Hale, S. (2008). Rapunzel’s Revenge. NY: Bloomsbury.
Rapunzel’s Revenge is a graphic novel that is a retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale. This version turns the original on its head and makes Rapunzel her own knight in shining armor. Rapunzel was raised by Gothel, the woman she believes to be her mother, is an enclosed villa with no others than her mother and the servants around her. As she gets older, she yearns to see what is over the walls she's enclosed by and one day she successfully scales the wall and sees the dystopian wasteland of mines and smoke. She sees a slave woman and immediately recognizes her from her dreams. After talking with this woman she discovers she is her actual birth mother. Gothel took Rapunzel and enslaved her mother after finding her father taking vegetables from the garden to feed his pregnant wife. Gothel banishes Rapunzel to a treehouse in the tallest tree in the forest for disobeying her and will only let her out if she begs her to release her. As Rapunzel gets older she because stronger and more bold. Her hair has also grown to an incredible length and becomes her greatest tool for escaping. Once she escapes she is determined to get revenge on Gothel and go free her mother. On her journey, she crosses path with Jack and the duo encounter many deadly situations on their journey to Gothel's villa. Jack's quick thinking and Rapunzel's cunningness get them out of every sticky situation. Ultimately, they end Gothel's evil reign and free her mother. In the end, they discover they make the perfect pair.
Rapunzel makes a intriguing heroine in this book. Her strong morals and steadfast determination make her almost like a superhero and her weapon of choice is her whip-like braid. I appreciated the protagonist being a strong, independent woman who helps her sidekick Jack out more than he helps her. The graphic novel format made it really fun and fast to read. I would recommend this book for readers ages 10 and older.
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