⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐👌🏾

I read this one aloud to my first‑grade twins, and they were instantly obsessed mostly with Acacia’s long, gorgeous braids stretching all the way down the tower. They’ve had braids before, so the representation? Chef’s kiss. And when Acacia’s curls popped out looking just like theirs, they were practically vibrating with joy.

We also had a whole moment about bravery. Acacia is scared to leave the tower, and we talked about how being scared is normal and how we can still do the hard thing anyway. Big feelings, big lessons, all wrapped in a fairytale.

Mahogany showing up to help Acacia escape was another highlight. My twins were convinced she might be Little Red Riding Hood in disguise because of that red cape, and they immediately compared the girls to themselves. “If we were stuck in a tower, we’d come help each other too.” I mean… adorable.

They didn’t always agree with the story changes (they are loyal to the original Rapunzel lore), but they still loved the vibrant colors, the hair moments, and the whole girl‑power‑meets‑fairytale vibe. And yes, they asked for braids as long as Acacia’s. And yes, I told them absolutely not, mama is not detangling tower‑length hair.

This one is joyful, beautifully illustrated, and full of representation that matters. We’ll definitely be adding a finished copy to our shelf.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read it early.

A retelling from Rapunzel, a lovely one.
Rapunzel is one of my favorite fairytale and to read the retell is such a good thing.
It's delivered nicely and also has great illustration.
Recommended it for above 6 years old.
It talks about friendship, books, and also being brave, ofc I support it!

Thank you so much to Charlesbridge and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

This was such a fun new twist to Rapunzel and I had a wonderful time reading it. I loved that it was a tale of two girls who were strong and brave and creative. I loved that they saw Ma Gothel as the witch she truly was and the friendship that grew between the two girls was so sweet.

Acacia is stuck in the tower her entire life, but is desperate to see the world, Ma Gothel her keeper refuses to let her out due to monsters in the world. Then Mahogany (a take on red riding hood) shows up, unafraid of any monsters and becomes close friends instantly with Acacia helping teach her skills whilst she tells stories.

It’s a really well made story it had lots of wonderful twists of the original story and was diverse, the friendship was wonderful seeing them learning so much, it was so sweet. I loved how Mahogany helped Acacia so much so she could be her own person and not be trapped forever in that tower.

The illustrations were really wonderful to look at, seeing the girls different hairstyles, seeing them working together, seeing the monsters that Ma Gothel speaks of, and seeing the friendship blooming within the art. I really loved looking at this book as well as reading it, a really great refreshing take on the usual fairytale.