[ARC Book Review] Towering by Alex Flinn

Title: Towering

Author: Alex Flinn

Publisher: HarperTeen

Expected Publication: May 14, 2013

Source: publisher (through Edelweiss)

At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.
Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her. 
Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.
Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now. 

Well, firstly the cover is really gorgeous! I wonder what it feels to have hair that long and pretty! Anyway! Alex Flinn is known for her modern retellings of fairytale stories. I've read Beastly and watched the movie, and I loved how she told that story. It was reality-based but still had a lot of fairytale touches.

Towering is a modern adaptation and retelling of Rapunzel. Quite obvious with the book cover, a girl with a long blonde hair can only mean Rapunzel. Anyway, the story however is quite far from the original one. There's a tower, long blonde hair, a 'prince' and a 'mom', but other than that the conflicts are very different and quite odd. It's quite darker and more mysterious, as the setting projects a gloomy environment. The writing is okay, a bit serious and a mix of formal and urban English. The story's pace is okay, and the characters are likeable. But, for some reason the story lost its appeal to me about halfway through. I think it had a lot to do with the vagueness of some details in the story and the reasons behind the main dilemma in the story. Somehow it felt short and just not enough. It felt more of a filler than a story in itself. It felt just too shallow despite the hardness of life the main characters experienced. But I liked how Wyatt, the main guy character, was given a story background as it was essential in his character development.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to fairytale junkies who loves reading modern retellings of your favorite fairytales :) but honestly, this is not the best Rapunzel story I've read. 

Note: Review copy received in exchange for an honest review :)