This novel was written by Donna Jo Napoli in 1993, and is set in mid- 1500s Switzerland. It follows a naive girl who believes everything her obviously fake mother tells her in her early teens named Rapunzel, but everybody calls her Zel.

At the start of the book  Zel has just turned 13 and wants to see the world, but “mother” says that's impossible because she is too young to go out alone and insists that they have all they need.

 She is not very smart because she is convinced that the witch is her real mom despite the fact that they don't look or act alike.

 The witch, or as she is called in the story- Mother -  was a lonely, desperate woman who gave up her soul in exchange for magic. She  made the girl's parents give them their daughter, then she gave them food as compensation. She is a complex character because at times it seems she really loves Zel but other times she treats the girl like a pet, meaning that she dangles affection in her face, but gets angry when she thinks her “daughter” is not acting like she should be according to her.

All the main characters serve as narrators at different parts of the story, which makes it interesting. Zel's pov (point of view) is all happy, flowery fluff.  Her mother's narration is basically a sad backstory, in that she was barren,  meaning she is obsessed with wanting a child. And the prince just points out how his life was boring until he met Zel.

This retelling actually gives the prince a name (Konrad) and gives him a lot more scenes with Zel , as well as a few with Mother. His personality is basically the typical “prince charming” who will not stop thinking about the protagonist despite literally knowing her for a few days. What makes his obsession creepy is the age gap, as Zel is just 13 and he is 16.  On the other hand, Zel trusts and loves her mother at first, but when she sees how clingy she  really is, starts to fear her.

Halfway through the plot, the heroine has to choose between staying with her mother or going with Konrad. At the end she picks the later (not crazy)option. Mother ends up going  completely insane, locking herself in the tower and dying inside.

My opinion:

I like this book because the main character is nice and the cover is  beautiful. I recommend this book for people 14 and up because there are some intense/dark scenes, but compared with the original story it's not that mature. I think though the story is historical fantasy, the characters feel real because they are not one- dimensional, meaning they have mixed feelings about their surroundings. Another thing that makes this book not for kids is the fact that the story has stakes. The protagonist has agency because she earns her happy ending. On the other hand, the antagonist wants everything to stay the same because she thinks she is always right, and meets her doom in the end. 

The most tragic character in the story is Mother because she is not just a villain, but also sees herself as a victim. 

This novel has a lot of symbolism.  For example: when Zel first discovers that her mother plans to leave her in the tower , she panics and tries to force the door open. By the time Mother comes to see her, she has stopped looking after herself and refuses to be touched. In other words, Zel is acting crazy from apparent isolation. Another thing we see in this novel is the theme of different beliefs at the time. ( Christian, Demonics and Astrology)  

Information about the book and writer:

She is American and writes mostly books for young adults and kids. Most of her stories are realistic, meaning that not everybody gets a happy ending. 

  publishersweekly.com/978-0-525-45612-4

.goodreads.com/book/show/54356.Zel.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Jo_Napoli.

scholastic.com/teachers/books/zel-by-donna-jo-napoli/.