Towering by Alex Flinn
Synopsis:
When Rachel was taken to live in a tower by a woman she calls Mama, she was excited. She felt like a princess in a castle. But many years later, Rachel knows her palace is really a prison, and begins to plan her escape. She is encouraged by the speed that her golden hair has been growing. It’s gotten long enough to reach the ground. And she’s begun dreaming of a green-eyed man. Could he be out there in the world? Is he coming to save her? Or will she find a way to save herself?
Review:
Rachel is a severely sheltered girl with only books giving her an idea of the outside world. We don’t learn why she’s being locked up in a tower until the end of the book, adding to the big mystery surrounding her and the small town. Meanwhile, Wyatt has come to live with the mother of his mother’s best friend in order to cope with his friend’s death. His mother’s best friend went missing years ago, and Wyatt discovers she wasn’t the only one to go missing in this small town.
I really enjoyed the eerie mystery and creepy feeling of the town and its residents. But when Wyatt finally meets Rachel, the story derailed in my opinion. Unfortunately, the two teens suffer from insta-love, even going as far as saying they love each other on their SECOND meeting. I know they were supposed to feel a fairy tale connection, but it was beyond my suspension of disbelief. Then, the “big mystery” was a bit of a let-down as well. I won’t give away any spoilers, but all of the build-up and suspense again left me disappointed with the direction it all took. It was just too strange and seemed thrown together. I love modern day fairy tale retellings, especially Flinn’s Beastly. So maybe my expectations were too high with Rapunzel. I’m still eager to read more of Flinn’s novels, as she’s obviously gifted at building suspense and characters that readers care about. Towering just fell a bit flat.