Review: A Modern Day retelling version of Rapunzel. This mother is wicked cruel!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 20, 2014
I kind of lost track that this was a fairy tale retelling. It was a retelling of Rapunzel. I loved that story and I loved the Disney version. It was awful to watch it unfold as a modern day story. I love retellings, but this mother was cruel. It seems weird to see it put in modern times with a parent like that. I loved this version too, don’t get me wrong.We have Zander, a boy getting ready to go to college and get an apartment with his cousin. He had a loving family with regular family issues. He likes to read and spends some time in the library. He is a good kid and patient. He is wonderful and thoughtful with Anya.We have Anya (the Rapunzel character) who does have long hair always kept in braids and around her head. She loves to take pictures with her camera and play with the things she can do with them. She is homeschooled. Her mother keeps her on a tight leash and doesn’t want her out in the world. She thinks the world is cruel. So, she only lets her go to the library twice a week. There she has her one and only friend who is the main librarian’s daughter. That way her mother can still keep her eye on her through the friend or her mother. Anya is a kind and sweet girl. She really wants to be happy and tries to please her mother.But fate sets in and she meets Zander when she takes his picture in the library. He wants to see the picture she took and they form an attachment as they talk and visit with each other every Tuesday and Thursday at the library.Zander wants to take her on a date and be more than just friends. But Anya’s mother won’t allow anything. Anya is almost 18 and so she tries to talk to her mother to see if she can go out on a date or when she will be able to do other things. But clearly, Anya’s mother isn’t going to budge, she is basically keeping Anya prisoner in her own home. So Anya risks it and goes to a bakery shop with Zander. Zander likes that she goes there with him but Anya has to sneak to do it. Zander wants her to talk to her mother and find out when she can date. The answer is pretty much NEVER! Zander and Anya push their time together by Zander coming to her house at night and she sneaks out and they spend time in the woods behind her house.But eventually, her mother finds out and her cruelty shows. So now what will Anya and Zander do?I enjoyed watching Anya grow and become her own person instead of just pleasing her mother and afraid to get her mother to see reason. I liked seeing how patient Zander is with her, willing to wait for Anya to talk to her mother and learning from his mistakes of pushing her a little too much to see her.But, I would still react the same as any mother who finds her daughter sneaking out in the middle of the night to be with a boy. I would not be happy and wonder what kind of boy would do that. I understand that her mother left them little choice, just sayin….If you like retellings, long hair, learning to stand up for yourself, enjoying a hobby like photography, cupcakes, family and finding first love, then this is for you