Golden

Cameron Dokey always wraps me up in these stories! I originally read this book as a teen and loved it! Now years and years later I thought why not. Again, I fell in love.

My absolute favorite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok...spoilers ahead.... my sister hated it that she was bald and she was sad and felt sorry for her, but i love how it doesnt' become imporant to the guy she loves or the readers and he lovs her for who she is! i couldn't be happier! when I say that the guy is perfect, hes perfect!

Golden was the first book I read of the Once Upon a Time series. It captured my imagination and now I own all the books of the series. I've always been a sucker for a great fairy tale and Golden did not let me down. The book is mesmerizing right from the first page and character development is remarkable. Cameron Dokey creates a Rapunzel never before seen. She is a stronge heroine and her journey to discover the value of herself is something that we can all learn from. This book is a must read for all ages.

When the sorceress Melisande catches her neighbor stealing the herb known as rapunzel for his pregnant wife, she makes a deal: the wife can have as much rapunzel as she likes, but if she cannot love her baby just as she is, Melisande will take possession of the child. Of course, the vain, selfish mother cannot bring herself to love the baby when it is born completely bald, so Melisande takes the child, who she names Rapunzel. Rapunzel never grows hair and is therefore considered something of an oddity by most people, but she is loved by Melisande and is, for the most part, quite happy. Rapunzel also makes friends with a tinker named Mr. Jones and his handsome adopted son, Harry. When Rapunzel is sixteen, a heatwave causes a drought and crop failure and Rapunzel is rightly worried that a mob will take its frustration out on the local sorceress and her oddly bald daughter. After abandoning their home, Melisande reveals her secret to Rapunzel: she has a biological daughter named Rue who has been trapped in a tower and Melisande thinks that Rapunzel is the one who can free her. Although Rapunzel agrees to help save Rue, doing so will not be easy. Fear, hurt feelings and jealousy threaten to come between the girls. Both girls are envious that there is another daughter in Melisande's life and Rapunzel fears that Harry, who has come to the tower to watch over her, has fallen in love with the utterly beautiful Rue, whose perfect golden locks contrast sharply with Rapunzel's bare head. This is definitely one of the best of the Once Upon a Time series, and my favorite after another of Dokey's works, Beauty Sleep: A Retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" (Once Upon a Time). My biggest complaint for this book is the same for most of the Once Upon a Time books: it's too short and needs at least another 50-100 pages to be properly fleshed out. However, even given its short length Dokey does an amazing job of bringing the Rapunzel story to life and creating characters to really care about. Melisande is not the wicked witch she is usually portrayed as, but instead is a wise old woman who genuinely cares for both her daughters. Rapunzel is a clever and strong heroine who nonetheless deals with the typical teenage concern that the guy she likes favors the prettier girl. I especially liked Harry, the tinker boy, and his interactions with Rapunzel. GOLDEN is cute, sweet and funny (I laughed out loud at some points) and a great addition to the Once Upon a Time series.

I have read every book in this series save for "Spirited" and "The Rose Bride".(I am now working on "Before Midnight"). Not only do I favor the author, but Golden is about the best book I have read out of the entire series! The story of Repunzel takes on a definitely most original and unexpected story-line, complete with characters who seem almost gunuinely human themselves. Repunzel is a spunky, contrary young heroine who sets out to perform a challenging task and see what her heart truly holds.

Before Rapunzel was born her mother had her husband steal a certain leafy herb from her neighbor's garden. When the Sorceress, Melisande, discovered this theft she made a bargain with the man that should his wife not be able to make room for her child's arrival (if it was a girl) then he would give the infant over the Melisande as recompense. The vain and selfish mother only cared about her own actions and her own beauty that was wound up in her beautiful golden tresses she cared for daily. When Rapunzel was born with no hair at all her mother rejected her, and she went to live with Melisande (who names her after the offending leafy herb her father stole) in a far away land. Rapunzel grows up an outcast largely due to the fact that her hair never does grow in. The second part is because of Melisande, whose disconcerting abilities to look into people's heart unnerves all whom she meets. When Rapunzel is a young girl of thirteen she meets a wandering Tinker named Mr. Jones, who gifts her with a small copper colored kitten, and his foster son Harry. Rapunzel names the cat Mr. Jones and becomes fast friends with Harry, who cares not at all about her bald crown and brings her many gifts of headscarves from around the world. When Rapunzel is 16 Melisande and her have to flee their home because of a mob's attempts to kill them both. On this journey Melisande reveals a terrible secret, one that upends Rapunzel's entire world. The only Mother she has ever known has another daughter, and to make matters worse the only reason Melisande took in Rapunzel in the first place is because within her Melisande recognized the ability Rapunzel possessed to break the enchantment her daughter, Rue, has been a prisoner of for many years. Rapunzel has two choices, to abandon the task that Melisande presents her or to rise to the occasion and summon up all of her strength so that she might vanquish the evil enchantment that holds Rue (and with her Melisande's truest heart) captive. This is actually the ninth installment of the "Once upon a Time" series that I have read, the latest one to come out thus far. It's pretty on par with many of the other novels in the series, especially those of Dokey's. I enjoyed it as a continuation to a spectacular series. Dokey's prose and storytelling is right on for the feel of this already stellar series, and "Golden" certainly fits right in with one of the better quality books in the series. Readers of fairy tales will enjoy how Dokey retells the myth of Rapunzel, weaving new characters, twists, and turns into an already well loved story. This is a must read for fans of the genre or the series overall. I do hope that this series is continued in the future, and would love to see certain tales retold. "Cinderella", "The Snow Queen", "Rumpelstiltskin", "The Frog Prince", "Aladdin", "Thumbelina", and "The Princess and the Pea" are all tales I would love to see have this treatment done. Not knowing if, or when, there will be another ad