Hale, Dale and Shannon. Rapunzel's Revenge, Illustrated by Nathan Hale. Great Britain: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008. ISBN: 9781599902883
Plot Summary:
Everyone knows the story of the long haired tale of Rapunzel, but what about the story of her revenge? Rapunzel lives in a huge villa with her mother, Gothel. However, this villa is surrounded by a huge stone wall that is located in the garden. Rapunzel's curiosity manages to get the best of her and she seeks to know what it is that's beyond that wall despite being told to never go outside of the walls. Rapunzel finds a way to climb to the top of the wall and finally is able to see beyond the villa, but she is caught by the villa guards and taken to her mother to explain her actions. Despite her explanations, her mother takes her far away from the villa and holds her prisoner in a tree for years before she escapes. After her escape, she proceeds in an action packed adventure to seek revenge on her mother, Gothel. What was it that Rapunzel saw over the villa wall that she journeys into battling a huge boar, a sea monster, coyotes, and kidnappers?
Critical Analysis:
Rapunzel's Revenge is a graphic novel characterized by its comic layout while maintaining the elements of characters, plot, setting, theme, and style as a novel would. In this graphic novel, the most obvious protagonist is revealed as Rapunzel. The author sets the plot and theme around her character and story. Rapunzel can be described as a girl who displays integrity, charisma, and bravery throughout her journey for revenge. Through this journey, the author also introduces another protagonist, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack is introduced as he enters a saloon in disguise to steal his golden goose back. From here, the two become uncanny partners through Rapunzel's journey of revenge.
Shannon and Dean Hale retain the story-line of Rapunzel with their inclusion of fairy tale like elements, as well as incorporating and alluding to other fairy tales such as Jack and the Beanstalk. By doing this, the authors continue the ongoing fairy tale theme of good versus evil and a happily ever after as Rapunzel and Jack seek revenge for the people who have been wronged by her evil adoptive mother. Together, this duo fight evil and "fall in love and such."
Shannon and Dean Hale collaborate with illustrator Nathan Hale who provides readers with vibrant depictions that bring the story line to life. This collaboration strengthens the setting of the Old West by Nathan Hale's illustrations that portray characters in old western attire, covered wagons, cowboys and Indians, and saloons. Without these illustrations, it would be difficult for readers to determine the setting of this graphic novel. Not only does the collaboration between Shannon, Dean, and Nathan Hale bring life to this novel, but by their usage of a comic layout they have easily captivated the attention of the young adult audience.
Awards Won:
John Newbery Medal (2006), Cybils Awards for Fantasy & Science Fiction (2007), ALA Notable Books for Children (2009)
Review Excerpts:
"The popular author of Princess Academy teams with her husband and illustrator Hale (no relation) for a muscular retelling of the famously long-haired heroine's story, set in a fairy-tale version of the Wild West. The Hales' Rapunzel, the narrator, lives like royalty with witchy Mother Gothel, but defies orders, scaling villa walls to see what's outside-a shocking wasteland of earth-scarring mines and smoke-billowing towers. She recognizes a mine worker from a recurrent dream: it's her birth mother, from whom she was taken as punishment for her father's theft from Mother G.'s garden. Their brief reunion sets the plot in motion. Mother G. banishes Rapunzel to a forest treehouse, checking annually for repentance, which never comes. Rapunzel uses her brick-red braids first to escape, then like Indiana Jones with his whip, to knock out the villains whom she and her new sidekick, Jack (of Beanstalk fame), encounter as they navigate hostile territory to free Rapunzel's mom from peril. Illustrator Hale's detailed, candy-colored artwork demands close viewing, as it carries the action-Rapunzel's many scrapes are nearly wordless. With its can-do heroine, witty dialogue and romantic ending, this graphic novel has something for nearly everybody." - Publishers Weekly
"This version of the classic fairy tale Rapunzel is set in the old Southwest, complete with cowboys, coal mines, and coyotes. Rapunzel is a young girl living in a fortress with Mother Gothel, an enchantress who can make plants grow at her whim. Although their home is overflowing with fruits and flowers, it is surrounded by a wall that masks the desert and coal mines outside-Gothel owns everything, and the native people depend on her good will to keep their crops growing. When Rapunzel sneaks over the wall on her twelfth birthday, she sees the desolate world over which Mother Gothel rules, and she meets her real mother who was forced to give Rapunzel to Gothel at birth. To punish her curiosity, Gothel imprisons Rapunzel inside an enchanted tree that has only one window, far above the ground. Just as in the original version, Rapunzel's hair grows prodigiously. But this girl does not need a prince to climb up and rescue her. She uses her braid as a lasso to escape the tree and goes on many adventures that lead her ultimately to reunite with her mother and find true love in a boy named Jack, whose companion is an uncooperative goose. The Hale team creates an engaging heroine. Rapunzel gallivants across the unexpected setting, meets a cast of characters both humorous and threatening, and in the end comes to inherit the land that Gothel had stripped of life and returns it to the native people. This novel presents entertaining girl power at its quirkiest." - VOYA
"This is the tale as you've never seen it before. After using her hair to free herself from her prison tower, this Rapunzel ignores the pompous prince and teams up with Jack (of Beanstalk fame) in an attempt to free her birth mother and an entire kingdom from the evil witch who once moonlighted as her "mother." Dogged by both the witch's henchman and Jack's outlaw past, the heroes travel across the map as they right wrongs, help the oppressed, and generally try to stay alive. Rapunzel is no damsel in distress-she wields her long braids as both rope and weapon-but she happily accepts Jack's teamwork and friendship. While the witch's castle is straight out of a fairy tale, the nearby mining camps and rugged surrounding countryside are a throwback to the Wild West and make sense in the world that the authors and illustrator have crafted. The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive. Knowing that there are more graphic novels to come from this writing team brings readers their own happily-ever-after." - School Library Journal
"A beloved fairy tale gets a glossy graphic-novel makeover, reworked in a fanciful Old West setting. Rapunzel lives an idyllic life in Mother Gothel's verdant villa until she dares question her about what lies beyond the outer wall. Her curiosity leads her to uncover the shocking truth about her past, resulting in her subsequent isolation in a faraway tower. Propelled by her strong desire to see Gothel brought to justice for her misdeeds, she escapes and embarks upon a journey to seek the truth. Along the way, she meets up with Jack (of beanstalk fame) and faces enemies of epic proportions, including sea serpents and a pack of murderous coyotes. The Hales apply a new twist (or three) to the classic tale, creating a strong, sassy, braid-whipping character who waits for no prince. Nathan Hale's art, stylistically reminiscent of a picture book, provides a snazzy counterpoint to the folksy text. A dash of typical fairy-tale romance, a strong sense of social justice and a spunky heroine make this a standout choice for younger teens." - Kirkus Reviews
Connections:
Customers who purchased this novel also bought the following titles: Calamity Jack, The Stonekeeper, and Dragon Slippers.
Interactivity:
- Ask children what they think the novel is about just from the title. Were they correct?
- Measure each child's hair length to see who would be most fit to be the character of Rapunzel.
- Have children bring in flowers and create their own garden.
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