Customer Reviews

Golden

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before Rapunzel was born her mother had her husband steal a certain leafy herb from her neighbor's garden. When the Sorceress, Melisande, discovered this theft she made a bargain with the man that should his wife not be able to make room for her child's arrival (if it was a girl) then he would give the infant over the Melisande as recompense. The vain and selfish mother only cared about her own actions and her own beauty that was wound up in her beautiful golden tresses she cared for daily. When Rapunzel was born with no hair at all her mother rejected her, and she went to live with Melisande (who names her after the offending leafy herb her father stole) in a far away land.

Rapunzel grows up an outcast largely due to the fact that her hair never does grow in. The second part is because of Melisande, whose disconcerting abilities to look into people's heart unnerves all whom she meets. When Rapunzel is a young girl of thirteen she meets a wandering Tinker named Mr. Jones, who gifts her with a small copper colored kitten, and his foster son Harry. Rapunzel names the cat Mr. Jones and becomes fast friends with Harry, who cares not at all about her bald crown and brings her many gifts of headscarves from around the world.

When Rapunzel is 16 Melisande and her have to flee their home because of a mob's attempts to kill them both. On this journey Melisande reveals a terrible secret, one that upends Rapunzel's entire world. The only Mother she has ever known has another daughter, and to make matters worse the only reason Melisande took in Rapunzel in the first place is because within her Melisande recognized the ability Rapunzel possessed to break the enchantment her daughter, Rue, has been a prisoner of for many years. Rapunzel has two choices, to abandon the task that Melisande presents her or to rise to the occasion and summon up all of her strength so that she might vanquish the evil enchantment that holds Rue (and with her Melisande's truest heart) captive.

This is actually the ninth installment of the "Once upon a Time" series that I have read, the latest one to come out thus far. It's pretty on par with many of the other novels in the series, especially those of Dokey's. I enjoyed it as a continuation to a spectacular series. Dokey's prose and storytelling is right on for the feel of this already stellar series, and "Golden" certainly fits right in with one of the better quality books in the series. Readers of fairy tales will enjoy how Dokey retells the myth of Rapunzel, weaving new characters, twists, and turns into an already well loved story. This is a must read for fans of the genre or the series overall.

I do hope that this series is continued in the future, and would love to see certain tales retold. "Cinderella", "The Snow Queen", "Rumpelstiltskin", "The Frog Prince", "Aladdin", "Thumbelina", and "The Princess and the Pea" are all tales I would love to see have this treatment done. Not knowing if, or when, there will be another addition to this series I can only dream, of course... my hope is really on Cinderella... but I will have to wait to see as we all will.

Craving what she can't have, our unborn heroine's mother forces her husband to climb into their neighbor's yard and steal a leafy plant that tastes of parsley, called to those who know it as rapunzel. Not enough, the husband again crosses the boundary for another bushel when he is caught red-handed and forced to strike a bargain with the great sorceress/neighbor: Until the child is born, the madam may have as much rapunzel as she likes. But when the child is born, she must love the babe just as it is, for that will mean she will love whatever it becomes. If she cannot do that, the sorceress will claim the child in payment for the rapunzel.

16 years later, Rapunzel is shocked to learn that the one who raised her with so much love, is a great sorceress, and one who has a daughter. And when she is faced with the opportunity to help someone she does not know and find her own heart, she will do whatever she can to complete her task, even if it means losing what she had for the sake of someone's cursed life...

This book has new plots and characters that could only be told by Cameron Dokey. And most of all, you feel for Rapunzel and hopes that she succeeds, and that she ends up happy with the one she loves.

And I disagree with the first review. The ending was totally new and unexpected. And yes, the problem with happy-endings is that at some point you can predict which characters end up together, but that only makes you more anxious to see how things work out. If you want something unanticipated, read Go Ask Alice.

I have to agree that the book's events surrounding Rapunzel and Rue were too short - their relationship didn't feel that substantial. Thus, the story was somewhat anti-climatic and predictable. However, Dokey does do a good job in building Rapunzel's childhood, character, and relationships. I think Dokey has an amazing understanding of the human heart and has a gift for expressing it in ways that can touch anyone - this book is no exception. "Golden" really dives into what it means to love and sacrifice, just as all of Dokey's other stories. Even with some shortcuts in the plot and ending, the story is pleasant and worth the read - even if only to gain insight into the human capacity for love.

I am an adult and I simply and quite frankly thoroughly enjoy this series for a young adult audience...it's just plain fun to read. Golden is not my first encounter with this series (at this point I've read nearly all of them...only four more to go) and while it's not the worst in the lot (Water Song, IMHO), it's not the best either (Before Midnight, Scarlet Moon, and The Storyteller's Daughter are my personal favorites). I also have to admit that Dokey is one of my favorite authors writing for this series, two of her books are listed as my personal favorites. Golden is an adaptation of Rapunzel with a few new twists which add to the fun. I found it interesting that Dokey chose to omit, from the very beginning of the story, the golden hair element of the story (or at least it seemed so), but went with it hoping that a clear reason for this would come later in the story...and sure enough it did, in spades.

The remaining elements of the story are fairly traditional...though Dokey does make the witch more of a sorceress and give her a "good guy" part in this particular version. Here there is no "ultimate bad guy" (a la wicked step-mother)...rather the "bad guys" are more subtle, much less `in your face' than us usual for a fairytale. Here Rapunzel (for what else could she be named?) comes by her circumstances in almost exactly the traditional way (mother craves rapunzel, a kind of parsley; husband gets parsley; husband gets caught and a bargain is struck)...but here is where one of the twists occurs. The sorceress doesn't demand the child, she strikes a bargain whereby if the mother cannot love the child "as is" when it is born, she will take the child away. The father is mortified and doesn't want to agree, but ultimately an agreement is reached...and of course, Rapunzel winds up with the sorceress -- the mother being entirely too vain and selfish to accept her newborn (because she is bald as an egg). The mother hands the child over quite readily, much to her husbands dismay and sadness, and away the child is whisked.

This particular version goes much more in depth with regards to Rapunzel's childhood and her time with the sorceress (Melisande) and allowing us to get to know Melisande as well. Usually, we learn nothing of the sorceress or the reasoning behind wanting the child in the first place. Dokey does a fine job, giving us a plausible and emotionally satisfying reason for it, which made me quite happy. Unfortunately, the author spends so much of the book on this element that the twist with the hair and the tower comes almost too late and is somewhat awkwardly shoved into the storyline. Don't get me wrong I adore the idea and think it highly clever, but the timing is unfortunate. It is near the three-quarter mark that Melisande's real daughter is introduced into the story and this, quite naturally, creates hurt feelings for Rapunzel who has only just found out Melisande is not her real mother. Additionally, the time-frame for the two girls to work out a solution to the second girl's imprisonment makes the ending a bit hard to swallow. I did love the trick with the hair and how it worked as the conveyance into the tower...quite a nice take on the traditional "throw down your hair" method.

Overall, it's a fine addition to the Once Upon a Time series and an enjoyable adaptation of the classic fairytale, Rapunzel. I give it 4 stars though because the ending was a bit too rushed and I felt like Rue was not given adequate time for the reader to get to know her (or even really care about her) and that the interaction between her and Rapunzel (and the Prince) suffered simply by being too rushed. I would have liked to see this part of the story given a bit more time and space to develop more fully. I feel that would have made the ending all the more enjoyable. While I didn't completely enjoy the ending, I would still recommend Golden for any reader who loves fairytale adaptations, you could do a lot worse!

I love retelling, my love of them was started by Robin Mckinly's Beauty. This book is horrible! I couldn't follow the dialog, and half the time the characters were interrupting each other with pointed stuff that didn't have anything to do with the story. It was such a short story that I expected it to be simple and straight to the point, but no! It kept taking all these pointless tours through territory that was boring, time consuming, and hard to follow. I will never read another book by this author again. Please don't waste your time.

I love reading retelling of fairytales...but this was all 'tell' and very little 'show'. It was a cute story, if you don't have anything better to read. I kept waiting for some sort of climax or real conflict, but the climax was more of a molehill rather than a mountain.

Sweet but with enough tension between the characters to avoid being gooy. Interesting twist on the fairy tale.

After not being able to belong in her mothers heart, Rapunzel is taken in by Melisande, a sorceress that Rapunzel's dad took rapunzel from. Having no hair, Rapunzel must always wear a kerchief to hide herself from everyone so they do not make fun of her. The town starts to believe that there is a bad omen and want to run Melisande and Rapunzel from the town. There do we start to find out the secrets that Melisande holds in her heart and to see if Rapunzel's is as strong as Melisande believes it is... for Rapunzel's sake.

This is a beautiful retelling of Rapunzel. It doesn't show Melisande as the evil sorceress but as a caring one. The one that we "hear about" in books is actually a wizard, not a witch. Nice twist there. There are several twists and turns that I enjoy in this book.

I must disagree with the first reviewer. The ending isn't all that predictable for in other stories in this series you think one thing will happen (When it comes to relationships) and something else happens (Before Midnight anyone?) So I was going to throw the book across the room if what I thought was going to happen happened.. But it did not. This is another fine work by Dokey.

loved this verson of the classic fairy tale! repunzal is actually born bold and raised by a witch who has a beautiful dauther locked in a tower. the girls quarrel and fight over how repunal will free the daughter, but in the end, repunzal gives her name up and chooses a new name for herself. this is one of the best books about retold fariytales that i have ever read.

In this unusual retelling of the story of "Rapunzel", Rapunzel is a girl who was born completely bald. Her mother, upon seeing this, decides that she cannot love her daughter, and so Rapunzel grows up with the sourceress, Melisande. Everything is well until Melisande tells Rapunzel that she has a daughter, Rue, who is under a curse, and asks Rapunzel to free her . . .

I really enjoyed the creative spins Dokey put on the story. You're not quite sure what to expect. The characters are interesting and realistic. And I especially liked the romance. The themes of the nature of love and magic are fresh and make you think. The pacing is good, except I thought that everything wrapped up a little too quickly. It's not a long book so you won't get bored with it, but it still has depth.

I've read six books in the "Once Upon a Time" series, and "Golden" is one of the best. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.