Book Review: Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C. Bennett

The Deal: Rapunzel has never been outside her house, or really had contact with anyone other than her Mother, Grothel. She has a rare disease that keeps her from ever going outside and she lives practically alone, with only her mother's visits to keep her company, even if Grothel always seems more interested in brushing out Rapunzel's 15 feet long hair than on anything else. 

Rapunzel is lonely though, and since her mother was forced to get her a computer so she could keep on with her home schooling, Rapunzel has discovered Facebook and enjoys looking at the pages of the kids that go to the local high schools, kids she has never seen. 

That's how she meets Fane, a guy who accepts her friend request and with whom she begins talking, a small act of defiance that might change her life. 

My Thoughts: I have to admit that Rapunzel Untangled threw me at the beginning. I had read and loved Geek Girl by the same author and I guess I was expecting something pretty similar, and this really wasn't. 

I also thought I would really like it, almost instantly, because I love fairy tales and their retellings, but at first I had trouble clicking with the world and the set up for the story - you know, how much magic was in this world? what was Grothel really up to? - but as the story progressed I found myself really liking Rapunzel and Fane. 

All in all, it was a really good retelling and I do like Ms Bennett's style, is very readable and it goes by pretty quickly. 

2/3

Book Review: Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett

At First Sight: One day, on a whim, Jen Jones bets her two best - and only - friends Beth and Ella that she'll turn Geek Prince Trevor Hoffman into a bad boy, someone that would fit in their world of goth misfits. The girls accept and so the bet is on. 

Jen is sure she can make geeky Trevor like her, as he's a geek and she's a girl, but she isn't prepared for how nice Trevor is, how good. And even though, to her, everything started as a game, she soon isn't sure she can play anymore. 

After a difficult childhood with abusive parents and years of bouncing around in the foster care system, Jen doesn't exactly believe in nice, or that people might actually like her and want her around, but being with Trevor and his friends is a revelation. Even if a bit shocked, they take her in. 

Not to mention her current foster parents aren't half bad, and the more time she spends with Trevor and his 'goodness' starts to rub on her, the more she realizes of this. And the more afraid she is of loosing it all, once the truth comes out. 

Second Glance: Geek Girl wasn't at all what I expected, I think I expected something sweet and cute like Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern, but it was nothing like that. I'm not sure if I agree entirely with the author's definition of Geek, but it works well enough as a description, I guess. 

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The story itself was more sad than I expected, mostly because Jen's life has been pretty rough, and I admit that in the beginning I didn't like her, she came off as bitchy and fake. But once she starts to share more and more of her story, you realize there is a reason for both things. She sounds fake because a lot of her is fake - part of a defense mechanism she has put up to keep from getting hurt, and her being 'goth' falls into that too.

I really liked Trevor, and his family -he was seriously decent but toward the end of the story showed a side of him that was less than perfect and very human and I liked him for it, I don't think I would have been able to like him if he hadn't shown he can make mistakes too. All in all, I really liked how his relationship with Jen developed. 

Also liked plenty of secondary characters, some more developed than others, which was nice. Particularly Jane  and Tamara - Jen's best friend and foster-sister. 

Now, I did have a couple of problems with the book. I found the book a little hard to get into - because of what I mentioned before, Jen sounding a bit fake and bitchy. And also, the pace could have used a little tweaking, the book felt kind of long at times and it really isn't that long, and it did cover a lot of time.

Bottom Line: Geek Girl was a surprise read for me, I was surprised how invested I got in the story and all. Though it was funny, it was by no means lighthearted, but it had dashes of hope that surprised me (again with that word :) ). And it made me cry, which I so wasn't expecting!

Favorite Quote: "What is it that Superman said? Something like, 'Once you choose hope, anything's possible."
"I don't think that was Superman. I think it was Christopher Reeve himself who said that."
"Yeah, well, Christopher Reeve is Superman" - Jane and Jen.