Reviewer: Rowena Towering by Alex Flinn
Publisher: Harper Collins, Harper Teen
Publication Date: May 14th 2013
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 296
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High in my tower I sit. I watch the birds fly below, the clouds float above, and the tall green forest stretch to places I might never see.
Mama, who isn't my mother, has kept me hidden away for many years. My only companions, besides Mama, are my books—great adventures, mysteries, and romances that I long to make my reality. But I know that no one will come to save me—my life is not a fairy tale after all.
Well, at least no one has come so far. Recently, my hair has started to grow rapidly and it's now long enough to reach the bottom of the tower from my window. I've also had the strangest dreams of a beautiful green-eyed man.
When Mama isn't around, I plan my escape, even if it's just for a little while. There's something—maybe someone—waiting for me out there and it won't find me if I'm trapped here Towering above it all.
I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed Beastly so much. My niece read and adored A Kiss in Time so when this book came up for review, I jumped on it. I’m sad that it didn’t measure up for me, the way that Beastly did. It was such a slow read. There were things that slowly unfolded and I kept wanting to skip ahead. I liked Tangled so I thought I’d enjoy this book as well but the characters just weren’t all that memorable for me.
Wyatt moves to a new town and stays with her Mom’s best friend’s mother who is a little on the old side so that he can get away from the people that knew him and his late best friend Tyler. He carries around a lot of guilt and when he stumbles upon a mystery of his hostess’ missing daughter, he starts doing a little digging. He also meets Rachel, a girl who is locked in a tower with only her books for company. As he falls in love with Rachel and goes about finding out what happened to Danielle, Wyatt finds out more than he thought he ever would.
I never really warmed up to this story. I haven’t read very many Rapunzel stories but I thought Flinn did a good job of re-telling it. Of spinning the fairy tale and bringing the story to life in a small, modern town. But there were too many things that I didn’t care for, for me to really get into it. The whole mystery behind Danielle, the drug ring and everything else fell flat for me. By the time the story unfolds completely, I stopped caring. I was just ready to finish the book. I couldn’t connect with Wyatt though I did feel bad for him and what he went through with his best friend Tyler and Tyler’s sister, Nikki.
The whole romance between Wyatt and Rachel happened much too fast for me. It was like having whiplash and it came out of left field too. They didn’t know anything about each other other than they saved each others lives and Rachel lived in a tower, far away from any human contact. But they loved each other. I didn’t get it. So as much as I wanted to like this one (the cover is pretty awesome), I didn’t. There were some parts that I liked, like Wyatt’s relationship with Mrs. Greenwood but most of the book just fell flat for me.
Grade: 2 out of 5
This book is available from Harper Teen. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
I really like Alex Flinn’s stories, sad that this one did not measure up for you. A Kiss in Time was very good if you want to try another by her. I enjoyed Bewitching as well. Cloaked was decent but not one that I personally would buy.