A Meeting of Minds [Hardcover]

Carol Matas (Author), Perry Nodelman (Author), Diana Bryan (Illustrator)

Book Description

"How dare these authors put us in a book? Believe me, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind."

It was a good idea, Coren told himself. Assuming, of course, that Lenora could actually find a piece of her mind that they didn't already have in their possession.

Suddenly transported against their will, the Princess Lenora and her fiancé, Prince Coren, find themselves in a strange place -- bone-chilling cold and snow outside, garish marketplaces and angry people inside. The inhabitants call it the city of Winnipeg. Lenora and Coren, however, have no idea where it is or why they are there. They can't return home because, yet again, their imaginitive powers have deserted them. The Winnipeggers refuse to believe Lenora and Coren are who they say they are. Strangely enough, though, they have read about Lenora and Coren in a series of fantasy novels by the authors Carol M. and Perry N. But just who created whom, Lenora and Coren wonder. And how will they ever manage to escape this frightening city, worse than their worst nightmare, so that their long-awaited wedding can finally take place?

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Grade 5-8-In this fourth Princess Lenora/Prince Coren adventure, the headstrong, imaginative princess and her shy, telepathic betrothed are stripped of their powers and plunged into an unfamiliar, frozen landscape only to find themselves surrounded by hundreds of teenagers impersonating them. They have landed in a Lenora/Coren convention in the authors' hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, which turns out to be a fictional world created by Lenora's young friend Sayley for a "worst world" contest back in Lenora's homeland of Gepeth. Now the couple must find a way home in time to thwart the plans of Leni and Cori, the misguided doubles Lenora created in More Minds (S & S, 1996). The book ends at the beginning of Lenora and Coren's wedding and the cliff-hanger finale promises a fifth installment to come. While their bewildering situation brings out Lenora's boldness and intelligence and Coren's inner strength, the two do not discover why they are in Winnipeg until almost 90 pages into the book, and readers may be frustrated by this slow unfolding of the plot and the relative lack of action compared to the previous titles. They may also fail to appreciate both the gentle fun the authors poke at their fictional selves and the irony in the humorous descriptions of North American life as seen through the eyes of the otherworldly royal pair. There are so many references to the adventures recounted in the previous books that newcomers may be lost, but Lenora and Coren's fans won't mind that A Meeting of Minds doesn't quite live up to the rest of the series.
Leah J. Sparks, Bowie Public Library, MD
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman are the co-authors of three previous books about Lenora and Coren's comic adventures: Of Two Minds, More Minds, and Out of Their Minds. They each live in Winnipeg, Canada, with their families.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689819471
• ISBN-13: 978-0689819476
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,242,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ending Could Have Been Better, May 14, 2000

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Meeting of Minds (Hardcover)

Lenora and Coren suddenly find themselves trapped in a different world. Just seconds before, they were standing in Coren's palace, discussing their wedding plans. Previously, Lenora's powers had landed her in mysterious worlds along with her fiance, Coren. Normally, Lenora would be able to use her imaginative powers to imagine herself and Coren back to the palace. But in this new world, her and Coren's powers are not functioning. As you can tell, Lenora has the power to imagine herself places, along with imagining any item she desires. Coren, on the other hand, has the ability to read peoples' minds. Now, instead of worrying about their powers, they must figure a way out of this confusing world. The people here use paper money to trade for things and worship a god named Sayley ( which has an extraordinary resemblance to a child they know). What does this all mean? More importantly, who transported them here? This is an exceptional book. If you liked the Harry Potter series, you will definitely enjoy this book. This complicated, yet easy to comprehend story will never let you down. Lenora and Coren's antics will keep you reading. Although this book is quite interesting, I would rate it four stars out of five because the end is a bit of a letdown. The authors do a wonderful job describing and animating the characters, but when it comes to the end, they skimp on the descriptions. Even though the ending is disappointing, the rest of the book is great.

By Amanda H

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Back, and more paradoxical than ever..., March 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Meeting of Minds (Hardcover)

Lenora and Coren strike again in the latest entry of the Minds series by Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman. The protagonists of Of Two Minds, More Minds, and Out of Their Minds find themselves in a new predicament when they are inexplicably transported to modern day Winnipeg. Only, it's not quite Winnipeg as we know it. There's a huge convention going on, with everyone insisting to be Lenora and Coren, characters from their favorite series. Lenora and Coren find that the authors of this fabulously popular series (Matas and Nodelman must be the first to write themselves as fictional characters in their own novel) think them to be only a figment of their imagination! Things get increasingly confusing, with multiple impersonations of both Lenora and Coren refusing to believe that they're the real thing. And just why is everyone worshipping the deity Sayley? Why can no one in Winnipeg remember their past? Why has Leni suddenly decided to impersonate Lenora back home? The book raises (and assuages) these questions, as well as provides a satisfying conclusion to Hevak, Leni, Cori, and the rest of the crew.

Why only four stars? Well, the authors' self-lauding attitude ("our books are fantastic and popular, and everyone loves them") implied in the convention got slightly irritating. And there's not really much in the way of character development. The whole idea of the world, and Lenora and Coren inconveniently losing their powers to create a plot is getting a bit old. However, A Meeting of Minds is a very quick, entertaining, and certainly creative read. I was particularly amused by how the authors stated their opinions of the cover of Of Two Minds through Lenora and Coren... Not a great place to pick up the series, but surely satisfying for those who have been following it all along.

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book is the bomb!, November 23, 1999

By 

christina (Madison, Wisconsin in the great US of A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Meeting of Minds (Hardcover)

this book is fantastic! if you ask me, it's a million times better than the harry potter series. it was very suspenseful and i loved how it made me feel so small and insignificant by thinking of so many different universes and different creatures. the idea was fresh, original, and surprisingly light and refreshing. (it sounds like i'm advertising for sprite or something, doesn't it?) i loved how suspenseful it is, too. is there a sequel? if there is, please e-mail