Dealing with Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book One

Dealing with Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book One
by Patricia C. Wrede

Being a princess does not suit Cimorene.  She’s bored with etiquette and embroidery, she’d rather study fencing, Latin or magic.  But that’s just not done.  So her parents do what they think is best – decide to marry her off to a handsome prince.  Cimorene declares she would rather be eaten by a dragon than marry this prince, so she runs away.  Lo and behold, she finds herself in a dragon’s den!  Instead of being eaten, she volunteers to be the princess of a dragon, essentially a willing captive.  Kazul, her dragon, lets her experiment with food, magic, and fighting – Cimorene couldn’t be happier!  But trouble is coming for the dragons.  The wizards seem to be plotting something, but there’s no hard proof.  While it may not be princess-like, Cimorene must do what she can to protect Kazul and the others from the meddling wizards.

This book was recommended to me by a coworker, and I had a fabulous time reading it!  I knew it was going to be good when two sentences in, I was already chuckling.  With the wit of The Princess Bride, the likability of the world of Harry Potter (and written 7 years prior), and the “You go, girl!” attitude of The Hunger Games, this book is an amazing combination!  It’s a great fantasy story, and very appropriate for middle-grade readers.  I wish I had read this book in middle school, actually.  But better late than never.  Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy any of the aforementioned titles.

Also… HP7.2 tonight!!!

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Tags: book review, children's books, dragons, enchanted forest chronicles, fairy tales, fantasy, magic, middle ages, middle school, patricia c. wrede, princes, princesses, rescues, witches, wizards, young adult books