Name: My Name is Rapunzel
ISBN: 9781783013210

K.C Hilton

My tale has been told again and again, and I've heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children...but they didn't know the truth. Nobody did. My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.

My Name is Rapunzel

K. C. Hilton

"My tale has been told again and again, and I've heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children...but the children wouldn't have laughed if they'd known the real story. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know the truth. Nobody did. My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth"--P. [4] of cover.

My Name Is Rapunzel

Monicap

2/5 for It was Okay

In this book, Rapunzel was a merchant's daughter in love with the prince. His parents disapproved of her, so they planned to run away and elope. But, just after Prince Henry proposed, Rapunzel's crotchety old neighbor jumps out and curses them. See, Rapunzel's neighbor is a witch, and Rapunzel's hair has magic immortality properties. When Rapunzel was a kid, she promised the witch she'd always stay near her, and the witch just couldn't stand for Rapunzel running away and eloping.

The story begins in the early 1700s and then jumps forward, with each chapter beginning by telling the reader the current year. As time jumps forward following the curse, we learn that Rapunzel has been cursed with Immortality--she does not age, but her hair keeps growing of course. And it can't be cut. Over the first half of a book we get up to present day as Rapunzel's parents come up with some pretty ingenius ideas to help her out that all inevitably fail and then they die and leave Rapunzel alone with the witch as her only also immortal companion.

The middle sees a 2013 Rapunzel reading a newspaper article about how fairy tales and stupid and specifically Rapunzel. Rapunzel takes offense to this and writes back, saying "My name is Rapunzel. And this is my story." and that's where the title and tagline of this book comes from. then it veers directly off into flashback territory.

Now, I initially skipped these fifty pages, because I was of the mind that I just read 200 years of backstory, and now I'm supposed to read flashbacks? The flashbacks actually contained some new information and I had to backtrack and skim them to make sense of the climax.

All in all, I think there were some interesting parts to this book (I think her mother's idea was incredibly interesting. I'd read the whole book if that had panned out) but I wasn't very fond of the letter writing back-and-forth flashback structure of the story and ultimately I think I'll find it quite forgettable. That being said, I'm glad I've crossed this off my to-read list; onto the next!

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    “I’d heard people say they wouldn’t change one day in their lives. I felt a bit differently. If I had to change one day, just one, I would. I’d give anything for that opportunity.”
  

Eternal life, never aging, sounds like a fantastic idea, right? Well, you might think differently once you read My Name is Rapunzel.

I was drawn to this book because I love retellings, the blurb intrigued me and the cover was just gorgeous. I had no idea the depth this story would go to. I thought I was in for a modern retelling of the classic tale of Rapunzel. The truth is, it was so much more than that. The heartbreak and loss she suffers was devastating. Don’t get me wrong, the story wasn’t all sadness, but it had more than it’s fair share. But, there was also humor, lovely moments and strong characters. The story was slow and steady and, being totally honest, I wish it had been a little faster paced. However, I was so intrigued with the premise and I needed to know how the story ended, so I was never in danger of giving up on it.

  
    “You can choose to spend year after year, century after century, mourning a loss. Or you can move on and enjoy love throughout your lifetime. I vote for love.”
  

I loved Rapunzel. She was spunky and strong. She would have to be to deal with all that she went through in this story. I’m being purposefully vague because I don’t want to take anything away from the story. The enjoyment I had was mostly from the surprising moments that I absolutely never saw coming.

My Name is Rapunzel was a surprising book in more ways than one. It was unique and heartbreaking, but hopeful. I respect what the author did here. She definitely gave me a lot to think about. It’s nothing like the retellings I’ve read to this point, but I liked it because of that. I’d definitely be interested in reading this author’s take on other classic stories and the characters we think we know.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All quotes come from the review copy and may differ from the final version.

My Name is Rapunzel

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