Dealing with Dragons (1990)

by Patricia C. Wrede

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
4,230	108	1,689	(4.25)	310

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Showing 1-5 of 108 (next | show all)

Such a cute story! All the fairytale references and the little snippets of other stories I've read added in were so much fun, and the book itself was so good!!!!! The Ordinary Princess meets The Reluctant Dragon! (

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kat_the_bookcat | Feb 7, 2019 |

This is definitely younger than books I typically read (middle reader rather than YA) but lots of fun and that main character is awesome. Highly recommended for middle readers of all ages. (

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chavala | Dec 29, 2018 |

YA subversion of many standard YA fantasy tropes. Feminist AF, too, which is excellent. (

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jonsweitzerlamme | Nov 28, 2018 |

This book was utterly delightful.

Dealing with Dragons is a quick read - I did it in one afternoon - but it is a worthwhile one. Cimorene and Kazul break traditional fairytale tropes in a short novel about taking control of your own destiny and finding friends in the strangest of places. Cimorene is, I believe, 16... but this book is probably better marketed to the MG crowd. That said, it is still very enjoyable as an adult.

I particularly enjoyed the way Cimorene keeps rebuffing princes and when Kazul explains that you don't need to be male to be king. The villains here were a bit bumbling and underwhelming, but the heroes make up for that with their wit and charm.

Definitely a recommended read for any age, especially if you don't mind a bit of whimsy. (

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Morteana | Sep 5, 2018 |

This book somehow isn't quite as much fun now as it was when I was a kid, but it is still entertaining. I can definitely see why I loved it back then: a strong independent female protagonist with attitude, a spot of satire involving fairy tale tropes, and a fantasy story involving dragons and wizards all combine quite well into an entertaining final product written for young readers. (

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TiffanyAK | Jul 14, 2018 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Wrede, Patricia C.	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Besnier, Yves	Illustrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Delval, Marie-Hélène	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Hartman, Dalia	Designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Hyman, Trina Schart	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Puda, Jeff	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Seve, Peter de	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Is contained in

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

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Series (with order)

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (1)

Canonical title

Dealing with Dragons

Original title

Alternative titles

Dragonsbane

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Caves of Fire and Night

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1991)

Minnesota Book Awards (1991.10a | Fantasy & Science Fiction, 1991)

Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee (1992-1993.2|Middle Grades, 1992-1993)

Harvard Bookstore Top 100 (48)

(show all 11 items)

Epigraph

Dedication

For ALAN CARL and ANNIE BUJOLD, because they liked the other one a lot

First words

Linderwall was a large kingdom, just east of the Mountains of Morning, where philosophers were highly respected and the number five was fashionable. The climate was unremarkable. The knights kept their armor brightly polished mainly for show -- it had been centuries since a dragon had come east. There were the usual periodic problems with royal children and uninvited fairy godmothers, but they were always the sort of thing that could be cleared up by finding the proper prince or princess to marry the unfortunate child a few years later. All in all, Linderwall was a very prosperous and pleasant place.
Cimorene hated it.

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Disambiguation notice

Dealing with Dragons was also published under the title Dragonsbane.

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Publisher series

Point Fantasy

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

▾References

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Wikipedia in English (2)

Dealing with Dragons

Rath House

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Take one bored princess. Make her the seventh daughter in a very proper royal family. Have her run away. Add one powerful, fascinating, dangerous dragon. Princess Cimorene has never met anyone (or anything) like the Kazul. But then, she's never met a witch, a jinn, a death-dealing talking bird, or a stone prince either. Princess Cimorene ran away to find some excitement. She's found plenty.

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▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 015204566X, Paperback)

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, runs away from home and finds herself in a nest of dragons. Now, in Cimorene's world--a world cleverly built by author Patricia C. Wrede on the shifting sands of myriad fairy tales--princesses are forever being captured by dragons. The difference here is that Cimorene goes willingly. She would rather keep house for the dragon Kazul than be bored in her parents' castle. With her quick wit and her stubborn courage, Cimorene saves the mostly kind dragons from a wicked plot hatched by the local wizards, and worms her way into the hearts of young girls everywhere.

While the characters are sometimes simplistically drawn, adults and children will have fun tracing the sources of the various fairy tales Wrede plunders for her story. Dealing with Dragons is the first book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and most young readers will want to devour the entire series. (Ages 10 and older) --Claire Dederer

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:15:56 -0400)

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▾Library descriptions

Bored with traditional palace life, Princess Cimorene travels to the Mountains of Morning where she is befriended by a group of powerful dragons and joins in their struggle to protect their kingdom from being taken over by disreputable wizards.

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