The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon Book Review"/>The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon
Published by Touchstone Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Rapunzel is happy living with her adopted mother in the forest. They help the women of the kingdom who are wronged by the men in their lives. Still, at times Rapunzel wishes to see the world beyond her home. One day as a group of men travels through the forest, Rapunzel sings out to one of them, calling him to her and causing him to fall in love with her. The man, it turns out, is the prince - and he is engaged, a fact Rapunzel only finds out after the two share a night of passion. Before long, the prince and his new wife have a daughter they have named Snow White. The prince’s marriage is not the end of the road for him and Rapunzel but it is Rapunzel and Snow White who truly have a dramatic future ahead of them.
So, this is a minor spoiler I suppose, but you can’t really discuss The Fairest of Them All without knowing this, so… Rapunzel eventually ends up at Snow’s stepmother. You know, the evil stepmother? Yeah, that’s RAPUNZEL and Turgeon’s main character. And you know what? It is a brilliant twist. Rapunzel is a hugely sympathetic main character and although her behavior towards Snow becomes traditionally malicious, Turgeon writes her fully enough that the reader can understand how Rapunzel got to that point.
An inventive and wonderful twist on a classic tale.
For more information, please see the publisher’s page.
Source: Publisher.
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Oh. This sounds good! Is it YA?
It isn’t marketed as YA and the main character has got to be at least 30 at the end, but for much of it there is a YA-ish feel. Also it is sort of short and reads really quickly, so it is sort of a crossover title.
I’m so glad to see you review this! I thought it was a really ethically complex story, and I am still thinking about it months after having read it. Love!
I love Carolyn’s books and have made a point of reading them ever since I read Godmother. I do still need to hit her earlier backlist, though.
You may have revealed the twist, but what a doozy! I want to read it and find out exactly why she turns evil, you know?