Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrated by Nathan Hale

"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." School Library Journal

"This is the tale as you've never seen it before." Booklist

Citali here with another book review: Rapunzel's Revenge. Another Rapunzel retelling! This time, it's in a whole new wild-west world and in a different format: a graphic novel.

Let's just start with the cover art. Cliffs of a canyon, starry night sky, a sidekick on a horse... and an absolutely amazing picture of the heroine, Rapunzel. Immediately you can tell it's Western, and that Rapunzel here is fierce and ready for action. Her braids are her lasso and she's looking off past us at an enemy we can't quite see, but who we know is going to lose this one.

Rapunzel, has grown as a normal girl in the luxurious villa of Mother Gothel, who she believes is her mother. Gothel has growth magic, able to make things grow or wither with ease. When Rapunzel attempts to look at the world outside the villa, she realizes Gothel has imprisoned her true mother in her slave-run mines. When Gothel imprisons 12-year-old Rapunzel in a tree she's grown unnaturally tall with the growth magic, Rapunzel swears to rescue her mother. The unnatural growth magic in the forest and the tower make Rapunzel's hair grow, and out of boredom, Rapunzel braids it and learns to use it as a weapon: a whip and a lasso. Gothel continues to visit the tower and to ask for a deal: if Rapunzel renounces her mother to become Gothel's child, Gothel will forgive her and take her back to the villa. When Rapunzel is 16, Gothel's final offer is refused, and as Gothel leaves, the holes in the tree close: Rapunzel is being trapped. She uses her hair to escape by lassoing a nearby tree and sets off to find her way back to free her mother. She meets Jack, whom she saves in a bar fight and with whom she's made a deal: he leads her through the treacherous land back to the villa, and she and her crimson braids protect him and his property. Rapunzel and Jack are outlaws in Gothel's land for theft, her escape from the tower, and assorted fighting as they run from the witch. Along the way, Rapunzel wields her braids as they escape prisons, steal horses, and tangle with outlaws, "devourers", and wolves, ending up with a party dress and a plan to save the whole land from Gothel's dangerous magic.

While the Wild West and magic and fairy tales might not go together, this book makes them all work, and perfectly! It really is about girl power: Rapunzel's the protector of Jack, not the other way around. Rapunzel gets out of her tower by herself, no prince or even wild boar to help. It's hilarious and adventurous, the quintessential Wild West graphic novel. The good guys are fierce and determined, the bad guys just as much so.

Rapunzel's Revenge is followed by Calamity Jack, featuring Jack, Rapunzel's sidekick. Rapunzel's still a character, and I'm eager to find what other misadventures she gets herself into! The magic of Shannon Hale's worlds continues for Rapunzel here.

Five stars!

Happy reading!
~Citali