Summary
After being locked in a tower by the evil Mother Gothel, Repunzel escapes using her long, flowing hair. Her story takes a turn when she meets up with a young man named Jack and they embark on a journey to get revenge on Mother Gothel.
Critical Analysis
In Repunzel’s Revenge, Rapunzel is a strong female character that goes against the typical fairy tale role. She does not wait for her Prince Charming to arrive and save her, but instead she relies on her own brains and strengths to solve problems. The plot of the story follows the basic skeleton of the traditional version of Rapunzel, except the setting is a mix between the fantastical world of fairy tales and the Old West. The theme of the story is conquering evil, but in this version, Rapunzel is the heroine instead of a handsome prince.
Since this is a graphic novel, the illustrations play a key role in delivering the meaning of the book. Nathan Hale creates illustrations that are visually appealing and bring the story to life. The drawings are styled in a typical comic book manner, with speech bubbles for the dialog. Instead of the setting being told, readers are given a clear visual.
Review Excerpt and Awards
This graphic novel retelling of the fairy-tale classic, set in a swashbuckling Wild West, puts action first and features some serious girl power in its spunky and strong heroine. Young Rapunzel lives a lonely life, never knowing what lies beyond the high garden walls of her mother’s royal villa until one day she climbs the wall to see what’s on the other side. When she finds that the world outside is a dark place oppressed by her mother’s greed for power and uncovers the real secret of her own birth, she is imprisoned in a magic tree tower. In her years of captivity, she learns a lot about self-reliance and care for her exceptionally long hair, and eventually she is able to escape, vowing to bring down her mother’s cruel empire. Hale’s art matches the story well, yielding expressive characters and lending a wonderful sense of place to the fantasy landscape. Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers. Tina Coleman, Booklist
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strength of Rapunzel’s Revenge is the colorful illustrations that accompany the story. Hale is able to add emotion and feelings into the pictures and give a better sense of the story. The plot of the story is guided by his illustrations and they are the best feature of the book.
The biggest weakness of this graphic novel is the dialog between Rapunzel and Jack. The bantering between the two gets inane and predictable, as they are constantly trading barbs back and forth, even though it is clear they like each other.
Personal Response and Connections
Although I have read a few comic books, I have never read a graphic novel. I am not sure if all graphic novels are similar to Repunzel’s Revenge or not, but I did not like the story. I like how Rapunzel was a strong female character, but I thought the addition of the Old West setting was odd, especially when it is combined with the traditional magical setting of fairy tales. I did like how the two stories of Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel were combined; it was a unique and fresh take on the stories.
I would use this book as a way to show how fairy tales can look different than traditional picture books. I would give students a chance to create their own graphic version of a fairy tale using the story elements.
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