Reviewed by Rebecca Wells for TeensReadToo.com

Once upon a time, in a land very far away, there lived a girl with her mother. Every day as the girl grew and played, she also became more and more curious about the world outside. One day she finally climbed up her wall and discovered that she really knew nothing at all.

And that was when she decided to do something about it.

Think you know Rapunzel? You've never heard it like this!

With a feisty heroine who uses her ridiculously long hair as a weapon and a sidekick who travels with a goose that just might lay a golden egg, RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE takes the traditional tale of Rapunzel and turns it on its head.

Shannon and Dean Hale create a thoroughly entertaining world in which Rapunzel takes claims her life as her own. Follow along as she embarks on a swashbuckling quest to save the world from the evil witch who has held her captive in a move that sets the bar for adventurous heroines everywhere.

Be forewarned: RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE is not for everyone. It is a graphic novel, and while the illustrations are gorgeous and highly amusing, some readers may not be drawn in by the format. However, for those who love graphic novels, fairy tales, and awesome heroines, this story may be just the thing.

Happy reading.

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As a young, quizzical girl, Rapunzel has questions about her surroundings and her parentage. Soon she finds out the woman she believed was her mother is not. As Rapunzel starts inspecting the grounds, she finds another secret hidden from her that makes her fake mother banish Rapunzel to a tower she cannot escape from. How will she survive?

I liked this version of Rapunzel. It's happier than, say, the Sondheim musical Into The Woods, where Rapunzel is a mother of twins and is way past postpartum depression. The Hales' book has an enjoyable story and artwork.
Shannon Hale is no stranger to retelling fairy tales, but now she has help from family from her husband Dean to write this one.

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This is the first book that I have read by Shannon Hale, although I have a few more books of hers that I want to read. This is actually a graphic novel/novella. I really liked this book.

This is the story of Rapunzel; with a few twists. Rapunzel escapes from her tower and proceeds to get revenge on her evil step-mother. She wields her many feet of hair as a weapon and defeats many a dastardly enemy with these deadly locks.

This was a really fun book. The drawings are well done and very humorous. The story itself is also very well done and extremely funny. The graphic novel is a pretty good length; it took me a couple hours to read it. Overall a pretty uplifting story, lots of action, and lots of humor.

The whole story is done with a gunslinger, wild west type feel to it. So, Rapunzel's step-mother is an mining baron of sorts and her side-kick Jack is a lousy cowboy thief. I also enjoyed that this fairy tale ties in with the story of Jack (with his magical bean and goose that lays golden eggs).

Overall a great story and lots of fun to read. I am eager to read more of Shannon Hale's books.

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