Dealing With Dragons - Patricia C. Wrede

Imagine that you're working for ferocious dragons that could eat or burn you up in an instant. Princess Cimorene is doing just that in the fantasy novel Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. The beautiful and smart Princess Cimorene is born into a very proper royal family that keeps on forcing her to receive boring lessons on how to be a proper princess. For example, she needs to learn about how loud to scream when carried off by a giant and the proper way to curtsy in front of a visiting prince. She is very unhappy, so she secretly takes fencing, magic, cooking, economics, and juggling lessons. She is forced to quit each of those interesting lessons. Finally, the last straw comes when she has to marry a very proper prince. Taking the advice of a frog, she sets out on a quest for fulfillment and ends up as a dragon's servant. Through courage and brains, she becomes a powerful force in an exciting battle between the dragons and the wizards. Humor and allusions to popular fairy tales makes this story a must read. I really like the ending and the way Patricia C. Wrede presents Princess Cimorene's quest for excitement. The part when Cimorene outsmarts the jinn by making it go back into its bottle while gaining free wishes is funny. The personal histories of Princess Alianora and the Stone Prince are hilarious. I like this book so much that I'm going to read the sequel, Searching for Dragons!

Kasey Wang

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