Review: Golden - A Retelling of "Rapunzel" by Cameron Dokey

Golden: A Retelling of "Rapunzel" by Cameron Dokey
Published: Feb 28th, 2006
Details: 179 pages, paperback
Source: Amazon.com
Summary (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.

Golden is about a girl named Rapunzel who's mother was obsessed with Rapunzel (the herb) while she was pregnant with her. They lived next door to a sorceress who grew the herb and as selfish as her mother was, she demanded that her father bring her more and more Rapunzel. So he did what he thought was all he could do, he stole from the sorceress. Which is obviously, a horrible idea. He eventually was caught and Rapunzel's mother made a deal with the sorceress, which led Rapunzel to be raised by the sorceress.

It's hard to review this book without giving too much away, but the life that Rapunzel had with the sorceress was a simple one filled with lots of love and trust. One day a tinker man stops by and stays with them and on that same night she finds a boy trying to steal a horse to run away. They form a really weird and playful friendship from then on and I was rather fond of the boy. I also thought it was cute that he called her parsley instead of Rapunzel. Then of course came the truth and Rue, and the story that we all know from there on (or at least should know, I honestly have forgotten what the original was about. I thought it was funny because as I was reading this, I was seeing commercials for Disney's Rapunzel lol).

I know a lot of you have asked to know what I thought of the book and the retelling's. This is the first in the "Once Upon a Time" series I've read (but I think I own almost all of them now). But I can say this, the retelling of Rapunzel was amazing. I loved Rapunzel's sense of humor. It wasn't a twist or an ending I expected but it was an addicting read, it felt much longer than 179 pages (in a good way). I'm excited to start on another one soon! 


Favorite Line:
And here is a fact of life that those who are quick to speak of devils never mention: As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs to us in a way that well-known things do not. For we have the opportunity to fill the empty, unknown spaces for ourselves, and in them there is room for imagination and for hope. - PG 91