The Runaway Princess (review)

Meg is one of those feminist princesses who balks at being kept in a tower while a contest is underway and refuses to be given away as a prize to the prince who manages to kill the dragon, defeat the witch, and stop the local bandits. Relying on the assistance of her servant friends to escape the tower, Meg decides to win the contest herself, thus ensuring she will not be someone's booty. If Meg can convince her father to recognize his daughter as an equal, she will be even happier. A telepathic dragon baby, a bizarre magical scarf with eyes, and humorous twin princes who do everything together and plan to flip a coin for the prize are all almost clever and fresh enough to breathe new life into this fantasy. However, feisty nontraditional princesses have been for some time a cliché in their own right, and the plot wherein the strong girl reshapes her own destiny and wins over her parents (while accumulating a trail of admirers) is all too familiar. While the usual archetypal characters, right down to the witch who turns princes into frogs and the loyal-to-the-end maid who becomes a best friend, are present and accounted for, they never really rise above the standard functionaries. Readers who love their princesses modern and bold may nonetheless feel an immediate connection with Meg, and they won't mind too much that they have seen girls like her before.