Zel

Rating:
Summary: This is a MARVELOUS book
Review: This book was jubilant book others it was serene and tranquil others it was frighting othes it was maddening. How dare her mother expect any love from her! Rapunzel=Zel Zel is 100 times better than the orginal fairytale!

Rating:
Summary: *~~~**~~~Wow~~~**~~~*
Review: I loved this book. It was a bit hard to get into, but near the end it totally picked up and I've read it over and over. It had just the right blend of romance, adventure, mystery, and a bit of weirdness that every fairy-taleish book should have. This book was a wonderful version of Rapunzel, one of my favorite fairy tales, with a twist
~Sarah

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: Zel was an absolutely beautiful story. I could not put it down. I was rereading it for weeks. Donna Jo Napoli is a master at her craft.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book!
Review: Zel is my all-time favorite book. I couldn't put it down. It had wonderful, life-like characters. It was like I was in the book. I would tell you about this book, but it was too good to put in words. This retelling of Rupunzel is like no other. Donna Jo Napoli has a special talent with fairy tales.If you like Zel or other fairy tales check out other books by Donna Jo Napoli.

Rating:
Summary: Not Very Promising
Review: Zel started out as a good book that I couldn't put down. The story is about an almost 13 year old girl who meets a handsome count named Konrad. Zel's mother is afriad that Zel will chose to live without her and imprsions Zel in a tower, the reasons for this are a little unclear. As the story goes you learn that Zel's mother sold her soul to the devil in order get her daughter. It was hard to understand the Zel parts of the book when Zel was in the tower and some parts of the book were TOTALLY inappropriate. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: It's hard to put this one down!
Review: This book adds a new twist on the fairy tale Rapunzel. I read it cover to cover and couldn't put it down! I liked how the motivation for each character was explained. The story was told from three different viewpoints, but I was mostly captivated by the beauty of the love story within it. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: it was good, but confusing at times
Review: i was eager to start this book. the details made the setting very vivid, and i liked that. however, sometimes it was confusing to understand what was occuring. it basically centered around the fairy tale, but the fact each chapter was written by a different character (zel, konrad, mother) really added something. i plan to read more of the author's words as well.

Rating:
Summary: A favorite fairy tale getting it's deserved rework.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written book for ALL ages
Review: When I first got this book, I thought it would be childish....Ithought if was one of the best books I've read, and I've read most ofthe fantasy books published. I liked the story line and thecharacters so much that I gave this book to my nine-year-old sister toread. I cannot disaggree with the concerned mother's, but I've readalot worse!!! Zel is like the average teenager, and when she meetsKonrad, she gets like a major crush on him. He falls head over hillsfor her, and then her mother gets all possessive and locks her in atower. If you never re-read stories, you'll find that you keepwanting to open the book if only to read the good parts. I think thatif parents want to make guidlines for their children, that's ok, butat least give them a good bedtime story of your own. Imagination isnot what it used to be.

Rating:
Summary: a ticked eleven year old
Review: Excuse me, but almost every view here of Napoli's works implies that her novels are not for people under 13, or that younger people wouldnt understand it. Unfortunatley, that isnt the case at all.Perhaps an average eleven-year-old, say, might not be the best person to lay all this heavy stuff on, but I would like to remind you that these novels change you. I have read Zel, the Magic Circle, and many others of these books and I am surely not the same person who opened Sirena's cover for the first time.