This week in Fiction Friday, I want to introduce you to one of my 15 year-olds favorite authors. I’ve read a couple of Melanie Dickerson’s books this year, and really look forward to catching up on her backlist. She has a knack for taking the fairy tales we know — or think we know — and retelling them in a way that brings fresh life to them.

This month her latest The Golden Braid released.The Golden Braid is a sweet retelling of Rapunzel. The author drops the reader into the heart of medieval Germany and weaves a story of mistaken identity, the search for love, and hidden betrayal. My understanding is that it ties into another of the author’s books that I haven’t read yet. My teen loves the author’s books — it’s amazing I got to read it first. The more I read them, the more I understand the appeal. A strong hero, a self-sufficient heroine, and an epic story create a recipe for a pageturner.