Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast-paced and deft, Aug 7 2000
Sherwood Smith must be one of the best-- and least appreciated-- YA fantasy writers out there. Wren to the Rescue is the first and most light-hearted of the Wren trilogy (followed by Wren's Quest and Wren's War). It introduces the usual cast-- an orphan, a princess, a prince, and a magician. However, the characters are all fleshed out unusually well. Wren is one of the most spirited and loyal characters I've ever read; Teressa has been in hiding for all of her life, pretending to be an orphan, and is only beginning to take up her duties as a princess; Connor is the youngest prince of a long line-- landless and a failure at magic; Tyron is a chief worrier, talented young magician and heir to the most powerful magician in the kingdom. When Teressa is kidnapped by the suave King Andreus of the neighboring country Senna Lirwan, her best friend Wren knows she has to do something. Accompanied by Tyron, risking his position as heir, and Connor (who accidentally turned one of the masters into a turtle in the middle of a magic test), any number of wild adventures find them. There are the 'baddiepeepers,' or Wren's word for Andreus' spies, the chraucans-- huge, antisocial birds, and warrie beasts-- a human-eating creature, bandits, powerful magicians who may or may not be on their side, and dozens of magical traps. Including one that turns Wren into a dog, and if not removed soon, will make her one permanently. Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Wren to the Rescue is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure quest fantasy. The characters are likable, though Wren can occasionally be a bit too relentlessly upbeat and Teressa is a little bland. Sherwood Smith is adept at recreating the dialogue of real children, and the dialogue is consistently good. The world-building is equally consistent. There's nothing objectionable, and fantasy readers of all ages will be delighted with Wren's adventures. Though the trilogy isn't as polished as Sherwood Smith's Crown and Court Duet, it should be very enjoyable for anyone who likes Tamora Pierce, Patricia Wrede, and Lloyd Alexander. A nice series to contrast the Wren trilogy to is Tamora Pierce's The Magic Circle Quartet, which also deals with a foursome of younger protagonists.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK, May 23 1999
By A Customer
Never before have I read and heard of such unique characters that made me envy them because of their flaws themselves of all things! I enjoy reading Sherwood Smith's books, the way she writes makes me want to read her books again and again, there's no way to be tired of them. If you have not yet read a book by Sherwood Smith, or have not yet read ALL of her books, I'm telling you to get a copy of CROWN DUEL, that's the best place to start, then make your way down to COURT DUEL, then the WREN series. Why doesn't she get more of her books published?! -Juliette
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book, Jan 22 1999
By A Customer
I just read this book recently, and I have to say that I liked it. Wren is a likeable character, and the book was very entertaining throughout the whole book. But I didn't like the parts where they kept skipping from Wren to the castle, and back to Wren again that drove me nuts! But it was a good book on the whole, although I enjoy Tamora Pierce MUCH more.
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