Rapunzel's Revenge

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

Welcome to the Wild Wild West of Fairy Tales and day 3 of BEDA.

If you know me at all, you know there are three things that I love: music, fractured fairy tales, and Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby Ice Cream. And while I tend to go on and on about how great the ice cream is, (Come on! Peanut butter filled chocolate covered pretzels in chocolate ice cream! What's not to love?) nothing is more delicious then taking a story you know and love and changing it to something almost unrecognizable.

That's what we have with this stellar graphic novel. I've been having this long standing debate with friend of mine about whether or not graphic novels should be considered quality reading. She has some doubt. So all of you doubters out there, you need to check out this book. Forget everything you know about fair maidens waiting for a man to stumble against some random tower and save the day. This princess is the key to her own success.

Normally I hate westerns. There's something about all that sand and sun and sweat that instantly makes me head for the showers, and possibly the ice cream isle. But as soon as I saw Rapunzel lasso her braids around a tree in this book to plan her escape, my skin started crawling in the best way. That's right, a hair lasso. James Bond was never so clever. And while it is great to read about it, seeing it beautifully illustrated adds a level of cool that no regular book can.

So in some ways, graphic novels are the fractured fairy tales of the novel world. I'll never get enough of taking something expected and making it cooler. Now if only I could grow out my hair...