Dealing with Dragons

Dealing with Dragons is the first book in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, though not the first book written. Patricia Wrede wrote the last book first, then came back to write a prequel, and eventually it turned into a series of four books. I never encountered it as a child, though now I wish I had.

Cimorene is a princess who'd rather not be. She's the seventh daughter, and she'd much rather do practical things like cooking and fencing than learn about etiquette and dancing. When her parents arrange her engagement to an arrogant and boring prince, she runs away from home.

Cimorene lives in a world that is very aware of fairy tale tropes. People expect stories and know how to spot the sign posts. It's not unheard of for a dragon to kidnap a princess and a prince or knight to then rescue her, winning her hand in marriage along the way. Indeed, Cimorene meets three other princesses living in the dragon caves with her. But she's the first to volunteer for this life, and the first to send her would-be rescuers packing.

This was an incredibly fun story about creating the life you want and finding people who will support that. There are some evil wizards, and Cimorene helps discover and thwart a dastardly plot. But more important, she makes friends and secures a spot for herself in the world she wants to live in. She's a practical girl, and that gets her much farther than her beauty or ability to pick out a gown (though it turns out that those etiquette lessons actually come in handy).

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