Towering (Kendra Chronicles, #3)

by Alex Flinn

"A contemporary retelling of Rapunzel told from the alternating perspectives of three teens whose fates unknowingly bind them together to destroy a greater evil"--

• ISBN10: 0062024191
• ISBN13: 9780062024190
• Publish Date: 22 April 2014 (first published 14 May 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

Fairytale retellings are my kryptonite. That being said, some are good and others are, well, not. This one falls somewhere in the middle.

Towering is a modern-day Rapunzel retelling. Modern-day, which meant I wasn’t really expecting an actual tower. But there was. Right in the middle of the woods. This is where things began to go wrong for me. The story is set in upstate New York, in the Adirondack Mountains. It’s an area I’m fairly familiar with as I’m from only a couple hours north, a small town settled in the foothills of these mountains. A abandoned tower just waiting for a Rapunzel requires quite a bit of belief suspension. Nor is anything about how the tower came to be explained, which makes sense as I think it would be hard to come up with a logical explanation.

Equally odd for me was the way in which Rachel was raised. She was kept in this tower, isolated from the world, and kept in a time not her own. Her only connection with the outside world, aside from her keeper, was through the books she was given. Books by authors like Jane Austen. There was no explanation for that either, for why she was being raised to be even more socially dysfunctional than a lifetime of isolation would force her to be.

And then the instalove. It truly was instant. It felt so bizarre. Rachel’s be isolated for as long as she can remember, told that the outside world is dangerous. So the moment she meets a boy, there is no hesitation. She welcomes into her lair and then makes out with him. And then the love begins. Ooookay.

The plot itself had promise, but it was so convoluted that it was just hard to swallow. It’s hard to talk about the plot without creating spoilers, but I will say that there is a certain amount of acceptance of loose facts required to get through it. Frankly, there are parts of it that just don’t make sense.

So, yes. There it is.

[Rowena]

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.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Towering is a beautifully written re-imagining of an old fairytale favorite of mine, Rupunzel. It's breathless and imaginative enough to spirit you back to your childhood, when fairytales had happily-ever-after's. Or, did they? Alex Flinn is notorious for spinning old fairytales into dark, creative, and compelling stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This one is definitely no exception.

Enchantingly dark, Towering is full of wonderful mystery and intrigue, that will keep you wondering where Alex Flinn is going to take you next. The mystery aspect of this young adult novel, is by far one of the best attributes of this story. The atmosphere that Flinn creates is both imagery and emotionally fantastic. You can fill the chill coming off the pages in waves, coupled with the creepy imaginative atmosphere. The characters are just as dark and complex as the story itself, yet are incredibly realistic and easy to connect with.

Definitely entertaining and fast paced, this is a young adult novel that fans of any fairytale re-imagining will want to read. From the dark elusive world that Flinn creates, to the intriguing characters you'll find yourself entranced the moment you open the first page. Simply irresistable and unputdownable. There is definitely a new refreshing spin on an old classic. I would strongly recommend this wonderful book.