Information
Goodreads: Dealing with Dragons
Series: Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1
Source: Library
Published: 1990
Summary
To avoid a marriage with the dullest of princes, Cimorene runs away to live with dragons. As a dragon’s princess she finds freedom and excitement in learning magic, going through the library, and trying new recipes. If only those knights would stop showing up to try to rescue her!
Review
In Dealing with Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede introduces a world where all the rules are about to broken. Princesses are not supposed to learn magic, nor are they supposed to read Latin, or reject the hands of perfectly respectable knights. And they are certainly not supposed to volunteer to be a dragon’s princess! But Cimorene does not care what is or is not done. She only wants to be happy and to avoid her impending marriage with a very boring prince.
Cimorene is the type of spunky heroine it feels impossible not to cheer along. She’s bold, she’s smart, she’s persevering, and she’s kind. No obstacle seems impassable to her. If she thinks of something that needs to be done, well, she’ll set off and do it! Furthermore, she’s surrounded by a compelling cast of characters, from her wise dragon to a witch who cooks crepes to the shy princess who lives a few caves down. Together, they form quite a formidable team, one bound by friendship. They simply make you want to join their adventures!
And the story is funny. Wrede delights in playing with fairy tale tropes, turning them on their heads or making readers giggle at the nonsensical nature of it all. It’s a little like The Paper Bag Princess for middle school readers. There’s a feminist message, but it doesn’t feel like a message. It’s just the way things are. Because our heroine is brave and strong. And she can do anything she sets her mind to.
If you like princess stories, fairy tales, dragons, or simply a good fantasy, Dealing with Dragons may be just the book for you. It’s not a long volume but it certainly is memorable.
Pages Unbound | Book Reviews & Discussions 
WOW! This sounds really interesting. I’m a sucker for plotlines like these! Good review! I LOVE fantasy so hopefully, I’ll like this one. *Adds to TBR*
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It’s so much fun! Plus it starts a series, so if you like it, there’s more! Sadly, though, my library just had the first, so I haven’t gotten to the sequels yet. I’ll probably have to ILL them.
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I read this book when I was in elementary school and I loved it! I must have re-read this a dozen times. This was one of the books that introduced me to fantasy. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it!!
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That sounds like a lovely memory! I think this would have been a favorite of mine had I read it when I was in elementary school!
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Cimorene sounds like such a lovely heroine! This book sounds like so much fun, I’m glad you liked it! 😊
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I’ve seen people talking about this around the blogosphere, so I’m glad I finally got around to it. It’s quite fun!
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This is one of those books which I’ve seen around numerous times, but I’ve never picked up since I’ve never heard of anyone else reading it. Silly, I know, but life is too short to read bad books, right? Right! I’m super glad to see your review for this specific reason.
The Paper Bag Princess is one of my favorite childhood books. This is certainly up my alley! Cimorene (Sim-or-anne? Sigh-more-ehn? Something else?) sounds like the sort of girl middle-school Jackie would have wanted for her bestie. Is this part of a series or did you magically find a standalone fantasy novel?
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I’ve seen it around a bit, too, so I finally picked it up! I do love dragons and princesses….
I’ve been calling her Sim-or-een in my head, but who knows? I don’t recall the book mentioning pronunciation!! It is part of a series–I think there are four–but it felt pretty solid as a standalone, so I haven’t rushed out to ILL the sequel yet. I feel like I could read the sequel a year later and I wouldn’t really be lost.
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Ah, I do like your pronunciation option. That flows a bit better than some of my interpretations! XD I don’t expect pronunciation guides in YA/MG literature, but I find this is one of the things I most frequently bring up in my book clubs. “How did *you* pronounce *this*?” It’s a bit of fun back and forth, too!
I like series written in that fashion. It’s so nice when you don’t feel compelled to binge read them all. I tend to see this more in MG and YA literature, however. There’s something about that cliffhanger which hooks YA readers, I think. I’ll have to keep an eye out for YA series which feel standalone-y when they are part of a series. anything come to mind for you, Krysta?
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Yes, sometimes the names can be quite baffling! I can’t help but wonder what the author had in mine, but sometimes I guess we’ll never know!
Hm. That’s a difficult question. Maybe Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart? There is a bit of a cliffhanger, but the plot itself is pretty much wrapped up in book one; each book has a distinct “quest.” Stroud’s Lockwood & Co. is pretty much the same. Each book has a major mission that is wrapped up, though each ends with another question for the next book to answer.
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This is actually one of the reasons I like to listen to fantasy in audiobook format. It’s nice to hear them pronounced. I assume the author verified all the pronounciations, too. Plus, I can remember names LONG after reading a book in this situation. It’s amazing how often I recognize the characters only by seeing their names. Once you take the book away from me I go stupid and cannot remember them for the life of me!
Yeah, i can see that with Steelheart. I didn’t feel super compelled to pick up the next books due to lack-of-cliffhanger, but well, you’re right that the story keeps going on. I haven’t read Lockwood & Co; I’ll check those out next!
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That’s a good point! I totally forgot about audio books!
I kind of like when I don’t feel compelled to pick up the sequel. There are too many series anymore. I can’t keep up with them all!
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EXACTLY. I don’t have time to read every series. I find that I’m much more likely to DNF a series book if I’m not connecting than a stand alone for that reason, too. I don’t want to get connected and have another series to read. It’s… frustrating. There are far too many incomplete series in my life.
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Ah I adore all four of the enchanted forest chronicles! I am so excited every time another person finds these. And the paper bag princess rocks! Great review matey. I do hope ye manage to read the others.
x The Captain
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It’s good to know you like the others! I suppose one day I’ll get around to ILLing the second in the series!
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I loved this book as a teen and I loved it again on a re-read as an adult. It is funny and I love how she upends all the tropes 🙂
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Yes! I hope the sequels are just as funny!
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Princesses, dragons and fairy tales? Yes please to all of the above! sounds brilliant- great review!
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Right? I love princesses and dragons!
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Yes!!
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I remember loving this so much when I was in middle school that I went out and bought the series, and I still love it for how spunky it is. ❤ So glad to see someone else talking about it!
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That’s wonderful! I hope I get around to the sequels sometime. I think I will have to ILL them, though.
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This one sounds fun!
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It is! 😀
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I love this book! I only have to first two books in the series “The Enchanted Forest Chronicles”, though. Do you know where I can find the others?
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I just use my library or interlibrary loan if they don’t have what I want. But I imagine you can easily buy the books online, too.
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Thanks! 🙂
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