When Meanne, a princess of the realm, runs away from her father's castle and an unwanted suitor, little does she realize the hardships and difficulties that lie ahead of her. Loneliness is the worst part -- until she finds a fellow refugee, a boy named Wisp. Together they must make new lives for themselves. Yet they both have secrets -- hidden pasts and magical powers that can tear them apart! ( )

The ending was a little rushed, but otherwise this story had a nice cottagecore feel. ( )

I read several reviews on GoodReads while I was checking on this little book, and I have one thing to say to the critics: it is a children's book. Get over your criticism compared to her other works. The dedication to her granddaughter who can't read YET should have been your first clue. This is a well written little story. My only negative is that there wasn't more. I understand that the author wrote a lot of short works for SciFi magazines and the like, most of them were later worked into novels or compiled as short story volumes (Chronicles of Pern: First Fall, etc). I've always enjoyed Anne McCaffrey and insist that she is indeed a science fiction Fantasy writer (check all the Wikipedia articles for this little dispute). ( )

Runaway princess meets a man hiding his past and his gifts. Romance. ( )

fiction, fairy tales, princesses, magic, Anne McCaffrey, Meanne, Wisp, short novel, quest, woodcuts, quest, forest, gift, Meanne, Wisp, Anne McCaffrey ( )