Sonderbooks Book Review of Wren to the Rescue

Reviewed July 21, 2004.
Firebird (Penguin), New York, 2004. Originally published in 1990. 216 pages.
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2004, #1, Children's Fantasy

I loved Sherwood Smith’s Crown Duel so much that I recently found myself rereading it, only a few months after I finished it the first time. I tried to read only a chapter per day, in order to savor it and learn from it, but I only lasted through the first half. I ended up losing my self-control and finishing the book in the early hours of the morning while on vacation.

Wren to the Rescue was written well before Crown Duel, but Sherwood Smith already shows promise of being a genius at story-telling.

Wren to the Rescue is a story where a girl gets to go on a quest to save the princess, her best friend. Wren is an orphan, and thought her best friend Tess was one as well. She learns that Tess is a princess, hidden at the orphanage to protect her from a threat by the evil King Andreus of a neighboring kingdom. Tess’s parents think the time has come for Tess to return home, and ask Wren to accompany her to help hide her identity.

Not long after Tess arrives at the palace, she’s snatched away. Wren decides that she can’t sit by and do nothing. An apprentice magician has a plan to save Tess, and a mysterious couple with access to magic agree that they may be the only ones who can get through.

During the adventure that follows, we learn that Wren has some surprising abilities. Can she get through unexpected dangers to bring Tess home? She’s a spunky, clever, and streetwise heroine, and we know she won’t give up easily.

This is a fun, well-written fantasy adventure yarn, and the beginning of a trilogy. I can promise I’ll be reading and reviewing the next two soon.

Reviews of other books by Sherwood Smith:
Wren's Quest
Wren's War
Crown Duel
Once a Princess
Twice a Prince
The Trouble with Kings
A Stranger to Command
Senrid
The Spy Princess
Coronets and Steel
Blood Spirits

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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

*****Wren to the Rescue*

by Sherwood Smith