Rapunzel and the Sea Witch by Kim Bussing - ADVISABLE

Rapunzel and the Sea Witch (or, The Little Mermaid and the Tower) (Princess Swap #3) by Kim Bussing, 311 pages. Random House, 2025. $10.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Making a deal with the Sea Witch is said to be foolish, but if Hana (13yo) steals a contract and makes a deal with herself to stop the Storm and a war with the humans, that can’t be as bad, right? Until she ends up with legs in a tower. Meanwhile, Rapunzel is found by the Sea Witch and trades her voice to get rid of her Curse. But if Rapunzel can’t find a way to break her Curse permanently, she’ll never get her voice back.

Bussing creatively mashes fairy tales together in this series beyond the advertised “princess swap,” and, though the first two books are referenced, reading them is not required to enjoy Hana’s and Rapunzel’s stories. I love the references to the familiar stories we know—like when the price to enjoy a lagoon symphony is to “kiss the girl”—and that Bussing adds her own new spins to the tales—like how this little mermaid has singing ocean magic! Fairy tales like Hana’s and Rapunzel’s remind us that we have yet to fulfill our grand potential, regardless of how others try to stifle our growth.

Rapunzel is depicted on the cover to have light skin, and Hana is depicted to have tanner skin. Lady Grimm is described as having “fair” skin, Melusine has “pale” skin, and Oliver has “slightly tan” skin. The mature content rating is for kissing, and the violence rating is for mild fantasy violence and assault.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson