Ten YA Retellings of Rapunzel

By Lilian Calix
April 21, 2015
Hamilton Grange Library

Rapunzel is a german fairy tale about a beautiful young maiden who has been impriosoned in a tower by an evil witch.  Here are several retellings of the fairy tale that appeal to modern day teens.

Toweringby Alex Flynn "A contemporary retelling of Rapunzel told from the alternating perspectives of three teens whose fates unknowingly bind them together to destroy a greater evil"

Cress by Marissa Meyer "Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth. Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company."

In the film Tangled  "When the kingdom's most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider hides in a mysterious tower, the last thing he expects to find is Rapunzel, a spirited teen with an unlikely superpower—70 feet of magical golden hair! Together, the unlikely duo set off on a fantastic journey filled with surprising heroes, laughter and suspense"

Rapunzelby Barbara Rogasky "Retells the tale of the beautiful girl imprisoned in a lonely tower by a witch."

The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon "Can Rapunzel trade the shadows of the forest for the king's castle and be the innocent beauty her beloved prince remembers?"

Rapunzel The One With All the Hairby Wendy Mass "Rapunzel and Prince Benjamin are both trapped, one in a tower by an evil witch, the other by his royal duties, but when their paths cross, aided by friends and a little luck, conditions change for them both."

Rapunzel by John Cech "A retelling of a folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a witch. Includes a note on the origins of the story."

Golden: A Retelling of "Rapunzel" by Cameron Dokey "Before Rapunzel's birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress Melisande: If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future. After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue, who was cursed by a wizard years ago and needs Rapunzel's help. Rue and Rapunzel have precisely "two nights and the day that falls between" to break the enchantment. But bitterness and envy come between the girls, and if they fail to work together, Rue will remain cursed...forever."

Rapunzel  by Rachel Isadora "Recasts in an African setting the familiar fairy tale in which a beautiful girl with extraordinarily long hair is imprisoned in a lonely tower by a witch.'

Campanula: A Zombified Retelling of Rapunzel  by Mishael Austin Witty "Cami and Mac have been in love with each other practically all their lives, but there’s a problem. Cami’s life is in danger because of a desperate deal her father, Zed the Zombie Killer, made with the local witch, Gert, before Cami was born. Gert kidnaps Cami as soon as the girl starts menstruating and locks her inside the little used, much haunted tower of the old Waverly Hills Sanitorium. Cami will be the mother of many more zombie children for Gert unless Mac can find her and save her from the zombies and the witch’s clutches…with a little help from some heavenly friends. Zombies, angels, and everlasting love await you within the pages of Campanula."