A Month of Rapunzel: Book Review: Golden by Cameron Dokey (no spoilers)

Book: Golden
Author: Cameron Dokey
Publication: February 28th, 2006
Source: Local Library
Read: January 2nd-3rd, 2014
Summary (from Goodreads):

Before Rapunzel's birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress Melisande: If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future.

 After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue, who was cursed by a wizard years ago and needs Rapunzel's help. Rue and Rapunzel have precisely "two nights and the day that falls between" to break the enchantment. But bitterness and envy come between the girls, and if they fail to work together, Rue will remain cursed...forever.

Rating:                        

My Thoughts:
I fell in love with the story of Rapunzel from my very first encounter with the story when I saw Barbie as Rapunzel to Disney's Tangled. I was excited to read Golden for the specific reason that it was a Rapunzel retelling. I fell in love with Cameron's Dokey's changes to the story.

As it turns out Rapunzel's mother has a heart made of stone and can make no room in her heart for Rapunzel. Her mother has hair that is long and beautiful, but Rapunzel is born completely bald. Melisande, a sorceress, takes Rapunzel under her care and raises Rapunzel as her own.

The part I really liked about Golden is how much development was put into Rapunzel's childhood. I found it odd that Rapunzel was so free and her mother was not evil, but later in the novel it is explained. People come to visit the sorceress and Rapunzel, but only one is welcome. That is the tinker and his son Harry. There was always some odd about the tinker. I couldn't put my finger on it until Rapunzel discovered it at the end. Harry, he is a typical boy, teasing and carefree. We see a friendship start to form with him and Rapunzel. One that grows with age and changes over time. I loved the parts with Harry and Rapunzel best.  Everything about Rapunzel's life is happy and normal until she turns 16. Something in Rapunzel's life changes when she turns 16.

That is when Rapunzel learns about Rue, the girl with long beautiful hair, who is trapped in a tower. She has two days to free Rue from the curse put upon her by a wizard. It isn't easy to build a relationship in two days time and Dokey shows that although only in little pieces.

I do wish there was more development to this story in the end. I think the relationships could have been built and explained more instead of just happening. I know it is a fairy tale, but that doesn't mean happily ever after always has to happen quickly and without struggles and triumphant. I felt a bit cheated by the end of the novel because I think there was still more of a story to be told. I loved the ending Dokey gave to Golden. I just think there could have been more development into the lead up of the ending.

The one thing I really loved about Golden is that Rapunzel was not the girl I thought she was and even the Rapunzel I came to know through the novel was not the girl I thought she was. My predictions were totally off for what ended up happening, but the ending Dokey gave was better than any ending I had imagined in my mind. So sit back, relax, and enjoy Cameron Dokey's Golden.