Translate My Heart

In the original fairytale, Rapunzel is the classic damsel in distress type trapped in a tower by her foster mother until she is saved by the prince. Newbury winning author, Shannon Hale, and her husband Dean Hale has come out with a new graphic novel that puts a new spin on the old story.Rapunzel is a sheltered girl living in a compound surrounded by guards and walls. She has never seen what lies beyond the walls and has been denied countless of times to venture outside by Mother Gothel. On her twelfth birthday, Rapunzel takes matter in her own hands and climbs over the walls. On this day of reckoning, she not only discovers the outside world but also that Mother Gothel is not who Rapunzel thought she was. What follows is the lockup inside the tower or in this case, a tree. Years passed until Rapunzel rescues herself and journey on to save her real mother from Mother Gothel's cruelty with cross-dressing sidekick, Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk) and his trusty goose.A mix of fantasy and western cowboy genre, Hale spins a new outlook to the iconic Rapunzel character. She has become a spunky, fearless and independent outlaw fighting against creatures not of the human world as well as human villains. Humor, wit and great illustrations (by Nathan Hale, no relation to Shannon or Dean Hale), this new graphic novel is definetly a fun, modern hit to the fairytale genre.