Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Review: Golden by Cameron Dokey


Golden
by Cameron Dokey
Fairy Tale
179 pages
published: 2006
4 of 5 stars

This is a another retelling of Rapunzel that had necessary elements for the fairy tale according to me: girl in tower, throw down your hair, ride off with the prince. :) It has a completely different feel than Zel however. This story is bright and hopeful and good.

I am happy to have read a version where the mother wasn't evil, Rapunzel didn't go insane, and 'happily ever after' didn't come at such a price.

What I loved:
  • The beautiful, lyrical language again. (What a treat to read two fin a row!)
  • The plot twists. There were more people in this version, the 'bad guys' where from unexpected sources, there were 2 'princes.' The ending was unexpected. And I loved the spice of the little Cyrano de Bergerac that was thrown in.
  • I enjoyed the characters. I liked Repunzel's spunk and Harry's stubborn, teasing attitude. I liked the prince's sweetness and the daughter's hopeful crankiness. I liked the tinker's dedication and restraint.
I liked it so much, I could have wished for more complexity/length, though I know it's YA and usually don't regret the lesser (if there is lesser) complexity/length. Perhaps in this case, I could see how this book could have a double written for 'adults' with more time spent on relationships and romance, the danger and journey, the difficulty in the tower. But this regret is small and short-lived.

I'll be happy to give this on to my daughter in the next few years and will likely read it again soon.

3 comments:

  1. Tori is actually reading this right now as we "speak." (Yes, she is home sick.) She needed a Beehive Award winner, and I said, "Here, read this." Did you know it won that award?

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  2. I did not! I don't even know much about that award.

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  3. I want to read this! Do you have it?

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