Dame gothel tells the story.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this book mostly because I love the Disney version of Rapunzel as told in the film Tangled. I did enjoy numerous features about this book though! To start with, I enjoyed the descriptive language used in the story. For example, there was a great amount of detail describing Dame Gothel’s task of collecting mirrors; “I spent a week gathering every mirror in the village. Then I lugged them, one by one, into the tower.” The writing in this piece was also full of character, since it is being told by Dame Gothel it reflects her character. For example, she included many humorous one liners such as “You have no idea how much I spent on shampoo” when she describes the length of Rapunzel’s hair. I also enjoyed the first person point of view as it allows the reader to better understand Dame Gothel. For example, the reader can understand Dame Gothel’s motives after she shares with the reader the following quote; “Let me tell you, it’s lonely being a witch. When folks find out what I am, they steer clear. The plot of this story is well paced, it begins as a flashback and then circles back to where the reader came into the story. It is also logical despite the fact that Dame Gothel is a witch, nothing magical occurs in the story. Moving on to the aspects of the book I didn’t like, I did not like how Rapunzel was depicted as a girl who only wanted the love of a man. For example, after Dame Gothel returns with the mirrors Rapunzel asks for she dismisses them saying, “Thanks but I don’t need the mirrors anymore. I met a handsome prince.” I did, however, enjoy seeing Dame Gothel’s love for Rapunzel. Although she never says it in the story, she is seen constantly putting Rapunzel’s wishes first until she snaps. I also did not like how the illustrations depicted Rapunzel as a redhead instead of a blonde! But that’s just is my personal preference. Actually, the pictures connect to the author’s words perfectly. You even get to see Rapunzel holding radish flowers like the text describes. Overall, the theme of not everything is as it seems was clearly conveyed in this story. It actually makes the reader pity Dame Gothel and not Rapunzel! It also helps the reader reflect on what it means to be human by pointing out that there are two sides to every story. ( )