Letters from Rapunzel
by Sara Lewis Holmes

    LETTERS FROM RAPUNZEL by Sara Lewis Holmes
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  2/20/07
    Publisher:  HarperCollins
    Reviewed by:  Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Cadence Brogan aka Rapunzel may have found someone to help her with her problems.  That someone is P.O.
    Box #5667.

    Cadence's father has battled clinical depression most of his life.  His recent bout has required treatment in the
    hospital to regulate his medication. Shortly after her father's hospitalization, Cadence discovers a torn piece from a
    letter her father had written to someone with the address P.O. Box #5667.  Not knowing this person, but hoping
    whoever it is can help shed more light on her father's condition; Cadence begins writing her own letters.

    The problems Cadence hopes to get help with include her father’s rapid recovery and return home, a busy, hard-
    working mother, an annoying classmate named Andrew, and mandatory attendance in the GT (Gifted and Talented)
    program.  

    A great lover of fairy tales, Cadence focuses on the similarities between herself and the imprisoned Rapunzel.  Many
    of her letters describe her hope to escape and her search to find a cure for the Evil Spell holding her father
    "prisoner." As she searches for answers, some of what she discovers is not pleasant. In an effort to protect her,
    Cadence learns that her mother, who refers to her husband’s condition as C.D., has not been completely honest
    about the extent of the depression. Not being able to share her thoughts with her father, more and more of
    Cadence’s feelings pour out in her letters to #5667.

    Sara Lewis Holmes cleverly creates Cadence's story through these letters.  She has Cadence holding out hope that
    her letters will be answered, but even as that hope fades, Holmes portrays a positive, up-beat Cadence.  Any reader
    will identify with the struggle to overcome adversity, but this book is sure to hit home with readers who have
    experience with friends or family members suffering from clinical depression.