Rapunzel Cuts Loose (Grimmtastic Girls) by Joan Holub (30-Sep-2014) Paperback

Grimmtastic Girls #4

by Joan Holub

Welcome to Grimm Academy, where Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Rapunzel are BFFs -- and saving the world from the E.V.I.L. Society, one magical adventure at a time!

Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia . . .

Rapunzel's magical fast-growing hair can be a nuisance, especially when an accident gives it magical powers she can't control! But Rapunzel can't let her grimmiserable hair woes distract her -- she and her friends, Cinda, Red, and Snow are trying to save Grimm Academy from the E.V.I.L. Society. Once Rapunzel tracks down her magic charm, she won't let a bad hair day get in the way of stopping E.V.I.L.!

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Retellings, Juvenile

Paperback

First published September 30, 2014

About the author

NY Times bestselling children's book author:
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!

Reviews

[Mehsi]

So this review will be for Book 1 to 4, which I see as one complete series. This due to the characters (all four of them had their chance to shine), the plots/subplots are pretty much done and ended. Sure, there is still the big bad evil, but the artefacts, the various things that happened in the books are all solved. And from what I can see book 5/6 feature different characters.

We have 4 different girls, Red, Snow, Cinda and Rapunzel. As you can guess these are Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Cinderella and Rapunzel. Their stories are now mixed with modern stuff mixed with a boarding school setting and they are together instead of separate. I really loved this and this was also a big reason why I read it. I love fairy tales set in a different setting. For instance, plucking various fairy tale characters and putting them in modern high school just sounds perfect to me.

Of course each girl has her story, just spun a bit differently, but most details are still here. Cinderella has 2 evil stepsisters and an evil stepmom, add to that the ball and everything that happens there, only several other things are new. Like the fact she is a little girl living in a boarding school were they learn Jousting and masketball and other fun things, or the fact her slippers are her magic charm.

It is really much fun and the girls are really wonderful. Instead of not really connecting with them in the fairy tales, in this one you can connect with them. They have all the problems that most teenagers (and adults) will recognize. First crushes, parent problems, friendship.

There is one big plot that runs through the four books, the fact that the artefacts get stolen and that their world is in danger. That and the friendship between these girls run like a big red thread through the story and connect the 4 books together into one big book.

I really loved reading about the school, it seems like a wonderful place. I would love to Joust, or to play Masketball, or to make potions or go to a ball with the princes!

Add to that, that we don't only have Fairy Tales, every magical story is found here and is protected. So there is a lot of potential for a lot of stories. However I do hope they will have a different big plot. The whole artefacts stolen/world is ending is done for me, so I do hope that when we get to the second series with Goldilocks and such that we will have a fun new plot.

There are various word puns. Which made me love the story even more. It made it more fun and I was just laughing at how silly they were at times. :)

All in all I would really recommend these 4 books to everyone. And me? I will be keeping an eye out for the rest of the books. Maybe I will even try the Goddesses series that is also by this author.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Ashley]

I love this series so much! Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams are the authors behind the popular Goddess Girls series and have brought their charm and talent to writing stories about fairy tales!

Grimmtastic Girls is a series written for readers aged 8-12, who love fantasy, fairy tales, mystery, and adventure! The story is set at Grimm Academy, where most of our beloved heroes are students or teachers, and the iconic villains we love to hate are lurking within the school borders. The series is very age-appropriate and centres on four best friends: Cinda, Snow, Red, and Rapunzel—all of whom who are positive role models for readers in many ways!

While I haven't yet read Snow White's story, this book is the darkest yet. Rapunzel's villain (the witch who wants to lock her in her infamous tower) kidnaps her pet cat (the cat is released unharmed), immobilizes the girls in vines, and there's a VAGUELY chilling scene where the man behind the EVIL Society makes his first appearance. Nothing in the book is frightening or disturbing per se, but there was some real zing to the plot that I hadn't seen in books one and two.

It's notable that the series is aimed at female readers who, like Rapunzel and her friends, are beginning to realize their romantic feelings for boys. Fortunately, this series encourages readers to develop healthy attitudes about self-esteem and self-worth (girl power!). When Prince Perfect reveals he doesn't find Rapunzel pretty with short hair, she coolly tells him he's being shallow and superficial, and then shrugs it off and moves on, recognizing this boy isn't worth her time. Love the positive life lessons for impressionable preteens!

This is a charming series for readers who like girly, happily-ever-afters. A light and easy read for those new to chapter books, this series is a great choice for educators, too. Readers are exposed to a wealth of folklore, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and literary figures. There are plenty of opportunities for discussion and further reading!

[day]

My favourite of the first 4 books! I love the cute confession at the end and Rapunzel's style definitely influenced my fashion choices as a kid 👀

[zapkode]

{My Thoughts} – Rapunzel has to be one one of my favorite fairytale characters. I like how the authors have changed her appearance so that she isn’t what one would consider normal. In this series she is a Goth girl, her hair is black with blue streaks and she dresses all things Goth while sleeping in the dungeon of the Academy. Her favorite color seems to be black and she loves cats! She is like a picture perfect version of what one might think a fairytale character should be right? Not really, but I love this depiction of her so much more then the many others I have read in the past.

Onto the book, Rapunzel, Snow, Cinder and Red all have been working out where the mapestry they had found in book one is suppose to take them, where they are suppose to find the treasure and how they are suppose to save the Academy. I cannot help but love each of the main characters in these books, but Rapunzel I can relate to the most, because I have the Goth personality I suppose or I use to, not so much anymore. Although, I am a massive animal lover which she appears to be as well.

In this book the big weekend comes for the festival. The festival was a plan the girls had come up with and pitched to Principal R as a means to try and save the Academy. The Academy seems to be in a mass amount of debt, but also it is threatened by the E.V.I.L. society. The girls believe that their goal is to take over all of Grimmlandia and they have yet, to discover a way to prevent such a disaster from happening. Can they stop that from happening? I don’t know, I mean I do, but I won’t tell you, you must read the book to find out.

Also, you get to learn more about Rapunzel, her secrets and what kind of character she really is, within Grimmlandia. I am certain you will fall even more in love with her once you learn more about her! I know I did!

I am almost certain that anyone that enjoys reading about fairytales, retellings and just plain a good relaxed story that they will be able to enjoy this book series. I cannot wait until I am able to read book 5! I am truly intrigued by this series!

[Linda Jaejoong]

A bad Hair day, den hat leider Rapunzel erwischt. Als wenn die 4 Grimmtastic Girls nicht schon genug damit zu tun hätten die Pläne der E.V.I.L. Gesellschaft zu vereiteln, wird durch ein Missgeschick Rapunzels langes Haar mit einem Zauber belegt und sorgt für eine Menge Ärger. Es handelt wie von selbst und sie hat großes Mühe es unter Kontrolle zu halten. Aber auch die E.V.I.L. Gesellschaft schläft nicht und sie haben sich wieder mal einen hinterhältigen Plan ausgedacht um an die letzen benötigten Artefakte zu kommen.

Also ich möchte nicht in Rapunzels Haut stecken. Sie muss im Buch eine ganze Menge durchmachen, aber zum Glück hat sie ja ihre drei besten Freundinnen an ihrer Seite. Im Buch erfahren wir endlich warum sie solche Höhenangst hat, aber wer das Märchen von Rapunzel kennt, konnte sie das auch schon vorher zusammen reimen. Auch lernen wir endlich die böse Hexen kennen die Rapunzel im Turm festgehalten hat und natürlich arbeitet die für die E.V.I.L. Gesellschaft.

Rapunzel ist mein absoluter Liebling. Sie ist super nett, sehr hilfsbereit und nicht eingebildet so wie andere. Neben ihr waren Basil und Mordred meine Favoriten im Buch. Ich will auch so einen tollen Freund und so eine niedliche Katze haben. Prinz Perfekt hat ja bewiesen das er ein absoluter Vollpfosten ist und ich bin froh das Rapunzel erkannt hat wie er wirklich ist. Sie hat jemand besseres verdient und ihn zum Schluss auch gefunden.

Fazit: Das Buch war sehr unterhaltsam und sehr spannend. Es hat sich flüssig lesen lassen und das Englisch war leicht verständlich. Das Cover finde ich sehr niedlich und ich bin schon gespannt wie die Reihe weiter geht!!

[Sydney]

this one is my most favorite out of all of the books. There is a lot of adventure maybe romance and bravery

[Small Review]

Love this series!

[Raine Villanueva]

In this book, they had this different Rapunzel who looks like a goth because her hair is black, she wears black outfits, and likes to take care five of her cute cats. She doesn't know that she's a witch, but this is because it's her fairytale and it takes her to study in Grimm Academy - a school for fairytale and nursery rhyme characters.

The festival is coming nearly, so she and her friends Cinda, Snow and Red are preparing for the big weekend event. The E.V.I.L. Society sneaks as they steal artifacts, so the girls are trying to stop ruining their plans. It's a very good modern day fairytale book which I recommended for those girls who also enjoyed Goddess Girls, Little Goddess Girls and Thunder Girls.

I also suggest that you also have to enjoy Glitterwings Academy by Lee Weatherly (as Titania Woods) and Whatever After by Sarah Mlynowski as well. Both of these are series and set within a fantasy world.

[Tiffany Spencer]

Rapunzel Cuts Loose
Once upon a time, there was a girl that lived in a tower, that made a deal with a witch, to attend a fairy tale school known as Grimm Academy. But on the day of her 13th birthday, the girl (known as Rapunzel ) would return to the tower and train to become a witch herself. Once upon a time in Grimmlandia also there is another tale. Magical artifacts are disappearing left and right & there have been whispers (and proof) of a secret organization known as E.V.I.L. And did I forget to mention a map that points to potential buried treasure. But can Rapunzel, Red, Cinderella, and Snow find the treasure and save the school's depleting funds before E.V.I.L?

MY THOUGHT: HMMM! Stop me because does or does not this sound familiar? Because we know "villains never get happy endings". There's a group of them out to rewrite their stories. But not for love nor riches. No these villains want recognition and to be given actual names in the stories. Which when I first read this I was like what. But when you think about it the earlier fairy tales really "don't" give them names. They're known as "The Evil Queen" and the "Evil Stepmother" Later though I think they are given names. So there is progression. I'm trying to think did the Witch in the Rapunzel story really not have a name. But come to think of it I don't think she did. And how does this witch want to get revenge on Rapunzel? By (I kid you not) taking her name out of the story and referring to her as something like "Rotten Long Haired Girl." Which is the WEAKEST revenge I think I have EVER heard in a book! Even one of this level. What made this book cute wasn't the lame plot of the villains. It was the cute stuff going on around the plot. It was ALL ABOUT THE DETAILS! It was about the magical charms each girl had that represented her fairy tale story. Rapunzel's comb. Red's basket. Cinderella's glass slippers. That each had special magical abilities. It was about Rapunzel having to have a room in the basement because she was afraid of heights. It was about the magical textbook that contained all the subjects in it whose illustrations sometimes jumped off the page and physically snapped at you. It was about the school tasks that like each charm fit each girl's personality. Such as Red's school task was snack maker. Cinda's was Hearth cleaner. Rapunzel's Gatherer. It was about the Cupboard supply store run by Mother Hubbard that had regular stuff but oddball items. It was the tongue twister plants that sprouted things like sea-shells and teddy bears. And the heart-shaped tarts sculpted into three-dimensional scenes. Like the three gum drop kittens and the scene of Jack climbing a speriment beanstalk. The swan boats reminded me of a scene from a storybook I have (illustrated beautifully) called Dean's Book of Fairy Tales. (Little Ida's Flowers). SO MUCH DETAIL! PAGE AFTER PAGE! I won't ruin it all. The best of all being the library. OMG Let's talk about this library. First of all its like the room of requirement in HP. It moves locations and have to find it. It changes sizes. It holds not only books but boxes of things like kisses, bubbles, and beasts (Newts?) Maybe he lends them to the library. It has artifacts like Hush A Bye Baby's cradle and Little Boy Blue's horn. Not only that you can check out gowns and shoe's for dances. How freaking awesome is that?! I wanna work there. And also just like in Raven-claw you have to answer a riddle in order to enter. I can just see myself getting lost in all those cozy corners, rooms, and aisles. Just for fun try to figure out with objects go with each artifact mentioned. There were some I even couldn't get. The library was the most beautifully written detail of all. Now let's talk about the ending. Even to have a lame motivation E.V.I.L to their credit did find a way to get the A-Z objects in their possession to open the wall PARTIALLY. If they knew they needed an artifact of each letter why did they think substituting a letter with two objects of the same letter would do the trick? I thought this was kind of dumb and then they act surprised this didn't work (Groaning). I think Rapunzel's trick using the fake xylophone was very clever & I was pleased with the way she out-smarted them, but not that they themselves attempted to get by with half *** work. But then a lot of people in life attempt to half *** their way through things and not carry things fully out. The golden straw just felt easy. Like SUUURE the cat would just "happen" to get that one piece stuck in its fur of all the straw her probably rolled in. And speaking of half *** (NO A FULL A**) then we had "Perfect" who only wanted to go to the dance with her because her hair was long. Reminding me of men who only go after girls with certain body features. And I was happy that unlike how some books end and the girl still doesn't choose the best friend who's had a crush on her forever Rapunzel does choose Bazil. Which I did like a lot! Great Ending! And they all lived happily ever after. That is until the next book when E.V.I.L makes its return.

RATING: 6 For the details! And for a couple of the messages. One being to fall for the *right* person. Also the very EAH one about it not mattering who your parents are. You can choose your own destiny. I also liked Grimm Academy because it not only includes the fairy tale students but also nursery rhyme students as well. And I think there was another type of student (myths?) Showing GA is more well-rounded.

[Trina]

While my 9 and 11 year old girls loves this series, I am so bored with the series. Perfect for their age range- I just need to convince them to read on their own, rather than me having to read them aloud to them.

[Aria]

she is very creative brave smart and kind i loved this book especially the end if you read it you will find a surprise in it have fun!




OH BY THE WAY i AM A KID ! HE HE HA HA!

[Clara]

I say 4.5

[Paul Delacruz]

Wiggling Hair

Nice story where Rapunzel searches for a magic charm to stop E.V.I.L.

[marina]

I REMEMBER THIS ONE BEING MY JAM. 🪱 🪱 🪱 🪱 🪱 worms obviously.

[Beth]

Fifty hundred a thousand stars according to my 7yo

[Amy]

This was a pretty engaging tween novel on a new spin of a fairy tale. The fairy tale heroines are set in a school and are some of the most popular students. This tale is about Rapunzel and how her story comes to light. It's what happens after happily ever after. She has to deal with so much at such a young age. She wants to be true to herself, but first she has to own up to hiding secrets from her best friends, figuring out what the E.V.I.L. organization is up to, balancing school, school crush, wacky hair and what her past means in changing her future. She's a strong character who has a few minor kinks to fix. This is a cute story and it's in a good series for girls and boys alike that want to view a different look on fairy tale characters. There's drama, romance, friendship, loyalty, excitement and a little bit of sadness. It covers everything and more.

[Grace]

If you ant to read a book that a pre teen girl can relate to this is an excellent choice. This book had girls that do things that we do everyday but filled with more mystery and adventure so its not boring. It also has a good theme, fairytale characters when they are young! It teaches good lessons and is generally an easy, fun book to read. The only problem I had about it was that sometimes things were happening that an 11 year old girl would NEVER do. Sometimes the book character didn't seem realistic but all and all it was a great book.

[Caro]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a faster read for me. But it flew by and kept me turning pages. This was entertaining, interesting, and enjoyable. I loved the characters and the idea of the series. Good plot, great personalities, curiosities, magic, friendship, a drop of danger, and a great ending. Can't wait to read more and get to know the others just as well. Enjoy

[Paige Cesnik]

Rapunzel knew the witch that raised her was evil, but she would never have thought she was in the E.V.I.L society. And worse, the worst of bad hair days. This book series will keep you on the edge of your seat with mysteries.I give it a 4-5 because it is great, however, it doesn't ''wow'' me all the way. I thought it was great never the less.

[Yuiko]

Idk I was slightly bored and annoyed with this one.I loved the first book but this one was alright
Could have been better

[Laura]

This was probably my least favorite in the series so far, even though I really like this version of Rapunzel. I still think this is a super cute series though!

[Gracie]

It was an awesome ending! Really fun and cool, and I'm glad the authors are still making more books that I can't wait to read!

[Amber Greer]

It was a cute. It’s a cute modernized retelling of Rapunzel. A little girl, about 5-7, would probably enjoy it.

[✨Jinglemarco✨]

More articulated and interesting than the previous books in the series, but not at the same level of the fifth. Hence, 3,5 stars. :)