I'd never heard of Donna Jo Napoli before I started book blogging. I've seen many reviews of her books this year and was very intrigued - Zel seemed a perfect choice for my Z title for the A-Z Challenge! In fact, I found out about Zel via Natasha - thanks!I enjoyed this charming re-telling of the fairy tale of Rapunzel. I can't really remember all the details of the simple children's story I read years ago, but I am now curious to re-read that too. Donna Jo Napoli's version manages to include so much into a simple story - the aching need for children of one's own, the stirring of first love and of true love, the bitter taste of disappointment, the anger at how unfair life can sometimes be and the beautiful world we're capable of creating and believing in, even though it is based on lies.
I was surprised that although the ending was still fairy-tale like, the book itself handled some pretty dark serious issues.
And - is rapunzel really a kind of lettuce? :-)
Challenges: A-Z Challenge, YA Romance Challenge, Naming Conventions
2 comments:
I didn't know rapunzel was a kind of lettuce either until I read this book. Like you, I was surprised that the book was so dark, but I really enjoyed it.
do you know of another good one by this author?
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