Zel by Donna Jo Napoli Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Zel
Book Review: an interesting read.....yet not as good as Sirena
Summary: 3 Stars
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)Book Review: an interesting read.....yet not as good as Sirena
Summary: 3 Stars
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)Book Review: disturbing, different - these words describe the book Zel
Summary: 4 Stars
Zel is a retelling of the Rapunzel story. It shows the story from three alternating perspectives, a spoiled young prince, an enthusiastic peasant girl - Zel, and her aging foster-mother. Unlike the original story, we are brought to understand why the foster-mother keeps her captive in the tower - it is to keep her ever a child, and to save her from men. It is all mother's impulses taken to an extreme. Zel's ensuing madness acquired in captivity is disturbing, yet realistic for this fairytale situation. The mother-daughter relationship is something most women will be able to relate to, particularly the struggles for independence of young womanhood. In particular, I could recall my own desire for a boyfriend, my mother's protective urges that forbade me from dating. While the book is written for a teen audience, I found some of the subject matter rather mature.
Book Review: great book!
Summary: 4 Stars
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.Book Review: highly recommended for anyone who like fantasy fiction.
Summary: 4 Stars
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.