Letters to Zell, Camille Griep
Letters to Zell, Camille Griep
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Letters to Zell

Author: Camille Griep

Narrator: Amy McFadden

Unabridged: 7 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 07/01/2015


Synopsis

Everything is going according to story for CeCi (Cinderella), Bianca (Snow White), and Rory (Sleeping Beauty)—until the day that Zell (Rapunzel) decides to leave Grimmland and pursue her life. Now, Zell’s best friends are left to wonder whether their own passions are worth risking their predetermined “happily ever afters,” regardless of the consequences. CeCi wonders whether she should become a professional chef, sharp-tongued and quick-witted Bianca wants to escape an engagement to her platonic friend, and Rory will do anything to make her boorish husband love her. But as Bianca’s wedding approaches, can they escape their fates—and is there enough wine in all of the Realm to help them?In this hilarious modern interpretation of the fairy-tale stories we all know and love, Letters to Zell explores what happens when women abandon the stories they didn’t write for themselves and go completely off script to follow their dreams.

About Camille Griep

Camille Griep’s short works can be found in a number of fine online and print magazines. Born in Billings, Montana, she moved to Southern California to attend Claremont McKenna College, graduating with a dual degree in biology and literature. She used her writing skills to move through careers in marketing and financial analysis before taking a hiatus in late 2011 to devote herself to fiction. In 2012, she graduated from Viable Paradise, a residential workshop for speculative fiction novelists. Soon after, she joined the staff of the Lascaux Review, where she now serves as a senior editor. She lives just north of Seattle with her partner, Adam, and their bulldog, Dutchess. Letters to Zell is her first novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) on June 11, 2015

I have always been a sicker for a retelling, especially those that feature some of my most favorite childhood stories. However, this isn't your typical happily ever after tale with a twist. In fact, quite the opposite. Told in letters to Zell (Rapunzel) through Ceci (Cinderella), Bianca (Snow White),......more

Goodreads review by Sara J. on December 27, 2015

3.5... can't say I *really* liked it... but I did like it. Spunky take on happily ever after... in letter form... revolving around Snow White (Bianca), Cinderella (Ceci), Sleeping Beauty (Rory) and Rapunzel (the titular Zell). Unicorns and pink bunnies aside, it does get a bit sordid in parts and I......more

Goodreads review by Beth on January 05, 2016

I received this book for free at an Amazon/47North event at WorldCon. Letters to Zell is smart chicklit that deeply integrates fairy tales and classic fantasy literature. The four central women of the book are nuanced and flawed in very realistic ways, but the supporting cast is just as vivid. Griep......more

Goodreads review by Shira on October 07, 2016

This is a powerful, beautiful book using the veneer of Western European fairy-tale princesses living in a magical realm just a portal away from ours to tell a familiar, timeless story about four female friends struggling to redefine themselves, and their friendship, in the face of lives that don't m......more


Quotes

“Captivating...The rich and realistic depictions of these young women, and their touching efforts to navigate old and new relationships in a changing world, display a deep understanding of human nature and the ways that well-meaning attempts to help one’s friends can go awry.” Publishers Weekly, Starred Review“Readers who can’t get enough of stories about fairy-tale characters will find that Griep’s debut scratches the same itch as the movie Into the Woods, TV’s Once Upon a Time, or Bill Willingham’s Fables comic book series. Her light and unobjectionable fantasy offers a peek into the emotional lives of fairy-tale heroines” Library Journal“Griep’s debut is a fresh, original take on a group of fairy-tale familiars...This fractured fairy tale will appeal to Gregory Maguire devotees as well as fans of television shows like Once Upon A Time and Grimm.” Booklist“Fantasy fans, Disney devotees, and former princesses will like this one.” Seattle Times“There’s nothing more magical and potentially summer-lengthening than a fairy-tale, and Letters to Zell contains four of them. The literary version of Once Upon A Time, this delightful novel follows Disney princesses as they question their happily-ever-afters and go in search of a new life. This book is a lot of fun, and will make you wish you could go work on a unicorn preserve like Rapunzel (or ‘Zell’).” —Bustle