Cute, but the kids got bored. ( )

When Meg's father locks her up in a tower and offers her hand to any prince who can defeat a witch, a dragon, and a band of bandits, Meg decides to escape the tower and rescue the poor, defenseless witch, dragon, and bandits from the princes.
This is a fun and charming upside-down fairy tale similar to M.M. Kaye's The Ordinary Princess and Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. ( )

Princess Meg is not your typical princess on all counts.Instead of attending tea in the afternoons, and primping in dresses, she loves adventures, catching frogs and learning to fight. When her father the king announces a contest for a prince to win her hand in marriage as a prize, Meg objects and is held captive in a tower to wait for the winner. Meg decides that she will win the contest herself with the help of her friends. Meg begins an adventure in which she discovers things about herself and who she wants to become.

This would be a great read aloud book to much of any age group. It has magic wizards, and fancy spells, and witches of all sorts. To keep the boys intrigued it has sword fights and lots of humor. I would love to use this as a guide to kicking the students imagination into high gear and write a story of a person in a postiion but portrays the opposite. For example maybe an NFL player that would rather play the piano all day. ( )

Meg's, princess Margret,has announced that a contest will be held. The winner will recive half of his lands and Meg's hand in marrige. To win they must defeat the dragon, the witch, and the bandits. Meg is locked in a tower to keep her from running away, so with the help of Nort, Cam, and Dilly she escapes. At first she just goes out during the day to try and warn the Witch and save he dragon, but then she learns that one of the princs is conspiring against the king. She must rescue the baby dragon and witch, it seems that the bandits are quite capable of taking care of them selves. They defeat the prince and stop the armies of other kings from invading, also in the process Meg wins the contest. Meg starts taking care of the dragon and her parents respect her more.

I really liked this book. I wish that there were more in the series. Runaway Princess is the first out of two books. Its actually really good. Much better than my summary. I really liked how one of the princes, Bain, actually turned out to be the brother of the bandit queen. I did not see that comeing, I thought that he was also evil and wanted to take over. I encourge people to read this book although most adults probably wouldn't like it.

Finally! I've been promising a review of Kate Coombs' delightfully fractured fairy tales, Runaway Princess and the new sequel, Runaway Dragon, which I nominated for Cybils. The time has come - seems just right to write about these now that Charlotte's Library is introducing a Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy roundup.

To recap, because it's been a while since the first story.....Princess Margaret (Meg to her friends) is horrified when her father and the prime minster cook up a scheme to improve the country's economic status; offer her in marriage to whoever will destroy the dragon, witch, and bandits! Meg decides to rescue herself - and then rescue the "scourges" of the country. She takes old friends along with her, meets new friends, and discovers that the world isn't as simple as she thought. But her courage and practical thinking pay off and with her friends' help, all ends well.

Now, Meg has a new problem. Her baby dragon is growing up. And like all not-so-young creatures, he wants to try his wings. Meg decides finding Laddy is the perfect excuse for a quest! She's been feeling cooped up in the castle and she's ready for adventure! But how can she have an adventure with her best friends, guardsmen, and her parents all determined to keep her safe? Well, toss in an Enchanted Forest, a suitably malevalent villainess, a few new friends, and a giant, and things get complicated fast! Will Meg ever find Laddy? And what will happen when she does?
These stories are, to me, some of the best examples of middle grade fantasy.

First, you need to hop over and read Laurel Snyder's post on the difference between YA and MG fiction. These stories fit perfectly into that model. Meg is not just going on hilarious and exciting adventures, she's learning about the world and her place in it. I love the humor and craft that goes into Coomb's excellent plots, but the characters are even more fun. Each one learns about themselves, but not in an egotistical I-am-discovering-myself way (um, yeah, I don't really like YA in general. Too self-absorbed). Plus, Coombs has managed to create a believeable and independent fantasy heroine. Too many fantasy heroines are either completely useless wusses, waiting to be rescued, romanced, or guided OR they're unbelievable super girls who never put a foot wrong and get themselves out of every predicament. Meg is just perfectly in-between. She courageous and determined and has lots of skills and good qualities; but she also knows when she needs help and that she has a lot to learn.

Verdict: Fantasy fans who like plenty of humor and strong heroines will fall in love with Meg and her friends. Talk these up to fans of Patricia C. Wrede, Jessica Day George, Sarah Beth Durst, and Gail Carson Levine. These aren't just for girls either; there are plenty of diverse characters of both genders to enjoy and Runaway Dragon in particular divides the story between Meg's adventures and her friends' struggle to escape. Highly recommended!

Runaway Princess
ISBN: 0374355460; Published August 2006 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library

Runaway Dragon
ISBN: 0374363617; Published September 2009 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library