Hale, Shannon and Dean. 2008. RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE. Illustrated by Nathan Hale. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN 1599902885.

What’s a gal to do when she’s been taken from her family, raised by an evil witch, imprisoned in a tree, and cursed with incredibly fast-growing hair? Rapunzel demonstrates the empowered gal response in this fast-paced, full-color graphic novel for ages 10 – 13.

When 12-year-old Rapunzel finally manages to scale the high wall surrounding the villa where she has grown up as nature witch Mother Gothel’s daughter, she discovers a bleak, dry western land and the long-lost mother she never knew, existing as a slave in the mines. Captured and imprisoned in a tree for four years as punishment for her disobedience, Rapunzel escapes and learns Mother Gothel has the entire countryside in thrall to her magic, permitting food to grow only in those communities who accept her authority and who pay her tribute. Meeting up with a wily boy named Jack, who is on the run with his pet goose, Rapunzel journeys across the land to return to the mines and free her mother. Along the way the intrepid pair perfect such skills as jail breaking and braid lasso whip-cracking while rescuing kidnapped girls and battling hungry jackalopes, ferocious coyotes, unsavory bandits, and slippery sea serpents. When a traveling thespian troupe scheduled to perform at Mother Gothel’s annual shindig offers Jack and Rapunzel a way to infiltrate the villa, they hatch a daring plan to free Rapunzel’s mother, destroy Mother Gothel’s magic totem, and free the land from her tyrannical power.

Shannon Hale fleshes out the backstory of the Rapunzel fairy tale, gives the tale a new twist with an Wild West setting, and offers readers a satisfying answer to the question, “what happened next?” The story’s main characters are well defined, easy to empathize with, and show personal growth as they overcome difficulties and learn to trust each other. The plot of the story flows quickly from scene to scene without chapter breaks, showing the time-compression aspect of fairy tales, as the vigilante heroes dash from one scrape to the next in their quest. The generic western setting is conveyed by idiomatic phrases “guess we’ll mosey along”, as well as traditional motifs in the artwork panels: red rock mesas and pueblo-style buildings, prickly pear cactus and Joshua trees, horses and covered wagons, in addition to characters wearing Mexican cultural dress or standard Western cowpoke attire. The severe desert environment is integral to the story, reflecting the harsh conditions Mother Gothel imposes on her suffering subjects and emphasizing how dependant they are on her goodwill for survival.

The theme of a young woman exploring hidden talents within her nature, and seeing what she can accomplish using them, is a recurring one in Ms. Hale’s books for young people. She says she appreciates the universality of fairy tales, existing as they do in every culture, and explains retelling fairy tales is her way of returning to the mystery of books she felt as a young reader. She enjoys taking a traditional fairy tale and “finding a way to understand and explore and expand it until it becomes a full-fledged story where I want to live” (Amazon, 2009).

Ms. Hale encourages readers to believe in Rapunzel’s fantastic world by giving details of how she spent her time, locked away in her tree tower for years. “So. There I was. Nothing to do. Besides a little housekeeping. And thinking. Again and again, I’d daydream about sneaking into the mines, saving my momma, and running away to a place where we could be happy and safe. But I was stuck in the tower like an ant in a drop of honey.”

The graphic art of Nathan Hale (no relation to the authors) creates for readers an impressive landscape, brimming with forests, deserts, fantastic beasts, interesting characters, and non-stop action. Essential to the story are the hundreds of multihued panels that convey the plot even without text. “Illustrator Hale's detailed, candy-colored artwork demands close viewing, as it carries the action -Rapunzel's many scrapes are nearly wordless.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Nathan Hale's art, stylistically reminiscent of a picture book, provides a snazzy counterpoint to the folksy text.”(Kirkus Reviews)

Reviews and Awards

Publishers Weekly starred review: “With its can-do heroine, witty dialogue and romantic ending, this graphic novel has something for nearly everybody."

VOYA review: “The Hale team creates an engaging heroine. Rapunzel gallivants across the unexpected setting, [and] meets a cast of characters both humorous and threatening…This novel presents entertaining girl power at its quirkiest. ”

School Library Journal starred review: “The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive. Knowing that there are more graphic novels to come from this writing team brings readers their own happily-ever-after.”

Kirkus Reviews: “A beloved fairy tale gets a glossy graphic-novel makeover, reworked in a fanciful Old West setting. A dash of typical fairy-tale romance, a strong sense of social justice and a spunky heroine make this a standout choice for younger teens.

ALA Notable Children's Book, 2009
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2009
Will Eisner Comic Industry Award nominee
Junior Library Guild Premiere Selection
Best Book of the Year from kidsread.com and teenreads.com
Cybil Award Winner, Graphic Novels Elementary/Middle Grade, 2008

Connections

Readers can visit Shannon Hale’s website for ideas on using Rapunzel in the classroom, download a reader’s theater script, and even print out Rapunzel paper dolls. Also available on the web is a video of the author discussing her writing, her books, and her love of fairy tales at Amazon’s Shannon Hale author page.

Books
Other novels by Shannon Hale:
Calamity Jack!, 2010 (Rapunzel’s sequel)
Book of a Thousand Days, 2009
River Secrets, 2008
Enna Burning, 2006
Princess Academy, 2005
The Goose Girl, 2005

Websites
Author’s website: www.squeetus.com

Author interview:
Amazon.com. 2009. “Shannon Hale on writing children’s books”. Shannon Hale author page. http://www.amazon.com/Shannon-Hale/e/B001JP9U7E/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
(accessed November 12, 2009)

Rosoff, Meg. 2004. HOW I LIVE NOW. New York: Wendy Lamb Books/Random House. ISBN 0385746776.

Fifteen-year-old Daisy has problems: her mother died when she was born, her father has remarried “Davina the Diabolical” and is starting a new family, she has anorexia, and now she has been sent away from her home in New York City to stay with her Aunt Penn’s family in an old drafty house in the English countryside. To her surprise, Daisy seems to fit into her cousins’ lives as easily as the last piece in a jigsaw puzzle fits into the remaining empty space. Her apparently psychic cousins Edmond, Osbert, Isaac, and Piper accept her without question, and they begin to fill the empty space marked “family” in her heart. But Daisy’s new life falls apart when, while her aunt is away on a trip to Oslo, England is invaded and the borders are closed. Bombings and acts of terrorism worldwide signal the breakdown of conventional society and the children are left to fend for themselves. The young people form their own small commune, insulated from the craziness of the outside adult world, eating food from the garden, looking after the farm animals, and taking care of each other. Love of a deeper nature begins to grow between Daisy and Edmond but war intervenes when their cozy home is commandeered as an Army command post. Daisy and Piper are transported to a foster home while the boys are sent to work at another farm many miles away. The children struggle to return home and rebuild their shattered family against the backdrop of an occupied, war torn Britain.

This debut novel by Meg Rosen features a stream of consciousness approach that includes paragraph-long sentences and little spoken dialog. The writing style takes a bit of getting used to, but places the reader firmly inside the main character’s shoes, learning and experiencing the story bit by bit as Daisy does, mimicking reality as we all experience it.
The story is told from Daisy’s point of view in a believable, acerbic teen voice capable of cutting to the heart of a situation yet revealing a vulnerability that is engaging and true. Many humorous passages reflect Daisy’s wry worldview:

“The first thing I did was to check my phone for messages, but all it said was NO NETWORK and I thought Oh boy so much for civilization and felt a little freaked out and thought of that movie where they say No One Can Hear You Scream…

…I put some clothes on and managed to find the kitchen after discovering some pretty amazing rooms by mistake, and Issac and Edmond were there eating marmalade on toast and Piper was making my tea and seeming worried that I’d had to get out of bed to get it. In New York, nine-year-olds usually don’t do this kind of thing, but wait for some grown-up to do it for them, so I was impressed by her intrepid attitude but also kind of wondering if good old Aunt Penn had died and no one could figure out a good way to tell me.”

How I Live Now is an original and unusual chronicle of war set in a contemporary western country complete with cell phones, internet, and CNN. Ms. Rosen shows readers how easily a technological society can be disrupted through the loss of such essential services as electric power and communications. It is when the underpinnings upon which their culture depends crumble and the thin covering of civilization is removed that people’s lives boil down to essentials. Such a transformation is not dependent upon a specific time period or country of origin. As Daisy notes, “If you haven’t been in a war and are wondering how long it takes to get used to losing everything you think you need or love, I can tell you the answer is No time at all.” Meg Rosoff’s dystopian novel reminds us that growing up is never easy, but those who persevere in the face of adversity can overcome such obstacles and emerge the stronger for them.

The author uses descriptive passages to give readers a view of the story’s rural setting and at the same time offer insights into the characters’ personalities through their responses to the world around them.

“The feeling of the cold water and the hot sun and having the river just flow over your skin like a dolphin wasn’t something I had enough words to describe but was the kind of feeling you never forget…I got out and flopped down on a blanket in the warm sun and waited patiently while the heat stopped the shivering in my skin and gradually warmed my blood all the way through and then I just closed my eyes and watched the petals fall and listened to the heavy low buzz of fat pollen-drunk bees and tried to imagine melting into the earth so I could spend eternity under this tree.”

The story characters are divided equally between male and female, while the problems they face are gender-specific (anorexia), equivalent (loss of a parent), and universal (making/finding their place in the world). Bossy Osbert feels the responsibility of being the oldest, telepathic Edmond compensates by keeping shuttering his personal feelings, empathic Isaac is more comfortable with animals than people, and innocent Piper inspires protectiveness from everyone. Cultural details, like cobblestone streets, village pubs, and rural footpaths are woven into the story as both Daisy and the reader learn about this new country in which they find themselves.

Reviews and Awards

Kirkus Reviews: “This is a very relatable contemporary story, told in honest, raw first-person and filled with humor, love, pathos, and carnage. War, as it will, changes these young people irrevocably, not necessarily for the worse."

The Bulletin starred review: “Readers will remain absorbed to the very end by this unforgettable and original story.”

Horn Book starred review: “A winning combination of acerbic commentary, innocence, and sober vision . . . Hilarious, lyrical, and compassionate.”

Publisher’s Weekly review: “This riveting first novel paints a frighteningly realistic picture of a world war breaking out in the 21st century…Teens may feel that they have experienced a war themselves as they vicariously witness Daisy's worst nightmares. Like the heroine, readers will emerge from the rubble much shaken, a little wiser and with perhaps a greater sense of humanity.”

YALSA Michael L. Printz Award 2005
Julia Ward Howe Prize (Boston Authors Club) 2005
Branford Boase Award 2005 (Britian)
Guardian (British newspaper) Children's Fiction Prize 2004
Der Luchs des Jahres Book Prize (Die Zeit and Radio Bremen) 2005 (Germany)

Connections

Teens could discuss how Daisy felt and reacted to the events in the story: her father’s new family, travelling overseas, the outbreak of the war, her eating disorder, the steps she and her cousins took to survive, etc. Students could compare how they might deal with similar occurrences. Young adults could also take a scene from the book and create a readers theater script and then perform it. Students could also write a story extension about what they feel might happen next in Daisy’s life, after the book ends.

Other novels by Meg Rosoff:
Meet Wild Boars (2005)
Just in Case (2006)
What I Was (2007)
Jumpy Jack and Googily (2008)
Wild Boars Cook (2008)

Gantos, Jack. 2000. JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL. Read by the author. New York: Listening Library/Random House.

ISBN 1400086167.

Unabridged production; four compact discs; playing time 3 hours, 51 minutes; packaged in a clamshell case featuring cover art by Beata Szpura.

Joey Pigza is so excited about seeing his dad for the first time in years and spending the summer with Carter and Grandma Pigza that he just can’t sit still. Trying hard to connect with his dad, Joey is dismayed to find Carter is just as wired as Joey used to be, before he got his meds and learned how to control himself in special ed. Carter’s grandiose express plans to make up for past wrongs, win the baseball championship, and create a future together with Joey do more harm than good. But it is his father’s decision to force Joey to take control of his life by flushing his med patches down the toilet that ultimately results in calamity.

Continuing characters Joey Pigza, his mom Fran, dad Carter, and Grandma Pigza return in this sequel to What Would Joey Do? and Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. Joey has come a long way toward knowing himself and is surprisingly insightful into the motives of the adults around him. But he is still growing as a person, trying to make good choices and create positive, supportive connections with the people in his life. The plot focuses on the relationship between Joey and his father, as Joey tries to form a bond with the man he desperately wants to admire and learn from. As an adult model, unfortunately Carter falls far short; Joey discovers he must find his own way and give up the “happily ever after” family ideal he has been holding in his heart. The theme of “It is what it is” but one can deal with problem situations and learn from them is gently demonstrated as Joey copes with his family’s dysfunctionality.

Setting the story in an all but unnamed city (one has to dig to discover it’s actually Pittsburgh), the author suggests these events could happen anywhere, to characters one might know. Mr. Gantos writes completely from Joey’s point of view and uses natural dialog, a mainly straightforward time order, and addresses universal aspects of growing up to create a realistic story with a tone that is ultimately hopeful.

Though the book’s protagonist is male, all readers can empathize readily with the complicated family dynamics and feelings of the characters. I feel this novel will appeal to its intended audience, ages 9 and up, due to the story’s humorous dialog, true to life situations, and genuinely likable main character. While cultural markers such as beauty parlors, mall sporting goods stores, video arcades, mass transit buses, golf, and baseball place the story squarely in contemporary mid-America, the current all-pervasive technology of cell phones and wireless Internet is not mentioned, making it difficult to pin down the story’s exact time period.

The listening experience of the audiobook was an enjoyable one, as Jack Gantos turned out to be an excellent reader, giving Joey a voice that was completely believable. I actually preferred listening to the story more than reading it in the print version, as hearing Joey speak his narrative aloud gave him such a vividly real personality he became someone I felt I’d seen recently. The final disc in the set included an afterword encouraging listeners to browse http://www.listeninglibrary.com/ for additional audiobook titles.

Reviews and Awards

Publishers Weekly starred review: “Like its predecessor, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, this high-voltage, honest novel mixes humor, pain, fear and courage with deceptive ease."

Booklist starred review: “Gantos has given Joey a remarkably vivid personality, and, blending irrepressible humor with a powerful depiction of a child's longing for normalcy, he has written a dead-on portrayal of a young person assessing the often self-serving behavior of the adults who control his life.”

School Library Journal starred review: “Readers will be drawn in immediately to the boy's gripping first-person narrative and be pulled pell-mell through episodes that are at once hilarious, harrowing, and ultimately heartening as Joey grows to understand himself and the people around him.”

The Five Owls review: “Jack Gantos has created a wonderful character in Joey Pigza, contemporary in malaise and treatment, yet at the same time sympathetic and lovable.”

Audio edition honors:
AUDIOFILE Earphones Award, 2001
ALSC Notable Recording, 2000

Print edition honors:
Newbery Honor Book, 2001
Parents Choice Gold Award, 2000
ALA Notable Children's Books, 2000
Booklist Editors' Choice List, 2000
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon
Horn Book Magazine Fanfare List
New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Books of the Year, 2000
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books of the Year, 2000
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2000

Connections

Extension activities for this book might include writing a booktalk about this book, creating a list of readalikes that also deal with children coping with disabilities, or discussing personal reactions to the characters or situations in the book. One could also provide art materials so children could create a graphic novel panel of their favorite scene, a poster to promote the book, or produce a portrait of one of the story characters. Readers who are interested in learning more could research the author or ADD or even Chihuahuas to share with the group.

Other Joey Pigza books by Jack Gantos:
I Am Not Joey Pigza, 2007
What Would Joey Do?, 2002
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, 1998