A review by ninas_nook
Letters to Zell by Camille Griep
4.0
Originally found on www.booksarelifereviews.com
We all love fairy tale retellings, and this book is a very different take on the classic stories we have been told and it puts a different twist on all of the loved characters. It is told through a different lens as it is written in a series of letters to Zell (Rapunzel) from her closest friends.
Initially this form of story telling was hard to follow for me. I don't often read books told in letter form, so I wasn't used to the style and it made things confusing for me. This feeling passed the farther into the book I went and eventually I didn't notice the story style and became used to it.
The characters were very different than the perfect creatures we are shown in the stories we know. I expect this from retellings, but the unhappiness that was felt by each "princess" was somewhat surprising but it definitely wasn't unwelcome. I enjoyed seeing this potential other side that felt like a "behind the scenes look."
I really liked the idea of their "pages" that they have to finish. These story characters essentially must complete their pages before they are allowed to live their own life -- and even then they are stuck with the life their pages gave them. Their pages reflect the stories we know, but they aren't always life choices the characters are happy with.
We have princesses who are living double lives, and who are unsatisfied living in their storybook -- which is a story I can get behind!
CeCe (Cinderella) was struggling to decide what she truly wants to do with her life, Aurora (Rory) is desperate to please her husband who she really doesn't like too much, and Bianca (Snow White) misses her father and is marrying a guy because it fits into her "pages." The drama was out there, the characters at times confusing, but ultimately this story was good for those interested in fairy tale retellings mixed with The Real World.
They are able to travel to our world which was an added aspect I enjoyed, and though the princesses struggle with who they are and want to be, it was an interesting story filled with bumps and turns!
Overall: If you're a fan of fairy-tale retellings you should check this one out! It is a very original and interesting take on modern day princesses struggling to complete their pages and live their life at the same time.
We all love fairy tale retellings, and this book is a very different take on the classic stories we have been told and it puts a different twist on all of the loved characters. It is told through a different lens as it is written in a series of letters to Zell (Rapunzel) from her closest friends.
Initially this form of story telling was hard to follow for me. I don't often read books told in letter form, so I wasn't used to the style and it made things confusing for me. This feeling passed the farther into the book I went and eventually I didn't notice the story style and became used to it.
The characters were very different than the perfect creatures we are shown in the stories we know. I expect this from retellings, but the unhappiness that was felt by each "princess" was somewhat surprising but it definitely wasn't unwelcome. I enjoyed seeing this potential other side that felt like a "behind the scenes look."
I really liked the idea of their "pages" that they have to finish. These story characters essentially must complete their pages before they are allowed to live their own life -- and even then they are stuck with the life their pages gave them. Their pages reflect the stories we know, but they aren't always life choices the characters are happy with.
We have princesses who are living double lives, and who are unsatisfied living in their storybook -- which is a story I can get behind!
CeCe (Cinderella) was struggling to decide what she truly wants to do with her life, Aurora (Rory) is desperate to please her husband who she really doesn't like too much, and Bianca (Snow White) misses her father and is marrying a guy because it fits into her "pages." The drama was out there, the characters at times confusing, but ultimately this story was good for those interested in fairy tale retellings mixed with The Real World.
They are able to travel to our world which was an added aspect I enjoyed, and though the princesses struggle with who they are and want to be, it was an interesting story filled with bumps and turns!
Overall: If you're a fan of fairy-tale retellings you should check this one out! It is a very original and interesting take on modern day princesses struggling to complete their pages and live their life at the same time.