LETTERS FROM RAPUNZEL

Contradictions can be intriguing. But in this case, the disconnect between the lighthearted title and frequent folktale references and the serious subject matter may be disconcerting. Twelve-year-old Cadence Brogan’s father suffers from clinical depression. She describes his most recent hospitalization and her struggles at school in a series of letters, signed Rapunzel, sent to the same Post Office box her father wrote to. The letters go unanswered, but she keeps writing, sending missives filled with humor, questions and pain. In them, Cadence’s efforts to make sense of her father’s illness unfold along with her halfhearted attempts to cope with the problems caused by her fertile imagination and unwillingness to fulfill her teachers’ expectations. While Cadence’s personality is well-drawn, secondary characters, including her busy mother and beloved father, are a bit sketchy. Her discovery that her father had attempted suicide won’t surprise most readers, but the brief description of what might drive a person to such a drastic move may not satisfy them. Despite these weaknesses, Cadence’s story may still cast a spell over some readers. (Fiction. 9-12)