Book Review -- Rapunzel's Revenge (Module 6)

Graphic Novel

1. Bibliography

Hale, Shannon and Dean Hale. RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008. ISBN 159990070X.

2. Plot Summary

In Shannon and Dean Hale’s Old West meets Graphic Novel version of Rapunzel’s Revenge, Rapunzel realizes as a teen that the woman she has believed to be her mother is actually not her mother, and that this woman is capable of diabolical acts. Rapunzel discovers the identity of her true mother as well as the wickedness enacted upon her by her imposter mother, the politically powerful and money-grubbing “Mother Gothel.” Her reaction to this knowledge leads to her placement in a tower by the enraged Mother Gothel. Reuniting with her real mother and avenging Mother Gothel become her two missions in life. In order to fulfill these quests, Rapunzel must escape from a high tower with the use of her long, roped hair put to use as a ladder, which she continues to use as a tool to survive many of her adventures along the way, such as a rope or a whip. She soon allies herself with a fumbling sidekick, Jack, and together they face danger after danger on their way back to avenge Mother Gothel and set innocent people free from her power.


3. Critical Analysis

The medieval context of Rapunzel transported into the Old West is an adjustment readers must make to enjoy this novel. Those disparate settings do not easily merge. Readers expecting gentle, sophisticated language typical of fairy tales will find a Rapunzel who makes such observations as “It was half a day’s ride to the ranch house, and I was hungry enough to eat a horse…and chase the rider with a fork.” The characters are fun, but it is difficult to sustain belief in the characterizations and story line. The witch of traditional Rapunzel stories is replaced with a crazed, power-and-money-hungry middle-aged woman who happens to have a specific magical talent. Most people Rapunzel and Jack encounter are hostile and suspicious, and this can be a bit wearing and predictable. This story is told as one adventure after another, in which Rapunzel usually saves the day. It also employs a budding romance between Rapunzel and her sidekick, Jack, and is therefore possibly more likely to appeal to female readers. Although enacted in a fairly incredible and unlikely style, there are scenes, hints, and references to violent behavior.

4. Review Excerpt(s)

Booklist Review:

“This graphic novel retelling of the fairy-tale classic, set in a swashbuckling Wild West, puts action first and features some serious girl power in its spunky and strong heroine. Young Rapunzel lives a lonely life, never knowing what lies beyond the high garden walls of her mother’s royal villa until one day she climbs the wall to see what’s on the other side. When she finds that the world outside is a dark place oppressed by her mother’s greed for power and uncovers the real secret of her own birth, she is imprisoned in a magic tree tower…Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers.”

Publisher’s Weekly review:

“The popular author of Princess Academy teams with her husband and illustrator Hale (no relation) for a muscular retelling of the famously long-haired heroine's story, set in a fairy-tale version of the Wild West. The Hales' Rapunzel, the narrator, lives like royalty with witchy Mother Gothel, but defies orders, scaling villa walls to see what's outside—a shocking wasteland of earth-scarring mines and smoke-billowing towers. She recognizes a mine worker from a recurrent dream: it's her birth mother, from whom she was taken as punishment for her father's theft from Mother G.'s garden. Their brief reunion sets the plot in motion...With its can-do heroine, witty dialogue and romantic ending, this graphic novel has something for nearly everybody.”

5. Connections

This graphic novel could be used for a creative writing exercise, in which a classic character from another time has his or her story retold in the present day or another time. It could be used as a compare and contrast with the traditional Rapunzel.