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Jun 17, 2009

Werner rated it:

This series is absolutely one of the fantasy genre's treasures! It's wonderfully light-hearted and humorous; the author revels in puncturing any number of fairy-tale conventions. Princess Cimorene, for instance, isn't kidnapped and enslaved by a dragon --she voluntarily becomes housekeeper for the Dragon King to escape an arranged marriage. (And the draconian king is female; dragons use that title for monarchs of either gender to keep things "simple.") But though her main character More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Tortla rated it:

Only just recently, it has come to my attention that the final book in this series was actually written FIRST. THIS BLEW MY MIND. The final book ties everything together so very neatly...Goodness gracious my perception of the world is crumbling around my widdle ears. OK so, these books are all really good aside from the whole my not being aware of the chronology of the publication and whatnot. They're all dragony and delicious. And also, it's like one giant fairy tale of awesome. Also, there are More...

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Oct 04, 2007

Michelle rated it:

So I was waiting for my latest book club's choice to arrive in the mail, and knowing that it was a serious choice this month, I decided to relive some young adult books that used to be great favorites of mine. I own a very ratty hardcover copy of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, but recently purchased the newly released paperbacks in a box set. Perfect time to read them.

These vary in how much I like them. The first one I've read more than the rest, and do like a lot. It feature More...

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Jan 29, 2011

Dawn rated it:

I recently finished reading these books with my ten year old daughter. I read them years ago, so I didn't remember much plot, just that they are fun fantasy. And they are--light and witty, funny, creative, and strong female characters. I didn't like the last book as well. It didn't seem as well written and I missed Cimorene as a main character. But it was needed to finish the story. It was fun to enjoy the books together. We no longer have much of an oral tradition in our society, so it's More...

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Jan 17, 2008

Echo rated it:

This is some of the best young adult fantasy out there, especially if you like some humor in your fantasy. In the first book, the main character gets fed up with her life as a princess. When she tries to learn to fence, she's told it's unladylike, so she has to stop. When she tries to coook, she's told it's unladylike, so she has to stop. So, we begin the story with the main character running away to find a dragon to live with. She does find one, and she spends much of the book making cherr More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2008

Laurie rated it:

This is a series for people who like fantasy with a dash of humor and a strong female heroine who is perfectly willing to tell the slightly stupid handsome prince he can kindly throw himself off a cliff. Add some dragons, a few wicked wizard, one very forward thinking witch, a floating blue donkey with a 6-foot wing span, and an entire kindgom made of magical threads and you might begin to understand the stories. Wrede has a way of pulling in a few old fairy tale favorites while forging a stor More...

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Sep 14, 2011

Katie rated it:

Okay, time for a Nostalgia Review!

Recently somewhere on the depths of the internet I came across a list of "badass women of fantasy" or something like that, and Cimorene from this series was on there. And I was like, I remember her! She was awesome! And I was possessed by a sudden desire to reread these books because I hate doing things that I need to do. So that's what I did! Each book is only about 100 - 200 pages long, and it took me around 3 hours to read each one. Unsu More...

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Jun 22, 2011

Tara rated it:

I loved these books in grade school and I love them still. The author does a great job of making fun of what is considered a typical fairytale. Princesses take classes on how to scream correctly when a dragon carries them off & knights are constantly trying to find a damsel in distress to rescue (even if they don't wish to be).

Dealing with Dragons

Princess Cimorene of the kingdom of Linderwall decides that being a princess is too boring and confining, leaves home to work f More...

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Feb 17, 2010

Elizabeth rated it:

If I were on a desert island with the choice of only one set of books to take with me for a summer I would take these. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are some of the best young adult fantasy I have ever read. They are definitely the crown jewel of my childhood reading experience (ahem...my apologies to JK Rowling). But why am I reading them now you ask? Well after all of the Sterne, Marquis de Sade, Blake, Descartes and all manner of randomly dense reading required to be an English major--I NEE More...

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Dec 12, 2009

K. rated it:

THESE WERE FABULOUS!!!

Anyone who loves magical fairy tales and dragons to boot will love these great little books! Found them at the library, brought them home on a whim. 10yo son & 7yo daughter loved them as well.

Witty, original and well-written. I know I laughed at many parts myself, but I love hearing kids chuckling over books.

Favorite thing? No darkness. No evil. Sure there were bad guys, but they were greedy and mostly clumsy (and not in the forefront of More...

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Jan 18, 2012

Valeria is currently reading it

My mom got the whole pack of 4 books because she thought the looked SO cute!, but the true reality is that a week after that I saw the poor pack standing ALL ALONE in the counter, so I pityly took them to my room.

HA! They are not that cute at all mom!

*Dealing With Dragons

Actualy, reading the first book, "Dealing with Dragons", reminded me of the time I read Narnia! & that was, like, a lot of years ago when I was in middle school!
So, Cimorene is a Princess that is More...

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Aug 01, 2008

C.liddelle.a rated it:

I never read Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, or the Chronicles of Narnia, I read The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. And to this day I haven't been able to figure out why these adventure stories aren't films already. Very fun.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 01, 2008

Julia rated it:

i loved these books!!!!! you don't have to read the first one to understand the second or third or fourth one. they are hilarious books with a lot of magic in them. they aren't that serious, but that is what makes them fun to read!!!!!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 22, 2009

Inknose rated it:

I can't even say how much I love this series. In a way they are I suppose a parody of fantasy/fairy tale clichés - at least, the original 'shtick' seemed to be the idea of Cimorene being this princess who would rather learn fencing than embroidery, and who turns away knights who try to save her from the dragon, etc. Sounds kind of tired and unoriginal, right? WRONG. Although the subverting of fairy tale clichés is definitely part of its charm, there is so much more to this series than that. I po More...

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Jan 25, 2011

Paige rated it:

I honestly read this book so much that it fell apart...and then I kept reading the random peices. I loved this book so much as a child. I dont even remember how I came across this book when I was in the 4th grade...I actually had one book that held all of the stories in it. I just knew that it was huge and that I wanted to tackle it. Then when I actually began to read it I loved the main character, a princess who didnt want to be a princess. Being a girl who never related to the Disney Princ More...

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Apr 12, 2011

Katie rated it:

This series is one of the best young adult fantasy novels, no matter how many years pass. Patricia C. Wrede wrote it a lot like Star Wars - the fourth book was actually written first, which makes the other all the more impressive. The last novel ties everything together, and it's incredible how she worked details into the other three that seemed meaningless until you read the last one. She effectively satirizes the fantasy genre while staying in it - various princess, dragon, and magic myths More...

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Jun 30, 2010

Amber rated it:

This series is a childhood favorite of mine. I suppose I am a bit biased based on the fact that I have great memories from when my sister used to read the first 2 books aloud to me when we were children, but I've re-read them more recently along with books 3 and 4 and still find them extremely enjoyable. Great humor, great characters - full of fun and fantasy. These books are great for children and anyone with the dispostion to still get the full enjoyment of works clearly intended for children More...

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Sep 01, 2011

Veronica rated it:

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles was one of my first loves as a young reader, and definitely does not receive the kind of attention it should for its wonderful story and characters. It truly is a hidden treasure in the children's fantasy genre.

The series follow the witty, light-hearted adventures of Princess Cinmorene, an incredibly clever, fiesty and independent young princess, and her dragon, Kazul.

It definitely has a younger tone to it, comparable to that of the earlier Har More...

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Jul 13, 2010

Liz rated it:

My absolute favorite books from 4th-6th grade...reading Dealing with Dragons will probably tell you a lot about me. Smart, independent Princess Cimorene is bored of palace life, dreads her impending marriage to an idiot, and wishes her dad would just let her take fencing lessons. So she runs off and becomes the assistant of Kazul--a dragon. Adventures--involving evil wizards, sensible witches, defective magic carpets, stone princes, scruffy-haired magician kings, the always indispensable firepro More...

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Sep 13, 2007

Debbie rated it:

The four books in this witty, imaginative fantasy / adventure series follow the adventures of Cimorene, a princess who refuses to be proper.

In Dealing with Dragons, Princess Cimorene, a tomboy who is nothing like her beautiful and proper sisters, runs away to live with a dragon. It is hard for her to get any work done, however, because princes keep coming to rescue her, even though she insists that she does not need to be rescued. And then there are the annoying wizards trying to s More...

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Jul 20, 2007

Kitte rated it:

This series has all the characters you know and love from childhood fairytales, but it stands the stories on their heads, or rather it tells them from another perspective.

Take for instance Rumplestiltskin, who in her books is a kindly troll with a tender heart that is too soft to say no when he is begged to take the firstborn of the maidens he helps spin straw into gold and his subsequent trouble with trying to house, feed and cloth them all. He needs the gold to take care of his fa More...

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Jan 09, 2010

C.G. rated it:

This is one of my favourite fantasy series. I picked it out as a free selection for a book club and have reread it several times. I have given it to a young teenage girl and recommended it to others. Cimorene is who the Paper Bag Princess grew into and then some.

I would recommend it for any young girl, whether they're interested in fantasy or not. Young boys might enjoy it too - after all, it has dragons and swords and fighting and wizards and magic...

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Jun 05, 2011

Adrienne rated it:

This is the book series that first got me into fantasy. I remember how Cimorene, the rebeliouslly practical Princess, caught my attention and admiration and gave me an introduction to a fantasy world where other girls were breaking gender norms too. Not by playing roguh and climbing trees, but by fencing and learning magic and running away from home to avoid being married off and cahorting with dragons.

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Nov 25, 2011

Miranda rated it:

Very fun young adult fantasy books. Somewhat comedic - deals with a Princess who runs away from home rather than marry the boring neighboring prince. She ends up with a dragon. Several princes keep trying to "rescue" her. Finally her dragon wins "King" of the dragons, and they move away to the dragon palace. The next books continue the story on with her life with the dragons.

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Mar 19, 2011

Barbara rated it:

I really enjoy this fantasy series. Each book is from the viewpoint of different character. The last book in the series, Talking to Dragons, was my least favorite. It is written very differently than the previous books and the voice in the book seemed very like reading someone's journal.

If you want to try the books without commiting to a series, the first book, Dealing with Dragons, can stand on its own. The second book can then be read without a commitment as well, but if you re More...

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Aug 31, 2010

Tiana rated it:

I can't even begin to count how many times I have read this series. I love it just as much every time. It's so fun and tongue-in-cheek. It stands convention on its head and asks 'why' to all the regular fairy tales. Witches don't have to be mean and princesses don't always like their job duties. Sometimes things are perfect just the way they are, and these books are no exception.

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Oct 15, 2010

Joseph rated it:

I really enjoyed this author's ability to levitate the mood with cute humor and a sense of happy throughout the series. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are very interesting to read. I was not expecting the "cuteness" that is found within them but I rather enjoyed it and was easily brought into the world of princesses, dragons, magic, and romance!

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Apr 14, 2010

Sherwin rated it:

I enjoyed the four books. They were humorous. I enjoyed the world that the story took place in. I came to love the main characters.

Book three was hard to get through because it felt like the first two books all over again. The cliff hanger at the end pushed me onward. The fourth book was my favorite. It was quite different from the first three.

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Sep 21, 2011

Natalie rated it:

My sister wants to loan these to my daughter in 5 years or so. I might end up just buying them because they were SOOOOO GOOOD that I really think she and I will both want to read them more than once.

I don't remember anything offensive. I read the big hard copy but I am thinking if I bought the paperback set of 4 then no one book would be too overwhelming for her. Other than crazy names of fantasy creatures I think she could read it now. Melting wizards are funny and there wasn't More...

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Feb 29, 2008

Lori rated it:

I love teen novels for a quick pick-me-up, and this trio caught me in the very first paragraph. While introducing the land where the story takes place, the author mentions that, 'the number five was fashionable' and I was hooked. These stories take you on quests with the reluctant princess through lands where you meet the real people where stories began, and those that have picked up where the originals left off...Young McDonald who has diversified the farm or the younger brother of a girl nam More...

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