The Runaway Princess

So I like princess stories. Sue me. Isn't fiction about living out your fantasies through a secondary resource?

The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs is a juvenile/young adult title about...a princess that runs away. Meg hates embroidery and fancy dresses. She wishes for a life of adventure and swash buckling encounters. Her father, the King of Greeve, has another idea, however. He decides to take action against the dragon, witch, and bandits that call Greeve home and offer his daughter as a prize for the prince willing to defeat these villains. So Meg gets thrown up in a tower (for effect and tradition) and a heap of princes come from the surrounding lands to try their hand at winning the princess and half the kingdom. But Meg hates the idea of being a damsel in distress and decides to warn the "villains" about the princes. Who says their evil anyway? Stereotypes and looks can be deceiving as we soon find out. What follows is Meg's adventures trying to warn the victims of her father's plan and stop any princes from winning the contest and her hand in marriage. Her friends Dilly, a castle servant, and Cam, a royal gardener, aid and abet this royal delinquent throughout the novel.

This story has a lot of twists and turns. It's not a simple adventure where she has three tasks and completes them. Along the way lots of other problems arise. The story keeps you engaged and wanting to find out what new twist is around the corner. Meg is a tomboy ready to prove herself and help those who need it. The added plague of princes adds a fun competitive aspect to the story. The typical "evil doers" are flipped. Meg is a modern girl in a fairy tale world and she aims to prove that she does not need to be the typical princess to be happy. The secondary characters are also fun and, although I wouldn't say they have depth, they are still relevant and distinguishable. This is a great read for anyone who likes princess stories, fairy tales, or fairy tale twists.

Kate Coombs came out with a sequel to this book called The Runaway Dragon, so there are more adventures with Meg. Ella Enchanted is similar to Coombs' book as well within a fairy tale feel, odd creatures and princes, however, it also has a romantic aspect that The Runaway Princess does not.