Zel.

The fantasy book, //Zel// by Donna Jo Napoli, is the story of Rapunzel. The main characters are Zel, who's real name is Rapunzel, her mother, and Count Konrad. This story is told by the three main characters in the book. The book takes place in the 1800’s and has four main settings: the market, Zel’s house, Konrad’s palace, and the tower where Zel is sent to. In the book Zel lives with her mother in the mountains, and they are not very wealthy. One day while Zel and her mother go into town Zel is waiting for her mother at the horse troffs. While Zel is there she starts interacting with one horse and when the owner comes along Zel falls in love with him. This man is Count Konrad, and he falls in love with Zel as well. When Zel’s mom finds out that Zel has met a man and they are in love with each other, her mother gets worried. This is because Zel’s mother does not want Zel to leave her and get married. To prevent this Zel’s mother locks her up in a tower where she is to stay. While Zel is in the tower she learns many secrets that her mother has been keeping from her, her whole life. Konrad does not know where Zel is and he needs to soon wed, but with Zel hidden, and her with mother guarding her Konrad may not get to her in time. Will Konrad find Zel, or will he have to wed a stranger? The main theme in the book //Zel// is what secrets can do when you keep them from someone. Zel’s mother has kept Zel’s whole childhood a lie, and how she became her daughter. This is important because Zel’s whole life has been a lie, with who she has believed she is. When Zel finds out these secrets she is very mad at her mother. On p. 199, this is what Zel feels “Zel’s ears fill with the thunder of blood, heating, racing. Her lips curl away from her teeth. A hiss of pain escapes her.” This quote shows Zel’s anger inside of her when she finds out what her mother has kept from her. In this book there were some parts that I liked, and some parts I did not. Something I liked was how the author waited to tell Zel’s past, so at the beginning of the book the reader would not know that Zel’s life was the story of Rapunzel. One thing I did not like is that is was too easy of a read, it seemed more of a lower level read. This is because it was very short and simple.

I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for a quick easy read. This book also has some suspense because you never know what could happen next. Overall it was a good book and it kept me reading more and more about the story, it was an interesting book to read. -Aleda Deuble