Golden By Cameron Dokey Release Date: Buy it Today! Simon Pulse Ratings Action Romance Characters Overall Purchase on Amazon. Purchase at Powell’s. Find independent bookstores near you.

Rapunzel’s mother could only think of herself and her long blonde hair, and when the witch saw this, she made a bargain that if Rapunzel’s mother could not find a place in her heart for the new baby, the witch would take Rapunzel to live with her. When Rapunzel was born bald, her mother could not allow a child without hair into her heart. And thus the story of Rapunzel began.

After many years of life with the witch, who was for all intents and purposes her mother, Rapunzel learned of the witch’s own daughter, who had been magically imprisoned in a tower.  The witch thinks that Rapunzel could be the key to freeing her, and Rapunzel agrees to try, even though she risks being trapped in the tower as well if she fails. She is soon locked in the tower with the witch’s daughter, Rue, for two days as they try to break the spell before their time is up.

All right, I finally take my own advice and get this book from the library.  And what happens? This becomes my new favorite book from the Once Upon A Time series. Now I’m going to have to get it for my collection. This book was just a perfect mix for me–elements of the original tale of Rapunzel were carefully woven into a tale that went far beyond the original scope of the fairy tale. Yet unlike other books in this series, the author didn’t pull it out of a fairy tale and try to make it take place in a different time or setting; the environment was still very much a fairy tale world with magic and medieval villages.

In some ways, I think a fairy tale retelling is the easiest and hardest thing to do.  A Grimm’s Fairytale is only a few pages long at most, but stories like Rapunzel are very well known to readers. Therefore, the writer has to both reimagine and explain a story that doesn’t have a lot of complexity, but also keep somewhat true to a plot that the reader thinks they know.

The only downside of the book was that I felt like the time in the tower between Rue and Rapunzel was not explored as well as it could have been. There was a lot more opportunity for character development and interest than the author took advantage of.

Relationships were a central part of the book, the love between daughters and mothers, friends, lovers, etc. Love and companionship creates our world and that of the characters, and hairless Rapunzel finds out how cruel life can be when one is different. While her differences are more obvious, most readers will empathize with her troubles, as we all have something that we feel marks us as different.

Ratings Reasons:
Action 1 – This is a pretty low speed book, as I’ve grown to expect from the series. Most of the major changes take place within Rapunzel’s mind.

Romance 5 – I genuinely liked the two couples. One is based off of a long time friendship, and the other is a “love at first sight” idea, and I felt that both were well done. The love at first sight couple perfectly encompasses the idea of wanting that love, that companionship, that usually drives those people together.

Characters 4 – Rapunzel was well played out to me, and the other characters are interesting, but I did feel that the side characters could have been a little bit deeper. On the other hand, it was first person, and that leads to lesser development of other characters.

Overall 4 1/2– As I said earlier, this is my new favorite in the series. It was a sweet read, and I quickly felt empathy for Rapunzel and was interested in her story.

Extras:
The original tale of Rapunzel comes from the collection of the Brother’s Grimm, which of course means it’s got deeper folk tale roots throughout Europe.

Some other book interpretations can be found in Zel, Into the Wild, and Fables. Zel is the story of a Swiss Rapunzel by Donna Jo Napoli, and I’ve heard good things about her books. Into the Wild is a relatively new book by Sarah Beth Durst and features Rapunzel’s daughter in the modern world. It’s high up on my reading list, and I will be starting on it soon. Fables is a comic series that I’ve been into for some time, and Rapunzel is one of the side characters. Her hair continues to grow in our world, and it must be cut three times a day to stay manageable.

Disney will be taking on the story of Rapunzel in 2009, as they head back towards the glory days of their animated musicals like Aladdin, Beauty and the Best, and Little Mermaid. The animation style will be more like the traditional hand-drawn, rather than like the newer CGI features. I hadn’t realized it, but apparently this will be the first Disney animated movie based off of a European classic in 18 years (since Beauty and the Beast). 

This book is yet another in the Once Upon a Time series. So far, I’ve reviewed Sunlight and Shadows, The Rose Bride, and Scarlet Moon. Not reviewed yet are: The Night Dance, Beauty Sleep, Snow, Before Midnight, The Storyteller’s Daughter, Spirited, and Water Song. Currently, Midnight Pearls is in my purse to be read while waiting in life’s lines.  The series is somewhat standard in its quality, but I always find the books enjoyable.

Parents: 10+ Nothing particularly viscous or graphic in this book, just a lot of love and and classic storytelling.

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