New Design Made by Debz Bookshelf

As you all may have notice I recently got my blog totally redesigned. If you read my New Year Goals you would know this is something I wanted to tackle this year. Although my Frozen theme was great for a little while I was getting depressed with the winter theme. Then Debz Bookshelf offered a free blog design and she created and installed everything for me. I love the new theme and I think this is one I will be comfortable with having for the next few years.

Debz Bookshelf is offering free designs right now which is great since I don't have the money to pay for a redesign at this point in my life. I'm so happy with the results and the experience of working with Deb. She was great about emailing me for my input. I approved everything before it made it ways to my blog. I highly recommend clicking here.  and requesting Deb to redesign your blog.

A Month of Rapunzel: Rapunzel Retellings Compared (some spoilers included)

I have read many Rapunzel retellings by now and I have loved them all. Each novel had a different aspect to add to the original fairy tale. There will be minor spoilers in this post, but overall it should be okay to read even if you haven't read the novels. I want to compare the novels to the original tale and tell which elements I really liked.

Rapunzel Untangled is really the novel that took off this idea. I read this in May of 2013 and I fell in love with Cindy C. Bennett's retelling of Rapunzel and I knew I wanted to feature this book in a month long event of Rapunzel. I loved how she took specific elements of the original fairy tale and twisted them to make the tale more modern. Such as Rapunzel had a computer and facebook account although she was trapped in the tower. She didn't understand the internet quite enough to figure out how much more was outside her tower. The only thing I wish Cindy C. Bennett cut was the insta-love, but that is prevalent in the original fairy tale and I guess after being trapped in a tower for so many years you would have a twisted sense of what love is. My favorite part of Rapunzel Untangled was the dark elements she added to the story. Disney makes every fairy tale happy, but most of the original fairy tales have some very dark elements and authors have to decide if they are going to use those elements or not. Cindy C. Bennett decided to use the dark elements to her advantage and ended up creating the most intense ending I have seen in a Rapunzel retelling. It was like the ending of Tangled except much more intense. 

I had seen many negative reviews of Towering before I ever got my hands on the novel. I tried to not let it sway my opinion. I fell in love with Towering. It wasn't quite as great as Rapunzel Untangled, but I still thought it was a great retelling. Towering was more of a mystery. Wyatt comes to stay with this old lady and he finds the mystery of Danielle, her dead daughter, and the granddaughter who was trapped in a tower. That's Rachel, our Rapunzel, and she dreams of a life outside of the tower like Rapunzel from Disney's Tangled. Danielle's journals had to be my favorite part of the novel although they didn't continue for long. Towering was not a straight Rapunzel retelling, but more so the elements sprinkled into the novel. I think the mystery and suspense added a lot to the novel. Rachel's long golden hair is of course part of the story. I could have lived without the instant love between Wyatt and Rachel. As I mentioned before Rapunzel is a princess that needs to be rescued and that was true for Rachel. This one unlike Rapunzel Untangled was a very light fairy tale retelling. I felt the ending was a bit too abrupt and would have preferred a bit more development, but overall loved the novel. 

The Bald Rapunzel what a brilliant retelling by Cameron Dokey. It was the first book I have read in the Once Upon a Time series and I can't wait to read more. I think the story could have used a bit more development, but it was in all honesty had many elements from the original tale. The two before mentioned nothing about the Lettuce or Herb Rapunzel, but this book does. In the Grimm Fairy Tale Rapunzel is not locked away until she is 12, but in many of the retellings, Tangled included, Rapunzel is locked away when she is a baby. Everything in Rapunzel's life in Golden is normal until she turns 16 then she has two days to save Rue (our true Rapunzel) who has been locked in a tower. Rapunzel's childhood was very well developed in this novel. Melisande is not evil. We can tell that she truly loves Rapunzel. That is so different from every Gothel that I had read so far. She raised Rapunzel as her own and protected her from the children's cruel words. My favorite part about Golden is that that love story between Rapunzel and Harry developed over time. He didn't just one day come pound on her window and ask him to marry her. They were friends for many years before they ever fell in love. The Instant love was more with Rue than it was with Rapunzel. I think Rue's character could have been more finely developed, but overall I think Cameron Dokey did an amazing job with Golden. 

Next to Ella Enchanted, Zel is a fairy tale retelling I get shocked expressions not to have read. I finally read it in January 2014 and yes I'm sad I didn't read this one when I was a bit younger. I enjoyed Zel so much. It returned back to the dark fairy tale roots that I fall in love with every time. Zel and Golden compared together quite nicely. They both had very well developed childhood and were locked up in latter life. After so many years of being free it is hard for Zel to understand her mother locking her in the tower. The mother loves Zel so much that she is selfish and never wants to lose Zel to marriage. The prince aimelessly wanders around for years blind looking for Zel. I thought the prince was the ode to the original tale the most. I think his passion for Zel, shown so much through the lengths he was willing to go through to find her. The prince could have married anybody he wanted to yet he was in love with Zel. Being locked in that tower changes Zel and that is a part I believe so many authors are afraid to show. She went from being an innocent 13 year old girl to a bitter 15 year old. She was mad, didn't understand, and bored. The only unrealistic part of Zel is how she gets pregnant and has twins by the time Count Konrad finds her. She heals Konrad's blindness with her tears. I think that is where Disney's Tangled might have got the idea for the magical healing tears and even the hair since Rapunzel's hair is most of the time only a climbing tool why can't it have the power to heal as Zel healed Konrad's blindness. 

I wrote a lengthy Discussion post on The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon so I won't go too far in depth here. I'm so happy I had the chance to read this novel and share it during A Month of Rapunzel. It is just simply fantastic. This fairy tale retelling explores what happens when Rapunzel grows up, marries the prince, and becomes Snow White's step mother. A huge theme of this novel was jealously and selfishness. Two themes that are prevalent within the Grimm tale. Rapunzel buried her own son while Snow White got to live a lavish life and be healthy and happy. Her own son did not live so Rapunzel was terribly jealous of Snow White. She believed that her son should be alive and well and the rightful air to the throne. This one was completely original idea with bits of Snow White's tale and Rapunzel's tale. The themes in this novel really got to me. I was in love with every aspect of this novel and wrote a lengthy review and discussion post to say so. I can't wait to read more from this author. I think Carolyn Turgeon explored the feelings that the princess doesn't always live happily ever after when she gets married to the prince. There is still struggles to go through and that is what makes The Fairest of Them All so unique. 

So many people have fallen in love with Cress and I was happy to be among them. As my sister put it this was a very hard book to move on from and I agree. The fairy tale elements of this story were so rich and it was such a character driven novel. Deb did a guest post about the elements of Rapunzel in the story so I will only touched on them briefly. I saw moments of Tangled mixed into this story, but there were also parts that reminded me of Zel such as Captain Carswell Thorne becoming blind. Although this one didn't have a happily ever after like Zel did. I think Cress's character was niave, quirky, and an overall awesome Rapunzel. I fell in love with her instantly as I knew I would and continued to be amazed at her bravery throughout the novel. Cress may have needed to be rescued from her satellite, but she proved throughout the rest of the novel that she was capable of making her own decisions and standing on her own too feet. Marissa Meyer loves to create strong female characters and Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder are all great examples of the triumphs women will go through to get what they want and need. 

I had so much fun reading all these different Rapunzel retellings. They all had something different to author. I didn't ever feeling like I was just reading the same story over and over again. It is really hard to pick a favorite so I won't. I will just recommend that you read all of them. Of course I am only one person and I was not able to read every Rapunzel telling for this month of Rapunzel so I will have a post coming up about the Rapunzel retellings I missed reading and recommend you guys to check out. 

A Month of Rapunzel: Guest Review: Sold for Endless Rue by Madeleine E. Robins (no spoilers)

Bonnie @ A Backwards Story is back with another guest post. She actually reviewed this book during A Week of Rapunzel and I loved her review so much I asked to reshare it. I think this book sounds amazing and I can't wait to read it. Bonnie is also hosting Fairy Tale Fortnight towards the end of April to celbrate everything to do with fairy tales. This event it so much fun and is sure to be a blast so mark your calendars now. Stop over by Bonnie's Blog and tell her how much you loved her review of Sold For Endless Rue. 

O P E N I N G   H O O K:

THE WORLD WAS ALL SOUND: the crack of brush underfoot, her own harsh panting, the whip of the branches as she pushed her way through them, and behind her somewhere a man's guttural cursing. The girl tasted salty blood from a cut below her eye. There would be more blood if Urbo caught her.

(Page 9, US hardcover first edition)

It's unusual for fairy tales to be as grounded in history as SOLD FOR ENDLESS RUE is. It's a great blend of the realistic and the whimsical. In some ways, Rapunzel can be one of the most down-to-earth fairy tales, something that could actually happen...especially if the story occurred the way Madeleine E. Robins says it did.

SOLD FOR ENDLESS RUE is broken into three points of view and told over three generations. It begins with the tale of little Laura, a stolen child-turned slave who runs away into the arms of a village healer who will help her rise to become a great physician. Laura lives in 13th century Italy and trains at the Schola Medica Salernitana in a time when there are few women. She's looked at strangely and frowned upon by others. Laura ultimately becomes the "witch" of the story, only she's no witch. The middle segment tells the tale of why Laura chooses to take baby Bieta (Our Rapunzel) away from her parents and raise her, and the final segment is from Bieta's own POV.

All the women in the novel suffer in various ways. Laura has been through so much heartache and turmoil, betrayed again and again. She tries to make the world better and give Bieta every opportunity, but in doing so, she goes too far. The book celebrates women and mothers, but also focuses on the way people learn and change and grow. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. Mistakes are always made, and in the moment, we can't always see them coming. It felt very honest and real.

Watching the story of Rapunzel play out in the later two-thirds of the novel, as grounded in reality as it is, was intriguing. One of my all-time favorite fairy tale retellings is Juliet Marillier's version of Beauty and the Beast, HEART'S BLOOD. In part, this is because it's grounded in reality and removes the magic that makes the story impossible. The impossible becomes possible. The same holds true for SOLD FOR ENDLESS RUE. While at times, I skimmed some of the medical stuff (simply because it's of little interest to me, personally), I love how much detail was paid to the time period, creating an immersive experience.

SOLD FOR ENDLESS RUE felt very traditional and very Rapunzel, even as it introduced new ideas and explained the "truth" behind the "witch's" motivations for all that she did in stealing and raising Rapunzel. So much of the fairy tale is still there, and I really enjoyed seeing the unique way Robins pulled it all together and created something new.

C O V E R   D E S I G N:

The cover looks very fairy tale, doesn't it? The image is very classic, both like, yet unlike, things we've seen before. It captures the essence of Rapunzel well, and you automatically wonder if this is a Rapunzel story!

I also like the way the dusty purple is pulled from the sky and brought forward for the title, and the lettering reflects the coloring of the moon. It all blends together and creates a lovely harmony!

~*~

O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title:  SOLD FOR ENDLESS RUE
Author: Madeleine E. Robins

Release Date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Macmillan / Tor | Forge

Received: For Review

SUMMARY:

This captivating historical answers the question, "Why did Rapunzel's mother lock her in the tower?"

After a blighted childhood, young Laura finds peace and purpose in the home of a midwife and healer. Later, she enrolls in Salerno's famed medical school—the first in the world to admit women. Laura and her adoptive mother hope that Laura can build a bridge between women's herbal healing and the new science of medicine developing in thirteenth century Italy.

The hardest lessons are those of love; Laura falls hard for a fellow student who abandons her for a wealthy wife. Worse, her mother rejects her as "impure." Shattered, Laura devotes herself to her work, becoming a respected medico. But her heart is still bitter, and when she sees a chance for revenge, she grabs it—and takes for her own Bieta, the newborn daughter of a woman whose husband regularly raided the physician's garden for bitter herbs to satisfy his pregnant wife's cravings.

Determined to protect her adored daughter from the ravages of the world, Laura isolates the young woman in a tower. Bieta, as determined as her mother, escapes, and finds adventure—and love—on the streets of Salerno.

Bieta's betrayal of her mother's love comes at a terrible price as lives are ruined and families are torn apart. Laura's medical knowledge cannot heal her broken heart; only a great act of love can bring everyone forgiveness and peace.

A Month of Rapunzel: Guest Post: Discussion: Cress: A Twisted Fairy Tale

I’ve always loved Rapunzel, so when I first found out that Cress by Marissa Meyer was going to be based on Rapunzel, shortly after Cinder was released, I was ecstatic. And, even a month after reading it, I can’t put my feelings adequately into words, so instead of doing a traditional review, I’ll be highlighting one of my favorite aspects of any retelling, which is seeing where specific elements of the original tale fit in. It’s like an Easter egg hunt, and Cress was certainly full of them!
So, let’s get started!
It took me a while to realize just how significant the name Cress was. First off, it’s a leafy green! Just like Rapunzel! How cool is that? What’s even cooler is that Cress can be short for Crescent--as in Crescent moon. Which I think is sort of ironic considering the fact that Cress in, in fact, on a satellite in space (and for a ton of other reasons that are full of spoilers)!
In the original fairy tale, Rampion is synonymous with Rapunzel, which is the leafy green that casues all the trouble. In The Lunar Chronicles, Rampion is the name of the ship which Carswell Thorne is captain of. I didn’t even realize that until I was holding in my hands a super-duper cool poster of the Rampion.
And speaking of Carswell Thorne, I love his name. At the Cress Launch Party which I was lucky enough to go to, Meyer shared the meaning behind his name. It’s an Old English name which means “well where the watercress grows.” CRESS. Isn’t that just the most romantic thing? As for the last name of Thorne, it alludes to a very significant moment in the original tale, which is uniquely interpreted in Cress.
The Satellite which Cress resides in serves as her “tower”. She has her necessities, but has virtually no actual contact with the outside world. Of course you would think that that just couldn’t work, but somehow a satellite seemed only natural after reading it!
Long, golden hair is the most iconic element of this fairy tale. And, if you can’t tell from the GORGEOUS cover, Cress does indeed have long, golden hair.
Another signature element of the classic Rapunzel tale is her beautiful singing voice. Cress is a super smart computer-hacker, but she’s also a pretty awesome opera singer! Singing is definitely a fun way to pass the time, especially if nobody’s watching!
The Witch is probably my favorite character of Rapunzel, because she’s the only one with any brains, but in this new take it’s almost reversed. All the characters are so smart that our new “witch” character can hardly stay on top of it all. Trust me, she is fierce and wicked, but she’s certainly not the only brain in this story!
There are several other elements to this tale I would love to touch on, but I’ll resist at risk of spilling spoilers. I hope I’ve piqued your interest in Cress, and The Lunar Chronicles! This is barely skimming the surface!

This is the last guest post from Deb. I am so thankful for her participation in A Month of Rapunzel. I can't believe how this month has flew by. 

A Month of Rapunzel: Book Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles #3) (no spoilers)

Book: Cress
Author Marissa Meyer
Publication: February 2nd, 2014
Series: Lunar Chronicles #3
Source: Local Library
Read: February 15th-February 27th, 2014
Summary (From Goodreads):

Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

 In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

 Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

 When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

.

My Thoughts:

*May be Spoilers to Previous Novels Check out my review of Cinder and Scarlet*

I don't even know where to start with Cress. This book was by far my favorite so far in the series. I slowed down and just enjoyed Cress instead of worrying about finishing it so I could start another book. I almost did not want to finish Cress because I know that I have to wait another year for the last book in the series Winter.

The world building in The Lunar Chronicles is fantastic as always. Marissa Meyer drug me right back in her Lunar world by introducing her newest character Cress. As many of my readers know and my friends in real life too I'm in love with the fairy tale of Rapunzel so I was so excited about Cress. She did not disappoint. Cress was strong and courageous yet naive and scared as Rapunzel's usually are. I instantly fell in love with her character. As far as towers go Cress was trapped in a satellite meaning there literally was no escape. I saw glimpses of Disney's Tangled in this novel and Marissa Meyer did not follow the original story in chronological order, but suited the story to the way that fit her novel. I loved that about Cress.

Cress meets up with Thorne, Wolf, Cinder, and Scarlet when they come to rescue her and the novel really only takes off from there. The action starts and doesn't stop until the very end.

Thorne was very gruff and aloof in Scarlet, but in Cress we see that Thorne is a really caring guy under his tough guy facade. The romance in this novel was enough to make me swoon, but the focus of the novel continued to be the Lunar War. Wolf was a character I was afraid to trust in the first novel, but Cress has convinced me that I can trust Wolf. He is on Cinder's side. We also saw a new side of Wolf with the losses he went through in this novel.

Another person I enjoyed seeing more of was Prince Kai. This was one of my major disappointments of Scarlet, but I was excited to see Kai back in the novel although it wasn't necessarily happy times for his majesty.

Cinder is as headstrong as ever. She is determined to end Levana's rein and learn how to control her Lunar powers. We saw Cinder's determination and courage more in this book than any of the others. I fell in love with her character all over again. After years of mistreatment by her stepmother Andri, Cinder is finally starting to believe in herself. I have no doubt that she will do what it takes to end this war.

Dr. Erland also makes many interesting discoveries during this novel. Although Dr. Erland has many sad moments in this story I was interested to find out many secrets about his life.

Finally my disappoint of this novel had to be Scarlet. Scarlet didn't really seem to have a place in Cress and was not a big character in this novel. I think Marissa Meyer has a hard time including all the characters in the novel. I hope Scarlet will be a more major plot character in the final installment Winter.

The ending of Cress was another big cliffhanger for the story, but I think it will lead well into the final book Winter. I think this book came full circle. The characters changed so much over the course of this novel and I loved every moment of Cress. Words will never describe how much I loved this novel. It is going to be a hard wait for the final book, but I'm sure Marissa Meyer will make it worth the wait.

If you have not read Cinder, Scarlet, or Cress I highly suggest you do.


Thanks

A Month of Rapunzel: Guest Post: Reasons to be Rapunzel

Bonnie @ A Backwards Story wrote an awesome post about why you should want to be Rapunzel. Bonnie even hosted a week long event featuring Rapunzel.  That you should totally go check out. And to top things off Bonnie is a part of Fairy Tale Fortnight coming up next month. Fairy Tale Fortnight is my favorite event and it is sure to be a blast. Without further to do read about the reasons to be Rapunzel. 

bon·nie
Pronunciation: \ˈbä-nē\
Function: female
Etymology: Scottish, English; perhaps derived from the French word "bon," meaning good or nice.

A bonny lass enjoys singing at the top of her lungs, meandering her way through telling the stories of the characters living inside her head, eating strawberries, tinkering around in Photoshop, catching fireflies for the sheer joy of letting them go again, and getting lost in a good book.

Visit Bonnie's book review blog A Backwards Story 
and follow her on Twitter,  Pinterest, and  Tumblr!

Like Rapunzel? Check out the 2014 A Week of Rapunzel Round-Up,
and stop back at A Backwards Story April 20th to May 3rd for 
Fairy Tale Fortnight!

Eight Reasons It Would Be AWESOME To Live In Rapunzel's Fairy Tale
by Bonnie Lynn Wagner

Everyone asks, “If you could live the life of any fairy tale character, who would it be…and why?”

I think many dreamers want to be Rapunzel. Compared to other fairy tale heroines, she has it relatively easy. And she's one gal who knows how to have FUN!

1. There are people out there who would REALLY rather live in a tower. After all, think about all the books you could read! (Or crafts you could do, songs you could write, whatever your passion is!) But seriously. Trapped in a tower, you have a LOT of free time on your hands to indulge!

2. Okay, so the part where your prince gets blinded isn’t that cool. But think about it! He doesn’t have to see that horrendous new haircut that looks HORRIBLE, the zit that no amount of cover-up can conceal, the tomato sauce dribbled down your white shirt. He loves you for you. Those embarrassing flaws are a non-issue!

3. Protection! Forget frying pans. When nothing's at hand, strong hair does all kinds of interesting things!

A fair maiden needs to have SOME way to come out on top and escape from the bad guys, right???

4. How many girls have wanted the Sailor Moon hair style? I always did, but my hair is too soft to do the odango and have it hold. Plus, it has to be crazy long to look even remotely good. Now Rapunzel? Her hair is MADE for that style. 

©VioletKy

See? Even Flynn thinks she'll look cute!

©GoDoHelp

 

5. Warmth! When you're locked up in a tower, you don't have many options, and everyone knows that stone towers are damp and drafty in the winter.

What if you get cold and want a blanket? Thank goodness for all that long, warm hair!

6. How can you decorate when nothing new comes in or out? If an evil witch is guarding you, she wants to make sure you're not having any fun. She'll give you a tree, but no decorations. But with long, magical hair, you can light the holiday up all by yourself!

©Brittney Lee

Don't even have a tree? No problem! There's always your hair!

©ChewyLi

You can use your favorite barrettes or whatever toys and scraps are lying around!

7. How much fun would it be to have hair so strong, you could swing on it?

 Admit it, this is one of the best scenes in Tangled! She's having So. Much. Fun!

So much that everyone wants to replicate her in real life:

©Usagi-Tsukino-krv

She looks like she’s having so much fun, doesn’t she? I so want to do this! I’m envious of this one CosPlayer who did! To be able to be so carefree all the time? What a life!

Plus, think of the romantic situations you can get into with swinging hair:

©AliceChan

'Nuff said!

8. Speaking of romance...well!
Having a lot of hair means you can be a little more inventive when romancing your prince!

You can be sweet and silly...

©Winderly

Or a little naughty...

L: ©Katikut // R: ©IleWolf

Or, if you're on the 50 Shades bandwagon, well, you can even be a lot naughty...

©GoDoHelp

So what do you think? Wouldn't it be cool to be Rapunzel?