rapunzel's birth mother, and Rapunzel is bound and determined to get back to the castle to rescue her mother and overthrow Gothel for good.

Luckily for readers, RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE is as clever as it is good-humored. The plot never rests for too long, keeping our two intrepid heroes constantly moving and always in some spot of trouble that takes all their wits to escape. Mining the depths of fairy tales provides a wealth of material, and giving this one a modern-day twist adds layers of personality to the mix. Believe it or not, this Rapunzel is so much more interesting to read about than what the Brothers Grimm offered.

--- Reviewed by John Hogan

November 18, 2008
rapunzel's revenge
This would be a great book if you knew that it's a comic book when you order it and you like that kind of thing. I don't think that my daughter would like it. Just so you know - it is like a comic book.

November 14, 2008
Buy two copies, one for a friend!
I'm a fan of Shannon Hale's novels, and I too was surprised that this is in a "comic book" format. Wow! The story is well-told, but my kudos go to the illustrator Nathan Hale. I had to read this twice in succession -- first to enjoy the plot, but the second time to look closely at every picture. The pictures make the text even more ironic and witty, and there are little themes in the pictures alone (watch the goose, for example). I feel silly sometimes for reading "kid's books", but this was so classy I plan to share with friends.

November 3, 2008
Hairy Fairy Tale
Reimaging is in the air: Batman is moved into a post-9/11 world, and Robert Downey Jr. is playing Sherlock Holmes without the deerstalker and pipe. Even the witches in Oz have gotten a makeover.

Now it's happened to Rapunzel, the princess locked in the tower left with nothing to do but condition her hair and wait for her prince. At the hands of Shannon and Dean Hale in this 144-page full-color graphic novel, she's a spunky Wild West heroine who climbs down from her tower and, armed only with her braids -- which she uses as bullwhips -- sets off to rescue her mother and avenge herself on the witch who rules the land.

Along the way, she hooks up with Jack, a thief with a goose, and bounces from trouble to trouble: posses, the rocky desert landscape, evil magic, dwarves, and a hulk sent by the witch to recapture her.

"Rapunzel's Revenge" is part Western tall tale, part parody on the traditional fairy tale, and a delightful mix of adventure and humor that's perfect for girls. But before you give it to the daughter in your life, read it first.

October 31, 2008
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Once upon a time, in a land very far away, there lived a girl with her mother. Every day as the girl grew and played, she also became more and more curious about the world outside. One day she finally climbed up her wall and discovered that she really knew nothing at all.

And that was when she decided to do something about it.

Think you know Rapunzel? You've never heard it like this!

With a feisty heroine who uses her ridiculously long hair as a weapon and a sidekick who travels with a goose that just might lay a golden egg, RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE takes the traditional tale of Rapunzel and turns it on its head.

Shannon and Dean Hale create a thoroughly entertaining world in which Rapunzel takes claims her life as her own. Follow along as she embarks on a swashbuckling quest to save the world from the evil witch who has held her captive in a move that sets the bar for adventurous heroines everywhere.

Be forewarned: RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE is not for everyone. It is a graphic novel, and while the illustrations are gorgeous and highly amusing, some readers may not be drawn in by the format. However, for those who love graphic novels, fairy tales, and awesome heroines, this story may be just the thing.

Happy reading.

Reviewed by: Rebecca Wells

October 26, 2008
Rapunzel's Revenge looks like a kids book, but not too great for kids
I didn't read this book to the end. I bought it for my grandchildren and could see that it was more of an adult book, even thought it's written in a "comic book" format. Lots of sarcasm, which is lost on kids.

September 23, 2008
Loved it!
Excellent read for any age. It feels real and is funny as heck with beautiful, fresh illustrations. Totally appropriate in every way as well. I read it to my 8 and 5 year old brothers and had the entire family listening in. I recommend it to anyone who loves stories.

September 18, 2008
A Western Fairy Tale
This is a graphic novel in the truest sense of the word, a done-in-one novel length comic book. It's intended for, and marketed to, the middle reader set (ages 9 to 12), but it's just as suitable for young adults and adults alike.

Rapunzel's Revenge takes place in a fairy-tale-version of the American west, in which standard fairy tale tropes are recast in western idioms. The main character is Rapunzel, a young girl raised in a well-guarded villa by a woman she thinks is her mother. When Rapunzel learns that the woman is in fact an evil sorceress who rules the land with an iron fist, she tries to escape, only to end up imprisoned in a high tower, her hair cursed to grow endlessly. But rather than waiting for any handsome prince to come along and rescue her, Rapunzel simply braids her hair into two long rope-like braids, frees herself, and then using her braids as lariats and whips sets out to end the sorceress's rule once and for all. She meets up with a young ne'er-do-well named Jack, who is down on his luck until his pet goose finally lays an egg, and together they travel across the deserts and forests, having adventures. Highly recommended.

September 9, 2008
A fun change...
I loved this book!! Being mother of 4 and loving the Young Adult books that Hale so beautifully writes, I was just excited for her next book. Then I got it in the mail and saw that it was a comic book! I was so surprised, but very happy. I sat down and started reading with my 8 year old daughter and my 6 year old son. They LOVED IT! I would find them reading it in their rooms when they were supposed to be doing chores, sneaking it outside, and hiding in our 'library' with it in their laps and noses burried deep. How can you say 'no' to a clean, witty, action/adventure that keeps the kids' attention? A must for family readers!

September 2, 2008
A great book by a great author
Rapunzel's Revenge is a great book by a great author.

Shannon Hale retells the classic tale of Rapunzel with a little bit of a Mother Goose (Gothel?) tie-in in a wonderfully comic-book style illustrated book.

Hale is funny and thoughtful in creating this new version of Rapunzel, a heroine who realizes that the woman who has been raising her is NOT her mother and that her real mother has been slaving away in Mother Gothel's mines. When Rapunzel rebels, Mother Gothel places her in a towering tree room. Mother Gothel posesses growth magic and so the tree is able to provide everything Rapunzel needs to survive for several years.

Finally on Rapunzel's 16th birthday (after her hair has grown to ridiculous lengths, like everything else in the Forest) Rapunzel rebels for the last time and Mother Gothel commands the tree to stop providing food and shelter. Rapunzel uses her hair to swing to safety and the real adventure starts from there.

Rapunzel immediately meets several characters and makes a friend of Jack, a briefly cross-dressing, goose-toting man with some fairly loose morals when it comes to stealing. Rapunzel and Jack save each other from some seedy characters before heading out of town on stolen horses.

Rapunzel (or Punzie as Jack sometimes calls her) is determined to save her mother from Mother Gothel's mines. With the help of Jack (and a little bit of magic) Rapunzel is able to get into the party Mother Gothel is hosting and save her mother and all the inhabitants that Mother Gothel had oppressed.

The book is a charming retelling of the fairy tale and the illustrations are terrific. Hale is able to use the illustrations to tell a fuller story. My favorite instance of this is when Rapunzel is escaping from her tree tower and the words say that she manages to gracefully escape but the pictures show her falling into the water around the base of the tree. In this way Hale is able to make the heroine both strong and funny. She's not perfect but learning and growing (without the help of Mother Gothel's magic).

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