Golden Book Review
Book Name: Golden
Author Name: Cameron Dokey
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: February 28, 2006
Page Number: 179 pages
Review:
We all know how the fairy tale goes: “Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!”. But this Rapunzel has no hair at all. Her head is as bald as an egg. Due to this her mother called her a monster and wanted nothing to do with her. So, a sorceress named Melisande raises Rapunzel for the next sixteen years. But Melisande has a secret, she has another daughter named Rue. Sadly, Rue is trapped in a tower and the only hope of freedom lies with Rapunzel. Can the two girls work together to break Rue out or with their constant fighting doom them both.
In my opinion, this book is much better than the last book I read by the author Cameron Dokey, Before Midnight. Maybe it is because the story of Rapunzel is a bit simpler than Cinderella, having to add lots more to make a full-fledged narrative like Disney’s Tangled. Think about it. Most of Disney’s Cinderella follows the original story fatefully: Evil stepmother, a big ball, the prince and Cinderella fall in love, She runs away at midnight, and her shoe proves she is the one! What does Disney’s Tangled and the original tale have in common? Both have a girl in a tower with super long hair and her love interest says, “Let down your hair!”. Everything else in the movie is made up by Disney.
Golden’s version of Rapunzel is a fun, snarky character. I really enjoyed her development as she became able to see into other’s hearts just like her caretaker, Melisande. I also love her comebacks to other characters and her interactions with Rue. The two girls' conversations really felt like two sisters talking. It might be mean at first, but you can tell that deep down they want to work together. Rapunzel’s romantic relationship with a boy named Harry is a bit better than any of the romances in Before Midnight as the two characters have written to have known each other for three to four years before Harry kisses Rapunzel. The two also thought the other like someone else was cute to read.
The plan to set Rue free from the tower is also a good read and ties the story back to the original fairy tale. The ending feels rushed though and given the book is only 179 pages it makes sense. I feel these books would do better with more pages. All in all, I feel this book is a nice, quick retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel and is an interesting take on the tale even though it could have been better executed at points. I give Golden a three out of five.
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