Rapunzel's Revenge

Hale, S. ( 2008) Rapunzel's Revenge. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

Here is a twist on the classic fairy tale.  In this version, Rapunzel lives in a beautiful villa with Mother Gothel, who she thinks is her mother.  But she finds out that she was taken away from her real mother as payment for stealing lettuce from Mother Gothel's garden when she was pregnant, and her real mother is now a slave in the mines.  When Rapunzel finds out the truth, she confronts Mother Gothel, who then puts her into a tower far into the forest.  Rapunzel is there for many years and her hair grows very long.  She escapes from the tower when she is sixteen years old.  She begins on a journey to rescue her real mother and meets a boy named Jack.  They travel together and encounter many adventures together.  Finally, they are able to defeat Mother Gothel together and fall in love in the end.

This graphic novel has several twists from the original.  First, Rapunzel uses her hair as whips to defend herself, as well as beat-up several outlaws in the story.  The story is set in the Wild West as well.  Rapunzel is a strong female character who can take care of herself.  This version also has lots of humor along the way.  Recommended for upper elementary readers.