Today, September 22, is release day for M. Hollis' novella Ripped Pages!
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| [Image description: the cover of M. Hollis' novella Ripped Pages: A Rapunzel Retelling. It features black and white cursive text over a background of blonde hair.] |
Ripped Pages is an F/F retelling of Rapunzel. After her mother's death, Princess Valentina's father locks her away in a tower, where she spends several years alone save the servants who bring her food. Scared of the wilderness surrounding her tower, Princess Valentina never quite musters the courage to try and escape, until another girl happens to pass by on a horse.
From there, it's adventure, sweet romance, and, all-in-all, an extremely satisfying retelling of one of my favorite faerie tales.
I devoured Ripped Pages in one sitting, because it was just so refreshing to see a story about sapphic teenagers that wasn't tragic, or fetishized, or infantilizing. These characters got to be cute and sweet and get to know themselves in a faerie tale setting, which is representation that so many people get denied.
The main character is a lesbian, and her love interest is multispec (I'm not sure if she's bi, pan, or ply--explicit labels aren't used). There is a gay couple as well, and casual mention of aspec people and nonbinary people. From a representation standpoint, it was lovely.
Something I also greatly appreciated was that the author included a page listing trigger warnings. That's a practice I've been advocating for for a while now, and it was great to see.
But besides the representation and trigger consideration, what I really loved about Ripped Pages was that it felt so genuine. I remember being a teenager wondering if my experiences were normal, and wanting to go out into the world and experience life in the wider world. I remember being scared to enter that wider world. Heck, I relate to that even as an adult. I remember how validating and empowering it was to finally meet other people like me, who really cared about who I was and what I wanted. This story really captured those feelings, and it is something I sincerely wish I had when I was younger.
Perhaps the highest praise I can offer is that I finished reading Ripped Pages and wanted to hug my e-reader. It made me feel warm fuzzies, and reminded me of just how good it is to see characters you identify with succeeding and coming into their own.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys faerie tales, and especially to anyone who needs to see a young lesbian come into her own, take control of her life, and find the love and support she deserves. Many thanks to the author for allowing me to read and review this book!
Until next time,
Jenn.
