eBook Review: My Name is Rapunzel by K.C. Hilton

Synopsis:  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.

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It is another story about Rapunzel. Rapunzel in this book is described as a teenager, she was 16 years old, and she was fall in love with a guy named Henry. At first, she expected that Henry will be her only love of her life. She wanted to marry him, and he wanted to propose her to be his wife. Their charming love story was not that easy to be true. The day when Henry proposed Rapunzel, something horrible happened. There was a weird storm approaching then Henry was gone. And something left behind after the storm was only the Witch with a suspicious Dragon standing in front of Rapunzel.

Rapunzel put herself in a very deep sorrow of losing Henry, her love of life. Unfortunately, that was not the end of her story. She was cursed, the old woman named Gretta did it. She was cursed of not being able to cut her hair and get married. But, the most terrible curse she got was that she was not able to grow old. She was trapped in a-16-year-old beautiful face and body. She was cursed to see everybody she loved died and left her forever. Even though anything seemed wrong every second she took a breath, she still had a hope. She only needed to figure it out and find the way to strike against the witch who had been keeping her in centuries.

~o~

My Name is Rapunzel written by K.C. Hilton is a book worth reading. The story told in this book is original. I can say that this book is a very bright version of Rapunzel story like originally written by Grimm Brothers. This book is also designed for young-adult readers which means that the story contains various ups and downs. It was very interesting to read this book and finish it only in 3 days. Woah! 

The main characters involved in this book are of course Rapunzel and the Witch, named Gretta. After being cursed, Gretta kept Rapunzel with her in a castle. Rapunzel is described as a gracefully beautiful young lady. She gets her beauty face eternal and her life immortal until she can remove the curse put upon her. Meanwhile, Gretta is described as a mysterious witch who sometimes looks kind but on the other days she looks very cruel and evil. Spoiler alert! Gretta here is not Gretta like what we used to know from other Rapunzel stories. Gretta here has a very shocking secret you will never believe it. Instead of Rapunzel and Gretta, there are Henry, Rapunzel's only love and John Jenkins, the journalist, who falls in love with Rapunzel. 

This story of Rapunzel uses different settings of time. It starts from 18th century then moves to 21 centuries as Rapunzel cannot die because she is curse to be immortal. Considering that, if you read this book you will get dropped into totally different eras which I feel very interested in. I can imagine how Rapunzel firstly lives in such a classic era, where there is no electricity and the technology is limited. Then, the time goes by, and she finds herself standing in front of laptop, enjoying electricity, bathing under the shower, and more. On the other hand, My Name is Rapunzel also takes place in a district named Paradise Valley, which according to K.C. Hilton is a fictional place located in Europe.

The conflict involved in this book is mostly about how Rapunzel can remove the curse Gretta put upon her. Besides, in this story Rapunzel also gets internal conflict which leads her to figure out what actually happens to her life and the secrets lying behind her family. She also gets another conflict whether to take the chance of falling in love with another guy who is not as eternal as her self or not.

The plot revealed in this story is very easy to follow even though there are some parts which invite the readers to look back at the past moments of Rapunzel's life. However, in some chapters, the plot seems to get flat and boring. Fortunately, how K.C. Hilton twines the words make the flat plot not too boring to read.

The ending of this story is unpredictable. There are many things you will get surprised when figuring them out at few last chapters. I found my self get surprised with the ending too. It is not merely what we expect from a fairy tale. I can say that the ending makes this book totally different.

Over all, I very like My Name is Rapunzel written by K.C. Hilton. This book presents new and original storyline of Rapunzel. It is not a boring book to read, but it does contain some flat plot especially at some chapters in the middle of the story. I really recommend this book for those who want to know different story and different secrets of Rapunzel. This book also offers different execution of the-same-root story of Rapunzel. 

The quotations I like the most:

"I comfortably traveled the world, and other worlds, by simply reading written words, and I never had to leave the safety of my tower chamber." (Rapunzel, chapter 8)

"Fairy tales are not just fun stories told to children in grade school. They exist all around us. Love is the happy ending that will break any curse, and we can all find it." (Chapter 42)

The Book's Information
Title: My Name is Rapunzel
Author: K.C. Hilton
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Self Publishing)
Edition: I/Kindle eBook English version
Published: October 2013
Pages: 230 pages (42 Chapters)
ISBN: B00GBIXLXS
Genre: Young-Adult Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling

My rating: 4 out of 5 crowns

~Happy Reading~
xoxoxo