sanika_karode 's review for:

Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch by Serena Valentino

5.0

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I loved loved loved this book. My favorite Disney movie is Tangled and when I first watched the movie, I wondered if Mother Gothel only stole Rapunzel because she was lonely. Though I was wrong about that, I was right that she didn't kidnap Rapunzel for no reason and after reading her backstory, she has complete validation to do so. This made me hate the Odd Sisters even more than I already did for ruining yet another character that could have redeemed themselves under the right circumstances. It was so sad when Gothel's sisters died and she had no one left with her. I liked how the book explained some things in the movie that kind of just happened with no explanation as to how. For example, at the end of the movie, Gothel falls out of the tower and the only thing we see left is her cloak. We are left to wonder what happened to her but the book explains that since the last of Rapunzel flower died, the person using it to stay alive grew to their real age, which for Gothel was so old that she was reduced to dust.