Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison
Series: Tyme #1
Published by: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pub Date: April 28, 2015
Pages: 384
Format: hardcover | Source: purchased
Genres: middle grade, fantasy, retelling
Rating: 

In all of Tyme, from the Redlands to the Grey, no one is as lucky as Rapunzel. She lives in a magic tower that obeys her every wish; she reads wonderful books starring herself as the heroine; her hair is the longest, most glorious thing in the world. And she knows this because Witch tells her so—her beloved Witch, who protects her from evil princes, the dangerous ground under the tower, even unhappy thoughts. Rapunzel can’t imagine any other life.

Then a thief named Jack climbs into her room to steal one of her enchanted roses. He’s the first person Rapunzel’s ever met who isn’t completely charmed by her (well, the first person she’s met at all, really), and he is infuriating– especially when he hints that Witch isn’t telling her the whole truth. Driven by anger at Jack and her own nameless fears, Rapunzel descends to the ground for the first time, and finds a world filled with more peril than Witch promised … and more beauty, wonder, and adventure than she could have dreamed.

I’ve been rereading more books this year and it has been such a joy! By a happy coincidence, I saw an archived post on Wendy @ Book Scent‘s twitter which was a reread review. I loved the format and thought it was something I could use too! I also found it on Lauren @ Bookmark Lit‘s blog, and they both got it from Kelly @ Belle of the Literati. I’m carrying on the borrowing tradition I guess!

                                                                     When I First Read
I remember I was so taken with the cover and the description that I requested an ARC from Scholastic but it wasn’t meant to be. About a month after it released, I got it from the library and read the entire book in a DAY. I couldn’t put it down!!

                                                                     What I Remember
Being captivated by the world building and the emotional depth of the characters while still enjoying a fun, vibrant fairy tale retelling! I also remembered that there were throwaway lines/allusions that I hoped would surface in future books a la Sirius and his motorbike.

                                                                 Why I Wanted to Reread
I’ve been wanting to read this again for some time because I loved it so much originally and knew there was a lot of nuance and hidden details in this world. After reading the companion sequel, I realized how many connections I had missed the first time around! I also wanted to revisit the characters and see if I would connect with them as much the second time.

                                                               How I Felt After Rereading
I’m SO glad I did! The characters are even better than I remembered, complex and three dimensional- I adore Rapunzel and the journey she goes on (physically and emotionally). I love her enemies to friendship relationship with Jack (who I believe is of Asian descent based on his description- I didn’t pick up on that the first time). They have a great rapport and I adore them together. I noticed more about Prince Frog (the third book coming out next year is Transformed: The Perils of the Frog Prince!), and just generally picked up on so many tiny things that I would love to see expanded in future books. I need to know moooore. It was also easy to see a clear connection with Disenchanted this time (Dash!! The Blue Kingdom! Serge!); and generally speaking I had forgotten a lot of what happens at the end, it was brilliant! I’m also hope hope hoping we meet Princess Daigh of Orange again sometime- I loved her whole historian vibe and her story about the Hundred Years Day in the country of Pink- basically the story of Sleeping Beauty. I’d love to see her be the one to rescue Rose, and to see what that adventure would be like! I also need to know more about the mysterious power that no one will talk about… Anyway. Really glad I read this again and I know I will in the future too.

                                                                   Would You Read Again?
Absolutely. I think it’s a book I could reread often and always find something new to love about it, while still feeling the comfort of a favorite book.

Have you read Grounded? Are you a fan of rereading in general? I’m hoping to reread even more this summer!