Of Two Minds

Having re-read this favorite from age 12, now at age 40, I'm pleased by how well it holds up. I would happily offer it to any tween today.

It's a Point Fantasy, which means it's exactly 200 pages, not high literature or anything, but it's a fun adventure and I can see why it appealed to me so much. Of the two main characters, Lenora gets more screen time at first, and she's nearly a caricature of ego-centric, angsty teen moods. She feels smothered by her parents, who are boring and don't let her do anything fun. Meanwhile, Coren is an opposite character, but equally adolescent: he feels awkward, is constantly embarrassed by his parents, and just wants them to leave him alone. One is daring, wild, the other hyper-aware of others' gazes show more and overly cautious.

The main arc of the plot is about these two teens growing a little. Lenora learns to consider people other than herself, and that having her way all the time would be boring, never thrilling for long. Coren gains confidence in himself and stops worrying so much about what everyone else thinks, and to stand up for himself and what is right.

I noticed a lot of similarities with classic children's stories: there's IT and the city it controls in A Wrinkle in Time, the invisible little Monopods from Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and much of the Emerald City and the Great and Wonderful Wizard from the Wizard of Oz. These are all fairly common story tropes, I suppose, and I never noticed in my many re-reads as a teen.

The pacing is a bit wonky, and in the first half, the back-and-forth between the two povs was a bit annoying, because they kept repeating bits I'd already seen in the other pov. But, again, as a teen I didn't notice this, and the 2 povs do emphasize how the same events can look different according to the teller. It picks up in the second half, once the adventure in Grag really gets started, with less time in any one pov before switching, and fewer repeats.

The first half establishes who Lenora and Coren are and sets out the rules for their respective countries of people who can imagine things into reality or people whose imaginations are so strong they can effectively ignore reality and live in their own minds—including visiting and eavesdropping on others' thoughts. Lenora's parents (understandably!) want to get her to stop being so headstrong and wild, so they decide to marry her off at 16, and effectively exile her to a distant island until she grows up a bit. The responsibilities of a husband and children should surely get her to settle down, yes? Coren is the arranged husband, as his family could use the match politically and perhaps monetarily. Neither teen is happy about being forced to marry someone they have never met.

In the second half, Lenora responds to a magic call and is transported to another reality, where everything and everyone is beautiful and happy, and ruled by the most handsome, gracious, wonderful Hevak. Unfortunately, she accidentally brings Coren with her. She's thrilled to be somewhere so great, ready for adventure. He isn't. But when they meet Hevak, this wonderful place starts to show an ugly side, and they must find out how to save themselves and the country of Grag from a despot. Along the way, they realize they actually like each other and share a few kisses. (But it's not a romance, not really. More like another aspect of adolescence.)

So, no, not high literature or anything. But it's a nice enough fantasy story that I, at least, found highly relatable as a teen, re-read many times, and would still offer a tween today. show less

I read this when I was young and fell in love with it. Although my view might be clouded by that, I would still have to say that this book is an excellent read. The Spoiled brat heroine learns that there is more to the world and the shy, geeky guy learns to come out of his shell, with a happy ending to boot.

One of my favorites from childhood! And there is a 3rd one out!