Parents' Guide to

The Runaway King: The Ascendance Trilogy, Book 2

By Sally Engelfried, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Young king faces pirates, thieves in swashbuckling sequel.

The Runaway King: The Ascendance Trilogy, Book 2 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 10+

Not as dark as first book.

While some parts of the first book I found to be a little heavy for a children's story (the plight of orphans and memories of their parents and the fact that they were being "bought" to carry out a plan and would be killed if they did not comply", this story, thankfully, is just a fun fighting the pirates tale. Yes, some violence, but without the "dark side" if that makes sense. There is a choice that has to be made between the King choosing the previously- betrothed princess, or the girl he has come to care very much for. And the king has to choose whether to kill his enemy once he finally confronts him. The first book I feel has some pretty major themes that could be discussed with your kids, like how the kids perception of his father's actions differed from the father's. But this one I think was more adventure, and more appropriate for a ten year old.
age 10+

A well-written page-turner

The Runaway King was a great addition to the Ascendance Trilogy! It has a wonderful, captivating plot that leaves you eager to see what will happen next. The main flaw was that it was rather annoying how he could literally do everything: challenge pirate kings, climb cliffs with a broken leg, etc. However, it is a fictional book after all.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (12 ):

Readers who enjoyed the action of The False Prince will find more of the same here. Jaron runs headlong from one adventure into the next, barely saving himself from danger before an even worse situation befalls him. He is loyal to his friends to a fault, and with a witty tongue to banter with the various captors who nearly kill him, he can be an appealing hero. However, his arrogance can be grating, and the reasoning behind his reckless schemes is often unclear, so he seems to constantly put himself into needless danger. Still, the pacing of this page-turner will probably carry readers along and allow them to overlook these complaints.

Book Details

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