Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)

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Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1)

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 31,233 ratings · 1,305 reviews

Cimorene is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart - and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon - and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.

Paperback, 212 pages

Published November 1st 2002 by Sandpiper (first published September 18th 1990)

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Jun 11, 2008 Bobby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I would place this book somewhere between The Ordinary Princess and the Harry Potter series in terms of complexity of plot, age appropriateness and the amount of fun I had reading it. I really enjoyed reading this book and likely would have given it 5 stars if I had read it at a younger age (say at the age of 8 years or so). As it is, after Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, it's hard to give this book 5 stars. Having said that, this is a very interesting story of a Princess who detests traditi...more

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Aug 30, 2007 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: the wonderful ladies out there whose dying for innocent childlike humor

This is my happy book. I read it when I was in middle school and I love it because its not your average fairy tale. Yes you have princess's and prince's and yes you have dragons and wizards and magic but it's not exactly like the common tale of where the prince slays the dragon with the wizard to help him act clever to save the damsel in distress and or princess. No no it's more of the princess becomes friends with a dragon and when a prince comes and saves her she tells them to go away.

Sick and...more

10 likes · like · see review

Jul 01, 2009 Keith rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. My daughter read them when she was at the point where reading changes from being work to being fun. So it was one of the first "serious" books (> 100 pages and no pictures) that she read on her own for pleasure. First my wife read the series aloud to her. Then she read them all to herself. Then she read this book out loud to me.

The story is told from the point of view of Princess Cimorene. She's a curious, intelligent girl who hates t...more

18 likes · like · see review

Oct 16, 2008 Tanis rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book at the library and I was so excited because I read it a couple of times when I was younger, in 4th or 5th grade I think. So it's a kid's book but it is so much fun. Great fantasy and tons of humor. You can't help but laugh, at least I couldn't! Funny story related to this book. Back when I first read this, when I was younger, like I said, I had a friend my age who also read it. Well, she and I happened to have some little plastic toy dragons and wizards and we'd use them to act...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jan 04, 2009 Miss M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, strong-female-lead, humor

I'm re-reading this fantastic series that I fell in love when I was a kid. It's a great story about a princess who thinks being a princess is incredibly boring. Etiquette and dancing lessons all day? She would much rather learn fencing or magic, thank you very much! But that just isn't done. So she runs away and volunteers to become a dragon's princess (A vocation which is usually only acquired when one is captured by a dragon).

This book has a great female protagonist, lots of humor, and puts a...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jul 10, 2008 Erika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fun book. Fantasy about a princess sick of tradition and running away from just following "how it always was done" and becoming a princess willingly belonging to a dragon. Lots of great humor.

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 05, 2013 Anne Toronto1 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fan, fantasy, fun

This gem may be my favorite a sweet series, a cherry among bittersweetest chocolates, because the silliness never falls overboard, just tickles my funnybone. Princess Cimorene rebels against Tradition, along the lines of Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... Her parents stopped her beloved lessons: fencing, cooking, Classics, any intellectual or physically improving learning. So she ran away.

(view spoiler)...more

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Sep 15, 2008 Morgan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: magical-fiction, children-s

One of my all-time favorite fantasy stories. This book follows Princess Cimorene, a very un-princess-like princess. Constantly bored with learning etiquitte, embroidery, and how to lure a prince, she entertains herself sneaking around the castle and learning everything from fencing, to latin, to how to make the perfect cheries jubilee. One day, Princess Cimorene discovers her parents have arranged a marriage to a typical (handsome and, well, stupid) prince. Knowing she would rather be dead, she...more

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Mar 01, 2008 Jarrah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: author-patriciacwrede, series-enchantedforest, genre-yafiction, animal-companions, fairytales, dragons, spells, witches, wizards, princesses, genre-yafantasy, genre-comicfantasy, setting-alternateworld

YA comic fantasy. Book 1 of the Enchanted Forest series. Cimorene is not a proper princess. She learns fencing, cooking and magic, and when she discovers her proposed marriage, she runs away to offer herself to a dragon. She's been told that they like to keep princesses, and she thinks that this is one princessly thing that she could possibly do.

This was charming, but light on substance. It may have been more original when it was written, but it feels derivative now. Fairy tales are powerful tex...more

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Oct 09, 2007 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4th-6th_grade, fantasy, audio

first bk of the enchanted forest chronicles. OK, i judge it at 3-5 grade,,, different reviews put it at 5th and up. Cimorene, princess of Linderwall, is a classic tomboy heroine with classic tomboy strengths--all of which are perceived by those around her as defects: "As for the girl's disposition--well, when people were being polite, they said she was strong-minded. When they were angry or annoyed with her, they said she was as stubborn as a pig." Cimorene, tired of etiquette and embroidery, ru...more

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Sep 27, 2007 Medford Children's Library rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who like comedies and fantasy

“No proper princess would come out looking for dragons,” Woraug objected. “Well, I’m not a proper princess then,” Cimorene snapped. “I make cherries jubilee, and I volunteer for dragons, and I conjugate Latin verbs- or at least I would if anyone would let me. So there!” (19) Sixteen year old Cimorene, Princess of Linderwall, was not your typical princess. She would sneak around the castle learning fencing, magic, cooking and Latin. Her father the King thwarted her every attempt at not being bori...more

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Aug 30, 2010 Alana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010_08_august, reviewed

I discovered Patricia C. Wrede when I was ten or eleven years old after stumbling upon Dealing with Dragons on the bookstore shelf. Having recently started reading YA fantasy novels (aka having only read Tamora Pierce), Wrede represented a lighter, wittier strand of fantasy that made her books a quickly-devoured delight and I was only sorry not to have more of them. This particular series features a strong female lead named Princess Cimorene (well, leads if one counts Kazul, the female dragon) w...more I discovered Patricia C. Wrede when I was ten or eleven years old after stumbling upon Dealing with Dragons on the bookstore shelf. Having recently started reading YA fantasy novels (aka having only read Tamora Pierce), Wrede represented a lighter, wittier strand of fantasy that made her books a quickly-devoured delight and I was only sorry not to have more of them. This particular series features a strong female lead named Princess Cimorene (well, leads if one counts Kazul, the female dragon) who is not interested in limiting her talents to "what princesses are supposed to do," and so Cimorene takes control of her own future. Yes, the storylines feature wizards and dragons, but I sincerely believe that it's heroines like Cimorene that help teach young girls to grow up as strong women, deciphering their own desires without simply submitting to what is expected of them.

Cimorene is the seventh and youngest daughter of the King and Queen of Linderwall and her parents are more than a little frustrated with her. Her six older sisters are blonde and just the perfect height so they might gaze adoringly up at a prince through their long eyelashes. Cimorene is tall, black-haired, and more than a little headstrong. She wants nothing to do with the boring subjects normally taught to princesses (lots of classes on etiquette, dancing, embroidery, and the proper reactions for every eventuality that might befall a princess... particularly how loud one should scream when being abducted by giants and so forth). Cimorene, instead, manages to bully a succession of court figures into giving her lessons in fencing, cooking, magic, juggling, and Latin (each new subject picked up when her father discovers one and puts an end to it). At 16, she begs her fairy godmother to do something about this situation and while her godmother tells Cimorene that her feelings on the matter are all just a phase that she'll grow out of, the King and Queen decide that it's time to just have Cimorene properly wed and out of their hair. So they travel to another kingdom on the pretense of attending a tournament and Cimorene discovers the engagement plot just in time. After trying to convince the prince Therandil (a handsome but dim fellow) to call off the engagement, Cimorene finds herself without any other recourse than to take off and follow the directions from a talking frog (not an enchanted prince, mind, just a frog who'd picked up enough chatter from enchanted princes) to the Mountains of Morning and some individuals who might be inclined to help her.

Those individuals turn out to be dragons and after explaining her situation, Cimorene finds herself taken on by the dragon Kazul as her captive princess. As Kazul's princess, Cimorene is responsible for some cooking, library organization, and treasure sorting, which all sounds much more interesting to Cimorene than any class she was assigned to take to be a regular princess. Kazul, thankfully, is a level-headed and pleasant dragon and so Cimorene finds herself quite happy with her situation... though it isn't long before the knights start showing up. Her parents did the proper and expected thing in this situation (naturally) after learning their daughter is in the custody of a dragon and offered up a reward of half the kingdom to the prince or knight who could rescue their daughter. Cimorene is a bit impressed that her parents would bother, but nonetheless, she shooes off a number of knights and princes before Therandil himself makes an appearance. Seeing as he feels he's particularly expected to rescue her, it takes quite a while for Cimorene to get rid of him, though he continues to pop back up and insist upon his duty. Meanwhile, Cimorene's own duties do not keep her from noticing a increasing number of wizards lurking about the Mountains of Morning. After one of Kazul's friends, the witch Morwen, suggests that a simple and unsuspicious sign (such as "Road Washed Out") will at least help to stem the flood of knights, Cimorene ventures out with her sign and encounters the wizard Zemenar who attempts to trick Cimorene into thinking that she needs rescuing after he makes part of her thin mountain pathway disappear. Cimorene does not fall for this, but does learn to be particularly suspicious of wizards and so reports her encounter to Kazul. Kazul explains to Cimorene that wizards are always a bit troublesome for dragons, as they cannot generate magic, but rather, they absorb it from magical places (like the Enchanted Forest) or creatures (like dragons). Currently, the wizards were arguing with the dragons about their access to the Caves of Fire and Night, a magical set of caves that contained a great number of secrets which the wizards wish to study further but the dragons control.

The plot between dragons and wizards thickens when Cimorene and her friend Alianora (also the princess of a dragon) are out gathering herbs and come upon a wizard gathering dragonsbane. Between the dragonsbane, trials for a new king of the dragons, and a stone prince discovered in the Caves of Fire and Night, Cimorene has her hands full if she wishes to thwart whatever plans are afoot for the wizards to gain the upper hand in their disputes with the dragons. By being a quick learner and using her wits, Cimorene succeeds in all her endeavors and proves that by seeking out a life that actually suits her, she can live "happily ever after" in her own fashion.

Cimorene is, indeed, a fantastic heroine. Her thirst for knowledge inspires one to be a bit of a Renaissance woman while her cleverness allows her to take advantage of the feather-brained princess stereotype more than once so she can weasel information out of wizards and dragons alike. Clearly, she is no dumb bunny. Cimorene essentially takes the advice given to princes -- that if you cannot solve something by alerting others, then you have to do it yourself -- and proves herself worthy of tackling any challenge, even thwarting the plans of a dragon to steal the throne and the plans of wizards to steal power. One of the great features of this book is the fact that Cimorene is allowed to stand on her own. She has the help of friends, yes, but she most certainly does not need a prince to assist her. Indeed, the two main princes in the book (Therandil and the stone prince) are very neatly matched off to other princesses by Cimorene's doing and her only fear at the end is that she won't be able to keep her job of being Kazul's princess. (As an adult reading this novel, one finds this a bit unsettling in and of itself... a woman's fear that her efficiency nullifies her position and she will not be granted a higher role, even though she's proved her competency.) There's a lovely blend between teamwork and leadership which illustrates that just as a female dragon can be King, so a princess can be a true leader.

The entire Enchanted Forest Chronicles is a charming series, featuring Cimorene and the family she comes to build. Cimorene, after proving her own abilities to do things without a man, does indeed have the chance to find a real partner in a match of equals. The fourth book in the series was actually written and published first -- the story of Cimorene's son -- and was revised in 1995 to better align with the other books and situate it as fourth in the series. Otherwise, we certainly get more of certain characters introduced in the first book -- namely, the wizards, Kazul, Morwen, and her cats. If you have a young reader in need of some fun fantasy, then I think boys and girls alike would enjoy this (though the series would seem to have particular appeal for girls). They're predictable in the sense that you know things will likely turn out well, but Wrede's skills as a storyteller ensure that you probably won't be able to guess the path that leads you there, and so you're guaranteed to be amused. Dealing with Dragons will always have a particular place of honor, as I think it's the best of the four, particularly when it comes to crafting a strong heroine with the strength to determine her own path in life. The other books become wonderful chapters in her life and in the lives of her family, but this will always feel like the one that started it all for me.
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Dec 17, 2008 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, elementary-school, middle-school

Cimorene isn't your regular princess. She doesn't want to dance, curtsy, sing or sew. She wants to sword fight, cook, cast spells and do what she wants, not what someone tells her to do! Unfortunately, this makes Cimorene a misfit in the princess community and her parents are worried about her. The King and Queen set up a marriage for Cimorene, hoping to make her more princessly. To get out of it Cimorene decides to run away and volunteer to become a dragon's princess (also not something princes...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Larou added it

Shelves: 2011-11, fantasy

I do not read much in the way of children’s literature or literature for adolescents, but I do make the occasional exception if something catches my fancy. I had read good things about Patricia Wrede’s Enchanted Forest series and it looked charming, so I decided to give it a try and got myself the boxed set a while ago. When I recently had to spend a day in bed due to being sick, I plucked the first volume off my TBR pile, and it turned out to be the perfect read for the occasion.[return][return...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Harold Ogle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, magic, humor, fantasy, dragons

A fun parody of fairy tale fantasy, which feels similar in tone to Ella Enchanted, though the characters and plot are hugely different. In this one, Princess Cimorene is the youngest of seven girls and the black sheep of the family. She has no interest whatsoever in being like her sisters, and in fact wishes to do everything that they don't do...primarily this means that she rejects everything "ladylike" and instead pushes to do things that "just aren't done!" (a very frequent refrain in the boo...more

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Jan 14, 2013 MacK rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrensbooks, favorites, am-lit

Almost every story you read has some root in a story that was already told. The familiar notes of mythology and fairy tales appear again and again in literature, but in those books that start with a familiar structure and then leap into unexpected there’s something special to be found.

That’s what I thought as I sped my way through Dealing With Dragons a local favorite here in Minnesota, and one that my wife Kristina loved when she was young. But this is not simply a childhood favorite, it’s a ge...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Taryn Wagner rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 13-25

Cimorene is supposed to be a proper princess, but isnt. She is horribly stubborn, and enjoys activities like fencing, magic and cooking: things a princess shouldnt enjoy. After being banned from doing anything interesting, Cimorene runs away and becomes the princess for the dragon Kazul. Living with Kazul proves to be far more interesting than anything she expected, as she now has to tangle with witches, enchantments, wizards, and of course, dragons, in this humorous adventure.
I really adore thi...more

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May 06, 2012 Kendra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

Patricia C. Wrede gave me one of my first experiences with the fantasy genre. Lo these many years ago, when I was a young girl voraciously working my way through the contents of our public library, I stumbled across Dealing with Dragons. I devoured the entire series, adored it, and then promptly forgot that it ever existed. Many years later, the lovely proprietor of The Library of Minds brought it up, and suddenly I had one of those moments: “Oh. I loved those books.” It took me very little time...more Patricia C. Wrede gave me one of my first experiences with the fantasy genre. Lo these many years ago, when I was a young girl voraciously working my way through the contents of our public library, I stumbled across Dealing with Dragons. I devoured the entire series, adored it, and then promptly forgot that it ever existed. Many years later, the lovely proprietor of The Library of Minds brought it up, and suddenly I had one of those moments: “Oh. I loved those books.” It took me very little time to acquire them after that conversation, but they remained tucked away on my bookshelf. I was too afraid that they might not live up to my memories of them.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to be.

Dealing with Dragons is a book in which a princess can run away to make a new life for herself, scold a dragon for being careless, and tell all the princes to go the fuck home because she has better things to do than deal with them. It’s also a book in which a princess can want love, and can be the one to save her prince. Cimorene is studious, practical, and brave. Alianora is sweet, shy, and traditional. Wrede doesn’t hold one type of woman above the other; she manages to show that swapping marriage for Latin declensions is a completely valid option without suggesting that it’s the only valid option.

The cast of female characters in Dealing with Dragons is vast and varied. It’s very rare to see a book that focuses primarily on women; it’s even more rare to find one in the fantasy genre. I never once had to roll my eyes at women being outnumbered or helpless in this book. It’s a book about women — Cimorene, Alianora, Kazul, and Morwen are the center of Dealing with Dragons, not characters that are relegated to the outskirts of the action. That ability to feel like a real part of the story is one of the things I loved about the book as a kid.

Reading Dealing with Dragons was both new and nostalgic. The story and the characters were familiar, and every now and again I had a moment where I remembered what was going to happen next. It had also been so long since I read it, though, that there were still surprises in store. It’s very rare for me that a book from my childhood holds up when it’s viewed through an adult lens, but Dealing with Dragons did so without question. It’s beautiful, fun, and never boring for a moment.

—

Rating: 5 Stars.

Favourite Quote: “Happily ever after? Cimorene wasn’t sure about that, though she was certainly hoping to enjoy herself. She was positive, however, that life with the dragons would be interesting and busy, and in Cimorene’s opinion that would go a long way toward making her happy.”

Recommend: YES. GO FORTH. READ IT. THANK ME LATER.(less)

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Feb 17, 2012 Cecelia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In my early teenage years I was famous for a) reading classics, and b) for trying to find the biggest, fattest books possible. Goal? To find reads that would keep me occupied for more than one afternoon. I read several hefty James Michener sagas that way (Hawaii, anyone?). I also snuck in some fantasy from the local library’s Teen section (now I’d call it a combo of YA & MG).

One of the books I checked out over and over was Patricia C. Wrede’s Dealing with Dragons. Eventually I bought myself...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Emma Thompson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think all readers have books from their childhood that they can point to and say "that's who I am" or "that made me". For me, this is that book. It's the story of a princess who doesn't much like being a princess. She doesn't like being proper or doing what she'd meant to do. So, instead of marrying the prince and liveing happily ever after she runs of into the mountains to become a dragon's princess and ends up saveing the dragons from the wizards evil plot.

The first thing I'll say for it is...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Taylor rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: EVERYONE!

Recommended to Taylor by: my second grade english teacher, mrs. winn. thanks!

Anything by Patricia Wrede is worth the read. It'll make you laugh:) I love all her books, and as a child they were my favorite series of all time. They have great humor, sarcastic, dry, and otherwise. Their plots are witty and adorable, and the main character is amazing. Her name is
Cimorene and she is a princess who doesn't want to be proper or marry her fiance, a stiff and boring prince so she runs away from her palace after following the advice of a talking frog when she tells it frankly, "I...more

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May 01, 2011 Ubalstecha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads, books-for-reluctant-girl-readers, books-vm-needs-to-buy-in-2010-2011, grade-4-to-6-girls-fiction, middle-school-girls-ficiton, princesses-that-don-t-need-a-prince, what-to-read-after-harry-the-teen, what-to-read-after-harry-the-juni

Cimorene is not your typical princess. She takes swordfighting lessons until her father finds out and decides it is not a ladylike activity. Then Cimorene studies with the castle wizard. Again, her father finds out and puts a stop to the lessons. So she moves onto cooking lessons with the palace cook. Again, not something a princess is supposed to do. Cimorene grins and bears it, until her father decides that it is high time she be married. Unfortunately no one tells Cimorene until the intended...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-lit

This is the first book in a delightful series that I haven't read for over 8 years, but that I read several times when I first discovered them. Princess Cimorene, the main character, is feisty, independent, clever, unique, and strong. She takes her life and future into her own hands, determined not to live the life of a typical, empty-headed, silly princess. She leaves home and intentionally becomes servant/princess of the dragon Kazul (no capture and no rescue necessary.) Between making dragon-...more

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Mar 15, 2010 Loralee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: child-lit, fantasy, young-adult

Cimorene is not your typical princess. "Princess lessons" in etiquette, protocol, and the fine art of embroidery bore her silly. She would much rather be engaged in fencing or magic lessons. When her parents announce that she will be marrying a prince in a neighboring kingdom, she decides to run away. A talking frog (though not a frog disguised as a prince) advises her on her journey. She follows his directions carefully and finds herself in a large cave filled with dragons--real fire breathing...more

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May 12, 2009 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy

Cimorene is not a proper princess. She would rather practice fencing, study Latin, and learn how to make cherries jubilee than embroider or dance. And upon finding out that she's supposed to be, horror or horrors, married, Cimorene decides to run away and becoems a dragon's princess instead.

In the ensuing weeks and months, Cimorene finds herself beset by princes who can't understand that she doens't want to be rescued, dragons who insist that princesses should be captured rather than walk willi...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is difficult to rate. If I had discovered the Enchanted Forest Chronicles when I was in elementary school or junior high, they might be old favorites. Since I was already an adult when I read this book (although just barely an adult since I was 20 or 21), it was cute and funny and quite clever, but I don't know if I would go higher than 3-stars if I'm talking about personal enjoyment as opposed to straight literary merit.

The Enchanted Forest series was written before the big up-surge in YA...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Tanja Seppä rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-fantasy

I loved this book! I'm a little suprised because it sat in my to-read pile for quite a while and did not seem the least bit enticing. The cover with the surly dragon and arrogantly chatting princess probably had something to do with it. I picked it up reluctantly, read the first page as a test and immediately realized that I would like it.

"Dealing with Dragons" is a refreshing fairytale with a somewhat unlady-like princess. I say "somewhat" because princess Cimorene has been well-brought up and...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-15-30

Princess Cimorene is told by her father and mother that eveything that she loves doing is not proper. She loves fencing and studying latin and many other things that are just not seen as being what a princess should do. Her father and mother decide to say that she will marry Pince Therandil. Cimorene is not happy about this at all. While speaking with a frog she says that she would rather be eaten by dragons. The frog says that it can be arranged where she would not have to marry him. He then gi...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, high-fantasy, read-in-2011, young-adult, fairy-tale, humor

I loved this book much more than I thought I would! It's sort of like a fairy-tale parody, with mentions, lampshading, and parodies of many existing fairy tales, fables, and stories that mesh easily in with the setting and give you a fresh (and often amusing) perspective on these tales we've all heard before.

Cimorene is not a "proper" princess, and she is tired of people telling her that her interests in fencing, magic, latin, and cooking just "aren't done" for a princess. Her parents decide to...more I loved this book much more than I thought I would! It's sort of like a fairy-tale parody, with mentions, lampshading, and parodies of many existing fairy tales, fables, and stories that mesh easily in with the setting and give you a fresh (and often amusing) perspective on these tales we've all heard before.

Cimorene is not a "proper" princess, and she is tired of people telling her that her interests in fencing, magic, latin, and cooking just "aren't done" for a princess. Her parents decide to do something about Cimorene's lack of interest in princessly things, and they arrange a marriage for their daughter to a prince who is equally uninterested in the marriage but too "proper" to tell his parents that he's uninterested. Fortunately for Cimorene, she gets a tip from a talking frog and ends up volunteering to be the princess of the dragon Kazul.

Being a dragon's princess is nothing to laugh at in this world since they get all the best marriages, so Cimorene is able to settle in quite nicely, make use of all of her traditional and not-traditional skills, and only needs to convince knights and princes not to rescue her every so often. Oh, and she also needs to figure out why those darn wizards are doing, snooping around like that!

I love this world where families are expected to invite soothsayers and evil fairies to their children's christenings so they might get a good curse or prophecy and end up with a great marriage. I love that dragons are allergic to wizards, and that wizards are a huge pain in the arse while witches seem to be not so bad, really. And I really love Cimorene, the un-ordinary princess, who is not innocent and helpless like most princesses. She knows herself and she knows what she wants, and is unwilling to conform to the "norms" (if you can call it that, haha) of this world and carves out her own path to happiness.

I'm downloading the next book from the library at this very moment! I can't wait. My library's got all four of them on audiobook. (less)

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Apr 11, 2011 Misty Morgan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-challenge, all-time-favorites

This was the first book that I ever read that I absolutely loved and it is responsible for how much I read today! I remember finding this book in McConnell Middle's library and actually skipping lunch to go into the library and read!

It's the perfect fairy tale for me. A stubborn, sarcastic princess that only wants adventure so she gets a dragon to let her stay and work and she doesn't want to be rescued by a stuffy prince! Haha!
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About Patricia C. Wrede

Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her se...more Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her second book at once, having become permanently hooked on writing by this time.

Patricia received her M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1977.
She worked for several years as a financial analyst and accountant, first with the Minnesota Hospital Association, then with B. Dalton Booksellers, and finally at the Dayton Hudson Corporation headquarters.

Patricia finished her first novel in late 1978. In January, 1980, Pamela Dean, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Steven Brust, Nate Bucklin, and Patricia Wrede -- all, at that point, hopeful but unpublished -- formed the writer's group that later became known as "The Scribblies." In April of 1980, Patricia's first novel sold to Ace Books. It came out at last in 1982, which is the year she met Lillian Stewart Carl (who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold by mail).

In 1985, shortly before the publication of her fifth book, she left the world of the gainfully employed to try winging it on her own.

Her interests include sewing, embroidery, desultory attempts at gardening, chocolate, not mowing the lawn, High Tea, and, of course, reading.
She is a vegetarian, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her cats, Merlin, Brisen, and Nimue. She has no children, but as of this writing, she does have four nieces and four nephews ranging in age from seven months to twelve years old and in geographical location from Maine to Alabama.
She has published twelve and a half books:
Shadow Magic, Daughter of Witches, The Seven Towers, Talking to Dragons, The Harp of Imach Thyssel, Caught in Crystal, Snow White and Rose Red, Dealing with Dragons, Mairelon the Magician, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, The Raven Ring, and a collaboration with fellow Minneapolis author Caroline Stevermer, Sorcery and Cecelia, as well as a collection of short stories titled Book of Enchantments. She is also part of the Liavek shared-world anthology. (less)

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Books by Patricia C. Wrede

Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #2)

Calling on Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #3)

Talking to Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #4)

Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (Cecelia and Kate, #1)

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1-4)

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Quotes from Dealing with Dragons

“I didn't ask what you'd said about it," the frog snapped. "I asked what you're going to do. Nine times out of ten, talking is a way of avoiding doing things.” — 119 people liked it

“Nine times out of ten, talking is a way of avoiding doing things.” — 34 people liked it

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Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1)

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