Into the Wild

Julie grew up knowing all about the most famous fairy tales. But, this is understandable considering that she is the 12 year old daughter of Rapunzel of the long hair. For all that she just wants to be normal and fit in, Julie despairs of every doing so. Who else could say that they have a talking cat for a brother and a wicked witch for a grandmother? That's not to mention the 7 dwarfs who are frequently invited over for dinner or the fact that the catalyst of the fairy tale world aka "The Wild" lives under Julie's bed. However, when a mystery person decides to make a wish to free The Wild, throwing Julie’s hometown into chaos not even the National Guard can stop, it is up to Julie to track down the only person who can put things show more back to right....Rapunzel.

Fairy tale retellings have always been rather hit or miss for me. In this case, it is certainly a hit! I wound up with my copy in an unusual manner, at ReaderCon a couple years ago the author was doing a book signing and I recognized her from spending some online time over on MySpace. Since I "knew" her I had to pick up the book and actually was unsure if it would be something I'd really enjoy. I'm delighted to say it was certainly worth picking up. This story is aimed more at later elementary and junior high students, but is written in such an engaging manner I think it certainly holds an appeal for older teens and adults. Despite the familiarity of the fairy tale figures I found the plot to be very unique and appealing. It is not often I enjoy a book that is strictly an adventure that doesn't rely on any sort of a romantic subplot, but here you get the adventure with more emphasis on the importance of family than any romancy dalliances. It was actually a bit of a refreshing change.

This is a quick read I'd highly recommend to students in fifth grade and up. show less

Original and interesting fairy tale adventure. The Wild lives under Julie's bed, lurking with intent to take over the world and force us all to act out traditional tales. Very much set in the Grimm universe -- I wonder what chaos would ensue haad other cultures gotten in the mix.

This is an original fairytale adaptation set in modern day. Julie's mother Zel is actually Rapunzel. Her grandmother is Rapunzel's witch. The wild, a mass of living vines, is contained under her bed threatening to grow, and re-establish the fairytale land. Julie wakes up one morning to find the wild has escaped. When her grandmother, owner of the Wishing Spell Motel, leaves the wishing well unattended, someone makes a wish that sets the wild free. Her mother and grandmother vanish into the jungle-like mass that is engulfing the town, and Julie rushes in to find them.

The story is entertaining and a quick read. The author does not spend a lot of time developing the characters. It's not the kind of book that intends for the reader to show more become intimately acquainted with the characters. If that's what you want then you should read [b: The School for Good and Evil|16248113|The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, #1)|Soman Chainani|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490529205s/16248113.jpg|21599439]. This book is more about plot. It aims to convince people that there actually exists a magical realm within our world that can be accessed in an unconventional way. In this case, all the fairytale characters are out in the real world and the realm itself is contained in those vines under Julie's bed until they are freed, thus freeing the realm.

While Julie is in the wild, she runs into the classic characters that always end up in these re-imagined tales, Cinderella, Goldilocks, Jack. Her sidekick is Puss-in-Boots. Her goal is to find the wishing well and make the correct wish to free the characters again. She can not allow her ending to happen, such as kissing a prince, or she will forget everything about her previous life and remain in fairytale land.

My biggest criticism is the ending. It didn't feel right. Julie makes the wish at the wishing well, and voila, it's over. I thought the wish was kind of lame and didn't justify an end to such a bizarre occurrence. I liked the quick epilogue that reveals who made the wish that freed the wild. All in all a decent book to add to the growing list of re-imagined fairytales. show less

This book was a little slow to get going, with its depiction of modern day fairy tales a little too cutesy (although maybe I'm just reading way too much of this stuff these days). But once the characters actually enter "The Wild" -- short for "The Wild Wood," the fairy tale forest of days gone by that has taken over Julie's city -- things really pick up.

This book's interpretation of fairy tale stories is especially interesting. Within "the wild," people are stripped of their free will, seduced or compelled into carrying out the Wild's stories. Once a story reaches "the end," the characters forget their pasts and start the whole cycle over again. (This is what accounts for the hundreds of different versions of the same fairy tales, as show more the stories didn't play out the exact same way every time). Five hundred years ago, Rapunzel led the charge for fairy tale characters to escape the Wild and have control over their own lives, and now that the Wild is back, Rapunzel's daughter Julie must do the same.

I liked the surreality within the Wild, the juxtaposition of the familiar and the unexpected, and the downright creepiness of it at times. I kept thinking that this would make a REALLY cool stop-motion animated film (but a quick Google search reveals there isn't one in the works, sigh). And the one thing that irked me throughout the story was the author's disregard that Rapunzel actually had *twins* in most versions of the story (she's one of the only mainstream Grimm characters to have babies within the context of the story, so it seemed especially unjust to ignore that element in a story about Rapunzel's kid). Still, I give the author the benefit of the doubt and figure maybe there are a bunch of Rapunzel versions I don't know about out there, sans twins. show less

Julie is 12 and tired of her mother. In fact, in a moment of pre-teen frustration, she tells her mother (and grandmother) that she wishes Zel wasn't her mother at all. That's not uncommon for the age, except that Julie's mom is the Rapunzel of fairy tale fame, and her grandmother is a witch who also appears in countless fairy tales. Shortly after making her wish, the wild takes over her town-- a fairy tale world with candy cottages and soaring trees and magical creatures. As the wild appears, Julie's mom and grandmother dissappear, and Julie realizes she's the only one who can rescue them and bring back the real world she's grown up with. Sarah Beth Durst's tale is a wickedly fast read full of countless references to classic fairy show more tales, with plenty of new twists. This is a Truman Award nominee in Missouri for 2009-10 (grades 6-9), but I think some high schoolers would enjoy the book as well. show less

Years ago Julie's mother led a rebellion against the Wild. The majority of fairy tale characters were able to escape into reality where they can live reasonably normal lives. But the Wild wasn't destroyed, it was only contained. And only Julie's mother Zel can keep it secure. When the Wild escapes from under Julie's bed, her peaceful New England town is transformed. Fairy tale characters, including Jule's grandmother, are sucked back into their former roles. With her mother locked high in a tower, it's up to Julie to defeat the Wild and return things to normal.

Suspenseful and well written, Durst's take on the power of story is an interesting one. I love the sneaky way she works in the motive for the Wild's release. New tales, indeed!

Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

Once upon a time, the characters in all the old fairy tales escaped. To our world. Where they live like normal people. Well, almost normal. Okay, Julie, the daughter of Rapunzel, doesn't think there's anything particularly normal about any of them. Or her life. And there is definitely nothing normal about the thing under her bed.

Since the escape, Rapunzel has cut off her hair and runs a beauty salon. She and Julie live with Julie's brother, Puss and Boots. Though he just pretends to be the family pet. Julie's grandmother used to be the wicked witch who ate small children. Now she's just a nice old lady with a creepy laugh, who runs an inn. Julie's father, the Prince, never made it out. And show more the thing under the Julie's bed is The Wild.

The Wild used to hold all of the fairy tales. Now it has to be watched and controlled, or else it will try to grow and imprison everyone all over again. It's weak enough to be kept under Julie's bed, but that doesn't stop it from trying to transform everything that gets close to it. Julie's down to only mismatched shoes and flip flops, and you don't even want to know what happened when they tried to keep it in the basement! As long as no one completes a fairy tale act, or makes a wish in the wishing well at Grandmother's inn, The Wild remains safely locked in Julie's room, and all of the characters who made it out are safe.

Just like in fairy tales, one day something goes terribly wrong. Someone seems to have got to the wishing well, and The Wild has escaped. By the time Julie gets to it, it's already taken over most of the town. The city is evacuating. And The Wild is growing. When Julie finds out that it's already taken her mom and her grandmother she knows she has to go in and save them, and possibly everyone and everything else.

She'll just have to be careful to not get stuck in a story, or accidentally end one, and help everyone she knows remember who they are so they don't get too stuck. And not let The Wild beat her. If she can find her way to the wishing well, and manage to make the right wish, she just might be able to get everyone out of there. Or, she might get stuck in her own fairy tale forever.

Who hasn't wished that they could live in a fairy tale? Marry the handsome Prince or Princess and live happily ever after? Sounds great to me. Except when "happily ever after" means repeating the same story, over and over, with no end, and no choices. Then it starts to look a bit frightening.

INTO THE WILD is hilarious in parts, sad in parts, and surprisingly honest, given that it's about fairy tales. Almost all of your favorite characters are at least mentioned, even if they don't make an appearance. Some of the stories may seem a little different -- these aren't the Disney versions. Not that it's particularly horrible or scary, just something to keep in mind. All in all, a great book. I enjoyed it immensely! show less