Tangled Up In You and Disney magic out in Bookstores
I saw the cover, and I saw the hair. It didn’t take long for me to decide that I should have run to the bookstore and buy a copy. What can I say, I am easy to buy and it’s even faster if we are speaking about Disney. But Tangled Up In You is not the only modern Disney retelling for you to read. As part of the “Meant to Be” series, this is only one of the currently available four titles. Others include retelling from Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and The Little Mermaid).
THE PLOT
Ren (our modern-day Rapunzel) has lived all of her life on a farm with her parents. Away from all modern technologies and strange devilish creations, she didn’t know anything else. She has never held an iPhone; all she knows comes from books and doesn’t have any social media. She taught herself everything from painting to creating a power system from scratch. But she has never had any adventure, and her admission at Corona College is probably the biggest one she will ever live.
Fitz, on the contrary, has all of his life mapped out. He will graduate from Corona, clean his criminal record, and convince everyone that he is the rich and famous player everyone thinks he is. But of course, even though his plan proceeded smoothly, Ren’s arrival can only change all of his plans.
After an immunology seminar, their whole lives are set to change (but for the better?), starting off with a road trip that will lead them to an unexpected turn of events.
THE RETELLING
“She was such a paradox: delicate but unbreakable; modest but intrepid; innocent but electrifying.”
As a modern retelling, there is obviously no magic hair, a kingdom without a princess and super long glowing hair. Is it a problem? Of course not. Rapunzel’s magical story is all there even without all of those elements. It is only easy for a reader to notice all the main elements of the original movie even in this contemporary story. The author has crafted each and every scene to make sure that the reader can still see their loved movie even within the pages of a book. Thought adapted to fit the story, we even got the I’ve Got a Dream part and I was totally having fun with it.
Mother Gotel is also there, though with another name and with a different backstory. Christina Lauren has made a few changes to Ren’s family situation. But overall I found them to make sense, especially considering this was not a fairytale. Ren is especially screaming Rapunzel – so does Fitz, but in a way it seemed much easier to write Fitz than Ren – all because she is the one who never saw the world.
The book is fairly short – I read it in less than a day – but it flows without any moment of boredom. Considering the length, you may fear there is not enough space to tell the story, but that is not the case. Everything that you need as a reader – and even more – is included in a perfectly crafted story.
PARTS YOU WILL LOVE
- The I’ve Got a Dream part translated for the modern setting
- The “There’s only one bed” trope
- Ren’s humour and quick answers
- Fitz’s love for his car, Max, because we needed the ever-presenting horse, even if with heels.
- Fitz’s care for Ren
- Travelling with Ren and her brain just being a living encyclopedia
AND YOU? DID YOU READ IT?
If not, you absolutely should. There’s no reason why you should miss this amazing book.
And back on a fantasy note, you may like a fantasy trilogy inspired by – amongst many – Miraculous Ladybug. I talked about the last book here, but you should have a look at all the books.
Happy reading, Marianna