Zel

by Donna Jo Napoli

Book Overview

High in the mountains, Zel lives with her mother, who insists they have all they need -- for they have each other. Zel's life is peaceful and protected -- until a chance encounter changes everything. When she meets a beautiful young prince at the market one day, she is profoundly moved by new emotions. But Zel's mother sees the future unfolding -- and she will do the unspeakable to prevent Zel from leaving her..."Will leave readers spellbound."--...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0141301163
• ISBN13: 9780141301167
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.4" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A little weird, but I feel like it pulled it off!

Unique tone and interesting message. I’d recommend it! In some ways I like it better than Sirena by the same author. There were parts in Sirena that were pretty slow, but this was interesting the whole time! Sirena has a more realistic and nuanced romance, though. You kind of have to suspend disbelief with parts of the romance in Zel. But Zel wasn’t about the romance, it was about the mental states behind what causes the witch to steal a baby and lock her in a tower (I think it succeeded in not excusing her actions, but making her sympathetic), what Rapunzel goes through mentally being alone for two years in one room, and what kind of weirdo searches for two years for a girl he met once lol. I loved it!

Review

Firstly, I want to ask why people seem to make such a huge deal about Zel sleeping with the prince. They exchange marriage vows, and nothing is actually said. It was implied, and the only part the story tells is when Konrad wakes up, the next morning. From the way people seem to carry on, you would think it was graphically detailed. I didn't even realize they'd slept together until I skipped back and put two and two together. While I still wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under twelve, that's only because of the descriptions of Zel's madness in the tower. It was very disturbing, and I cried when I read it. People younger than me might have found it more traumatic, but I think teenagers and preteens could handle it, because it makes the story more emotional and realistic. Overall, it was a great book, disturbing and very romantic toward the end.

Incredible...Amazing...Astounding...pick your adjective!!!

Zel is a book loosely based on the story of Rapunzel. It's set in the Swiss Alps, about a mother so desperate for a child that she sells her soul to Satan for a child. Now, Zel (named after her favorite type of lettuce) is thirteen. She meets a prince (or duke...haven't read the book in a couple months) named Konrad. They are both quite attracted to each other. The mother, noticing her daughter's developments, is terrified of losing her. After Zel meets Konrad again, the mother goes a little -ahem- crazy, and locks Zel away in a tower, desperate to keep her daughter forever. The story was written from three points of view-Zel, Konrad, and the Mother, and it is incredible in the way that it delves headfirst into the psychological aspects. Zel eventually goes insane after being in that small stone circle for so long. Zel introduces puberty, and Zel's longing for a male companion. Her hair begins to weigh her down so much that she begins to walk around naked. Zel also mentions menstrual cycles, etc. Parents don't go burning these books in public groups now...I'm thirteen, and I could take it just fine. Besides, Donna Jo Napoli words things wonderfully and incredibly lyrical. When I reached the part where Konrad and Zel have sex, I went back and reread the chapter twice before realizing they had. The ambigous format saves Zel from becoming exceedingly crude. READ THIS!NOW!!!!

Amazing! A resonant and vivid retelling.

Wow! It's been so long since I have read this book, but I probably think about it every day. This book is romantic, lustful, at times, even dark. It is the well-known tale of Rapunzel, retold from three points of view; Zel, the prince, and the witch-mother. The love that the mother had for Zel, the lust of the prince, the horror of Zel's days in the tower, the power of the words, all left me speechless. This book makes me cry. It makes me think. Even certain lines stay with me still. Zel is so innocent, pure, changed by the desire of the prince, the ruthlessness of her mother's yearn to keep her for herself. Her days in the tower, when she is depressed, hurt, confused, alone, alone, alone....I guess all of you have proabably heard the tale of Rapunzel, so there is no need for me to explain the plot, only to say, this is truly a magnificent book, a book that stays with me still, and such a beautiful retelling.

A favorite fairy tale getting it's deserved rework.

Many classic fairytales have been done and re-done, worked and re-worked Cinderella for example. Off the top of my head I could list five different ways I have seen or read Cinderella. But thought it's immense popularity is still strong, Rapunzel has never gotten the same recognition by authors looking to "redo" a classic fairy tale. And perhaps for the better. "Zel" is a wonderful tale, telling not a new version, but a more indepth version of the story of Rapunzel. The story is told from three different pointso of view, Zel's, her mothers and Konrad's. Napoli gracefully ages Zel and makes the smooth transition from being a child, to a young woman. This book has a touching and innocent love scene, nothing compared to what people see in the movies today. So with that in mind I would recomend it to people ages 12 and over, or maybe 10 and older, depending on what their parents allow. I loved this book when I read it two years ago, and it didn't "take away" my innocence, in any way shape or form. Happy reading.