Zel

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I am a fan of all retold fairy tales, and this one is no exception; it fills in the gaps of the Brothers Grimm tale 'Rapunzel', but still follows the plot line that the original followed.

This one is about a girl named Zel who lives with a witch that she calls mother. Zel's mother had had a craving for a special lettuce called rapunzel that the witch grew in her garden and persuaded her husband to steal some for her; in exchange, they were to give the witch the newborn baby.

One day at market, Zel met the prince, and they both fell in love. Zel's mother really didn't like this, and locked Zel up in a tower where only she could visit her.

This book I would recommend to teens, but not to young children because it has some adult situations. PG-13 would be an appropriate rating.

Final opinion: I think that this book was pretty good.

Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly beautiful, beautifully haunting.
Review: Oh my God. What are you people, popes? "Totally inappropriate things happen", yeah that's it. While things do transpire between the two after Konrad stumbles upon the tower after two years of endless searching, sex is not inappropriate for being included in the story. Take into consideration the fact that Konrad has been tormented with thoughts about Zel, this beautiful girl who enchanted him with her selflessness. Also look at Zel, who has been locked away in a tower for two years with only her mother to talk to for one hour every day. I mean, come on, would you want to be stuck talking to your mother when she's the reason your in a f****** tower in the first place? Zel longs, has always longed, to talk with people and see people. So if you were shut away from the world like Zel, wouldn't you be willing to sleep with the man of your dreams when he climbs suddenly through the window of your prison? It's satisfying to read that they get to share something so precious and meaningful.
The foreplay is presented as a series of similes anyway, and the actual putting of the you-know-what in the other you-know-what is indistinct. It's not written like a forward, sweaty, hot and heavy romance novel. It's beautifully described, haunting even. Completely appropriate.
So don't tie your panties in a knot, okay?

Rating:
Summary: Very good!
Review: I thought that Zel was a very good book. It is captivating and it follows a familiar story. I would definetly reccomend this book to any one of any age.

Rating:
Summary: Deceptively Simple - Deep and Evocative
Review: For readers who simply glance over the words and do no reading between the lines, this book will simply read as a fleshed-out fairytale, in which the characters, settings and storylines are given more background and details. For those who take the time to read more luxeriously and deeply, they will find layer upon layer of meaning, symbolism, motivations and psychological breakdown that is simply intoxicating to discover. Underlying all of this is the concept of deep and powerful love, and its conflicting abilities to both nourish and destroy.

Set in the mountains of Switzerland in the mid-1500s, Rapunzel "Zel" lives an isolated and innocent existence with her mother in their small farm, finding joy in such simple pleasures as visits into town and her birthday celebrations. But when her mother leaves her at the smithy, Zel comes into contact with her first male influence - the Prince Konrad who is immediatly captivated by her golden hair and pretty face. But if there is one thing that her mother will never allow it is for her most beloved daughter to be taken away from her. As Konrad anguishes away in a hopeless search for his heart's desire, Zel is whisked away from all contact from the human world - to a stone tower deep in the forest, with no way of escape.

The story is told through three viewpoints, that of Rapunzel and the Prince (told in third-person narrative) and of Zel's mother, made more intimate through her speaking directly to the reader. The three stories intertwine in a braid as tight as Rapunzel's hair as they struggle against their own personal desires and the conflicting emotions of those closet to them, and Donna Jo Napoli lays bare the original tale remarkably loyally, while delving deeper into the depths of what makes the three protagonists tick: Konrad's helpless obession with Zel, Zel's desire to please her mother yet follow her own path, and (most fascinating and frightening of all) Zel's mother's terror of loosing that which she loved most, and indeed gave up her very soul for. All the questions that you had when you first heard the 'Rapunzel' fairytale are answered: (how did Rapunzel's hair get so long? Why did the witch lock Rapunzel away? What were the witch's real motivations?), and at the same time we get a deeper look at the tale that we do not expect. I was not entirely fond of the fact that the book was written in present tense (ie - "she goes to the well" instead of "she went to the well"), but I concede it is necessary to pull one right up close to the characters and the decisions/actions they make.

Donna Jo Napoli is a remarkable author, enriching and illuminating this particular fairytale, making each fantasy element seem not quite as impossible as one might think. The glimpses into the nature of love, the abuse of children, the gift of free spirit and the reality of faith are thought-provoking and set off all kinds of discussions. I would also recommend Paul Zelinsky's picture book of "Rapunzel" as a wonderful accomplice to this book - although his is set in Italy, it too creates a deep and beautiful retelling of "Rapunzel" that we have not heard before.

Rating:
Summary: great book!
Review: this was a good book, and it gave me a different poitn of view on the old fairy tale. it's cool, because at first you don't know what story it is unitl later on. it's a little wierd, because zel goes a little crazy in her confinment in the tower and begins talking to animals and stuff. there is some evil in this book, too, so i would recommend it to no younger than 11 or 12.

Rating:
Summary: an interesting read.....yet not as good as Sirena
Review: I recomend this book (very weakly) Yet it was interesting and bearable, but try reading Sirena, also by Donna Jo Napoli. Sirena is much more beautifuly written, and it has a lot of mythological creatures in it which makes it stand out. Zel was just too hard to get into, and quite frightening to think about at some points. But other than that this book was Okay. I also recomend Lirael and Harry Potter, they are in the same family, (well almost)

Rating:
Summary: Rapunzel has certainly grown up!
Review: Everyone is familiar with the story of Rapunzel. You know, she was the one with the long hair trapped in a tower. However, Donna Jo Napoli has taken a new spin on this fairy tale character! She tells the story from three points of view, Zel (the main character), Mother (aka the witch), and Count Konrad (the prince). So, this time the witch is much more sympathetic, Rapunzel is a sronger heroine, and the prince is three-dimensional.
I liked this re-telling of Rapunzel a lot. The book was well-written and the different points of view were easy to decipher. The book has many adult undertones however, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone younger than a teenager. In conclusion, Napoli has embellished this well-known tale into a richer and more complex story. very enjoyable!

Rating:
Summary: highly recommended for anyone who like fantasy fiction.
Review: An amazingly original story of the fairytale "Rapunzel". It made Donna Jo Napoli one of my favorite authors. However, this book gets 4 stars because of the ending, which had great potential but ended up being kind of rushed and vauge, which detracted from the story.

Rating:
Summary: Zel
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Although it got off to a slow start, it got much better. It was a little advanced, and I would never dream of reccomending it to them now,maybe in a few years though.
It was hard to get into but, when you get into it is captivating.
Then in the end it's a little hard to understand.My overall rating of this book would be a 5.

Rating:
Summary: Well written
Review: This book takes place in the Midevil times. It is broken into each characters point of view. Usually I wouldn't like these kinds of books and how they are split in POV, but Napoli makes it great. Zel is a fairy tale that is twisted and bent a little (RepunZEL. It's a tale of love, desire, and of determination. It really is a must read.