What Once Was Mine (Disney Twisted Tales) by Liz Braswell

Book Review Mar 08, 2023

My review

4/5 stars

Rapunzel is a firm favourite in my house, my son watches it on repeat, so when I found out that the latest Twisted Tale was based on Tangled, I was excited to get my hands on it.

The idea behind this retelling is that Rapunzel's mother partakes of the moonflower instead of the sunflower by accident, thus changing Rapunzel's powers. I loved the flip and how it worked in the story, with Rapunzel being sent away instead of stolen, for protection from the power of her hair. It gave it a much darker, more chilling feel from the start, and is definitely not a story aimed at younger children. The additional supernatural elements were well-written and added more meaning to the underbelly of the story.

Despite this change in tone and plot, the characters all still felt familiar and accessible. Rapunzel was still endearing and somewhat naive, but proved to be a little more daring and confident than her sun-magic counterpart. Flynn Rider was still devil-may-care and charming, but a little more hesitant and impatient than in the film. Gothel was still menacing and manipulative, but actually proved to be more evil than her movie version. We even got a couple of new characters (or twists on characters) that served to enhance the world that Rapunzel inhabits - I loved Gina and the new version of Maximus.

My only qualm with the book was the running sub-plot of a brother making up this retelling for his sick sister in hospital. While I appreciate that the author did this as a way of acknowledging her own personal experiences and honouring her sister (and it's a lovely way to do that for sure), for me it only served to take me out of the world that she was creating and felt quite jarring at times. Instead of it being an immersive experience, like the rest of the books in the Twisted Tales series, this one purposefully drew attention to the fact that its just a story as a plot device, and I wasn't a huge fan if I'm being honest.

Book blurb

Desperate to save the life of their queen and her unborn child, the good citizens of the kingdom comb the land for the all-healing Sundrop flower to cure her . . . but someone mistakenly picks the blossom of the Moondrop instead. This shimmering flower heals the queen and she delivers a healthy baby girl--with hair as silver and gray as the moon. But with her mysterious hair comes dangerous magical powers: the power to hurt, not heal. For the safety of the kingdom, Rapunzel is locked away in a tower and put under the care of the powerful goodwife, Mother Gothel.

For eighteen years Rapunzel stays imprisoned in her tower, knowing she must protect everyone from her magical hair. When she finally decides to leave the only home she's ever known--to see the floating lights that appear on her birthday--she gets caught up in an unexpected adventure with two thieves: a would-be outlaw named Gina, and Flynn Rider, a rogue on the run. Before she can reach her happy ending, Rapunzel learns that there is far more to her story, and her magical hair, and her future than she ever knew.