Rapunzel's revenge – Shannon and Dean Hale

This is a wonderful graphic novel (a story with pictures – kind of a book length comic book) that modernizes the tale of Rapunzel. Rapunzel lives with her mother Gothel in a house with an enormous garden walled off from the world. One day Rapunzel adventures over the wall to see a world that is in slavery to Gothel. Gothel has growth magic, the power to made things grow or to stop things growing. To keep her subjects in line Gothel has made the surrounding lands barren. . During her escape Rapunzel has a chance meeting with her real mother who works as a slave for Gothel in her mines. Rapunzel decides that all this has to stop but before she can take action she is captured by Gothel's guards. When she refuses to be a part of Gothel's empire she is taken far away into a tree tower. Here she remains until her hair grows and she escapes. She is very naive in the ways of the world and is befriended by Jack (of the beanstalk fame). He becomes her partner in crime and social justice. Rapunzel becomes a hero, righting wrongs and saving the innocent, as she heads towards Gothel's Reach to free her mother.
The story is set in the Wild West with horses, guns and bandits. Rapunzel fits right in using her hair like a lasso. The dialogue is fun and witty and is complemented with illustrations by Nathan Hale (who is no relation to the authors)
An exciting and adventurous tale that retains the magic and romance of the original fairytale. 8/10

Before Midnight – Cameron Dokey

Continuing right along with my reading of all things fairytale is this retelling of the story of Cinderella. When Cendrillon's mother dies just after giving birth to her, her father is devastated and leaves the estate and his daughter into the care of Old Mathilde. He also leaves a mysterious baby boy with instructions that this boy was to never leave the estate unless he was sent for. Thus Cendrillon and Raoul are bought up together in the care of Old Mathilde, who magically believes in wishes. Each year on their birthday Cendrillon and Raoul each make a wish. For Cendrillon it is that the ground around her mothers grave would grow something, for Raoul it is that he would know his origins. This continues until one birthday Cendrillon wishes for a mother and two sisters to love her. Wishes have a tendency to come try sooner or later, especially if they are spoken out of love, and soon a stepmother and two stepsisters arrive. Not knowing that Cendrillon is her husband's daughter, she is treated like a servant, but with kindness. But there is a sorrow in her stepmother's heart that Cendrillon longs to ease. Events take a turn when all the eligible girls of the kingdom are invited to a ball in the Princes' honour. Cendrillon is revealed to be a noble and all three girls prepare to go to the ball. However a message from Cendrillon's father tells them not to come. In ignoring this order the destinies of both Cendrillon and Raoul's are revealed.

I love the way that Dokey adds different dimensions to her tales. Instead of Cinderella's father dying and leaving her to her evil stepmother she adds the “what if” he was still alive and what effect would it have on the story. It is her father who is the man who has little regard for his daughter and would harm her if he could. In her stepmother Cendrillon finds the love that she craves.
Dokey sets the story in a familiar but magical landscape; where the garden grows mysterious and odd produce, where poor men can become princes, and where wishes are treasured and often come true. Perhaps the story is a little predictable, but it is to be expected as it basically follows a well known fairy tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 9/10

Little Red – A fizzingly good yarn - Lynn Roberts

Continuing on my theme of all things fairy-tales I pick this book off the shelf at the local library. Little Red loves his read coat and also goes by the name Thomas. Thomas' family run an inn which is renown for its ginger beer and Thomas loves talking the all the travellers who stop by to listen to their tales of robbers and wolves in the forest. One day Little Red steps out on his weekly trip to grandmothers to bring some treats and a weeks supply of ginger beer. However a bad and hungry wolf was watching and scheming........ Can Little Red escape the wolf and safe grandma. And how does the ginger beer save the day?
A funny retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and children will have fun pointing out the similarities and differences from the traditional story. This is not the watered down version where grandma hides in the cupboard – she is eaten in one gulp. Children will enjoy the addition of bodily noises such as burps. In my house just the mention of burps and......back door burps ensures uproarious laughter from my 4 year old. (Favourite family joke: Q: What did one burp say to the other burp? A: Let's be stinkers and go out the back door!). The illustrations by David Roberts are almost comic-like and lend themselves to the menacing undertones of the story. 6/10

Wild Magic – Cat Weatherill

The town of Hamelin is overrun with rats when a piper comes to town as is able to remove the rats by playing his pipe. When the townsfolk refuse to pay the piper enchants their children and they follow him never to be seen again. Sound familiar? In this magical story, Weatherhill continues this scenario about what happened to the children and why. The Piper is an elf from another land who, after entering a forbidden forest and killing a white stag, is cursed. Every full moon he is turned into a beast. The curse can be past to another, but only a special child with special magic. The piper will know where to find this child because of a plague of rats. 250 years later and still living with the curse the piper is desperate when he finally discovers Hamelin. Once he enchants the children, he takes them to Elvendale to try and discover who the child is that can take his curse. But none is found and in his anger he turns all the children into animals to live in Elvendale forever. Unknown to him one child, Jakob, could not keep up as he was lame. Jakob finds away into Elvendale to find his sister Mari. Here he finds this lameness is healed, he can now run and delights in all he finds. Jakob becomes the hero of the story as he saves his sister who is now a fox, and saves the Piper. However now he is left with the curse......
The story is told in 3 alternating narratives that of the Piper, Mari and Jacob. The story is a sad one, to see how the curse has embittered the Piper. I enjoyed the magic and mystery that surrounded the Piper and the history of how he came to be as he was. It is disappointing that the story does not include what the lifting of the curse means to the Piper and how his life changes particularly as there is a lot of background history to the life he left behind because of the curse. Everything ends a little too nicely for me, but happily-ever-afters are what fairy tales are all about. 6/10

Snow – Tracy Lynn

Jess has skin as fair as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as shadow. Unfortunately her mother died at birth and her father is not much interested in her. Though a Dukes' daughter she runs wild with the estate children, learns to cook and not give much notice to her appearance. Until her father remarries. Appearances are very important to her stepmother and much of Jess's time is spent with her stepmother using her creams and potions to bring out her beauty. That is until Jess is pronounced the most beautiful. Jess is warned and flees for her life, to the city where she is found by five Lonely Ones – animal-like humans who secretly mine the streets (pick pockets). She keeps house for this group of misfits and adopts the name Snow. When Snow is discovered by her stepmother she dies in one of her stepmothers experiments to create eternal youth. Her friends are at a loss to know how to help Snow until then met the Clockwork man.....
A very interesting (as in peculiar) retelling of Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs with lots of other characters supporting the story. Snow herself is very traditional but the 7 dwarfs are animal-like people that we find out were originally created by the stepmother in her quest to have a child. The magic mirror is a bewitched musician and the wicked stepmother is a scientist who has gone mad in her attempt to be beautiful and to create a child. Gone is the magic kiss that brings Snow back to life, it is replaced by a jolt of electricity. It is also confusing who is the 'prince' as there are a few eligible gentleman. That said, I did enjoy the twists to the story as it made it less predictable. As a fairy tale adaptation it is a good read. 7/10

Water Song - Suzanne Weyn

The frog prince is my favourite fairy tale! When I was living in a rural village in Papua New Guinea one of my favourite things to do to encourage my language learning was to tell stories. Part of my job required hiking from village to village to collect information about literacy. At night people would gather around and talk. I became known for telling stories, especially the story called “Rokrok na pikinini meri bilong king” (The frog and the daughter of the king). In my imaginings this story would be retold by other Papuan nationals and become a 'tumbuna stori' (folkstory).
I'm not sure what it is that makes the story so appealing to me. Is it the romance of the story the way that the frog must woo the princess to kiss him to break the spell. Is it all about fairness in how we treat people. Or the whole idea of not overlooking someone just because they are ugly/different because what is inside could be something wonderful (Don't judge a book by its cover).
Suzanne Weyn's adaptation of 'The frog prince” is set during the first world war. Against this bleak background all of the well-known parts of the fairytale are addressed. The 'golden ball' is a golden locket shaped as a ball; the' princess' an wealthy English girl called Emma and, the 'frog' is Jack, an American who has a talent for back water magic. When they first meet Emma finds him in the well where she threw her locket. He's a good swimmer, his skin is blistered, and his eyes are bulging and swollen from the gas, very much the picture of a human frog. As soon as he is able to see Emma, he wants her to kiss him. The plot includes the aspects of war, espionage and battle that allows Emma to see what a prince among men jack really is. The result is a mix of war romance meets fairytale which didn't quite capture the magic for me. 6/10

White as Snow - Tanith Lee

This is a very dark retelling of snow white, nothing like the Disney and children's versions. Combining fantasy and horror Lee follows the history of a noble maiden Arpazia who captured, raped and finally married by a conquering barbaric king. All she has left her past life is a glass mirror that possesses witching powers. The murder of her sister and a loveless marriage and the birth of a child that she sees as evil leads Arpazia down her dark magic path. The story elicits sympathy from the reader as they follow Arpazia's life from loving sister to tortured soul, especially when her lover rejects her for her daughter. The daughter Candacis (called Coira) is seeking love from her cold and remote mother but must find it elsewhere.
The two main characters, mother and daughter are very passive in the story and are victims of their circumstances with love, hate and jealousy abounding. Although a well crafted story, for a romantic like me there is no handsome prince at the end :( 6/10

Beauty Sleep - Cameron Dokey

Dokey has successfully converted sleeping beauty into a teen romance. Young Aurora is mollycoddled by her family because of a curse that was given at her christening. We all know the story but consider trying to eat steak without a knife as her parents won't let her use anything sharp! Prince Charming also lives with the family (Aurora's cousin) as heir to the throne. Initially he is anything but charming, but as he matures has a winning way about him. Until Aurora is named heir and Prince Charming is to be steward and the scene is set for a love-hate relationship. Unlike the sleeping curse of the traditional tale Aurora flees her home (to protect it from her curse) into a forbidden forest where she must await true loves kiss (or at least the kiss of someone she likes ) Perhaps not a true retelling of the fairy tale but Dokey's interpretation makes a good read. 7/10

Deerskin - Robin McKinley

I am a romantic so I love a good fairy-tale with princes and princesses and true love which conquers all. This is what lead me to pick up the book Deerskin by Robin McKinley who has done some great retelling of traditional fairy-tales (often found in the teenage collection). So when I saw this in the adult fiction, I prepared myself for a good read and I wasn't disappointed.
The book begins where most books leave off. The Prince has found his Princess, they marry and take over ruling the kingdom. Yet there is no happily-ever-after. The new King and Queen are caught up in their all-consuming love and have little room for their daughter, Lissla Lissar. She is left to grow up alone in a kingdom that adores her parents until tragedy strikes. The Queen, "the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms," dies and her father is thrust into madness.
During this time Lissar receives her first friend as a gift - a fleet-hound puppy called Ash from a Prince from a nearby country. Lissar is unaffected by palace life and her blossoming beauty, and spends all her time training the puppy. As she grows more into the beauty of her mother, Lissar must flee from her father's madness and lust.
Wounded in body, mind and spirit by her father Lissar flees her palace live, with her faithful dog Ash, to the mountains where she must recover. She makes a new life for herself living among a people where she finds love and acceptance but no peace.
There is a dream like quality to McKinley as she writes yet she leaves vivid pictures in the readers mind of Lissar struggling to survive, running barefoot through the countryside with her dogs. Central to the story is the love that Lissar and Ash share as it is in this relationship that she finds the strength to finally recover, confront her father, and regain the memories of her life as a princess.
For those who love fairy-tales, this is an adult version as it addresses issues of incest and rape. It is at times painful to read because it is full of brokenness, but there is joy and healing, and of course a love that triumphs!
Highly recommended 9/10

The Storyteller's daughter - Cameron Dokey

Shaharazad has inherited her mother's storytelling gift and although never accepted by her father's people she uses her gift to bring sanity to the king. King Shahrayar has been betrayed by love and swears to marry and then the next morning kill his wife so that she has no opportunity to betray him. Shaharazad offers herself up as a bride to save others from death. Her stories woo the king, and attempt to restore his heart. This book brings that character of Shaharazad alive rather than just the stories she tells (as told in 1001 Arabian nights). It tells of her mother, her childhood and of the terror and wisdom in her actions towards the king she loves. I loved the book! I liked the way that Shaharazad is portrayed as a feminist and in her tales it is the woman who are most wise. Although I know Shaharazad's story there were enough twist in the story line to keep it suspenseful and enjoyable. 8/10