A review by pertinent_sonder
Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison

adventurous reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

a character once remarks that Rapunzel is her own woman, and during her journey, Rapunzel proves exactly this. she comes off as rather self-absorbed at first, and rejects everything everyone tells her by quoting what she's learnt from Witch. her natural curiosity, however, soon leads to her being more open-minded. beyond everything else, Rapunzel wants to understand, not just to know. her companion, Jack, is sarcastic— if insensitive at times— but is always ready to help her and, deep inside, cares far more than he shows. they are not perfect characters, but they're real and relatable. Witch, too, is not just some evil, selfish person who doesn't care about Rapunzel (as she is portrayed in the Disney retelling). the cast of supporting characters manage to be intriguing despite their brief presence— i found myself wanting to know more about them, to know their stories, too. I've read plenty of books where the supporting characters are just there. they don't spark my curiosity. Morrison’s characters feel like people you yourself might meet while out and about. it doesn't feel as though they're there for Rapunzel’s sake, but just happened to cross paths with her.

above all else, my favourite aspect of the book was how Rapunzel dealt with Witch and all she had done. she'd been raised by Witch and had only felt her love and care, so even when Rapunzel found out that she was far from nice, she couldn't bring herself to hate Witch. someone said in their review that the story is not about how Witch should have been treated, but how Rapunzel specifically treated her, and i couldn't agree more. Rapunzel doesn't care that she is supposed to hate Witch; she loves her, and feels no regret for it. some have pointed out that this could've have been a subtle reference to abusive parents and how children can't really dislike their parents despite knowing their flaws. 

i read this book for the first time when i was in 6th grade and greatly enjoyed it. recently, i remembered it while talking about fairytail retellings with my friend and decided to reread it, and, man, this might've been the best decision I've made regarding fiction books in a while. I'm 100% going to tell my sister to read it in a few years, and might even reread it (again) myself.

reading this book felt a little strange at first, but that might be because it's written for middle schoolers and I haven't read anything but ya in the past two years.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings