Review: Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Confession: I have a soft spot for faerie tales.  I don't read them very often, but I do love them.  This book, number 65, is one of my favorites from my pre-teen years.  I managed to snag a copy for $3 the other day, re-read it, and realized how much I still love it.  Number 65 for the year is Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

Princess Cimorene, of the Kingdom of Linderwall, feels as if her title is a prison sentence.  She's too tall for her age, she's opinionated, and she's a dreadful trial to her royal parents, since she would rather fence and cook than learn embroidery and etiquette.  She tries to take it all in stride, but when her parents betroth her to a dimwitted prince whom she cannot love, Cimorene takes her future into her own hands -- and runs away.  She takes the drastic step of volunteering to be a "dragon's princess" -- a title usually reserved for those princesses who are kidnapped by dragons -- and amuses herself by cataloging treasure, conjugating Latin, and cooking cherries jubilee for her mistress, the dragon Kazul.  But when she discovers a plot concocted by the dragons' sworn enemies, Cimorene must use her wits and skills to save the dragons' throne, and their lives.

To me, this book is one of the only true "feminist" faerie tales.  Cimorene is the world's most badass princess -- she's got survival skills, she's gutsy, and most importantly, she's independent.  She doesn't want to be rescued, and there's no need for her to be rescued; she's got everything she needs and wants already.  Wrede created the "Enchanted Forest Chronicles" to be a world unto itself, but it's very tongue-in-cheek, with the constant message of "the way that faerie tales are supposed to be, isn't always the best way."  Cimorene is a princess, but she's the only one with sense, much as Morwen the witch is the most powerful witch in the Enchanted Forest, but she's young, attractive redhead with a feisty, no-nonsense attitude.  The idea that "sometimes different is better" rings throughout this book, and I like it.  I very much look forward to reading this book to my children someday.

Rating: **** and 1/2