Dealing with Dragons

By Patricia C. Wrede,

Book cover of Dealing with Dragons

Book description

Meet Princess Cimorene-a princess who refuses to be proper. She 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 not just any dragon, but Kazul-one of the most powerful and…

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Why read it?

5 authors picked Dealing with Dragons as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I love to laugh, I love fantasy, I love dragons, and this book provides hilarity and dragons in rich measure. Patricia C. Wrede has a delightful way of twisting old tropes into something fresh and new.

Even better, she is a master of creating feisty female characters...the kind that I wanted my daughter and my students to read about. 

From Bruce's list on middle grade and YA fantasy series.

Cimorene, a princess disinclined to marry a numbskull prince, cuts her own path by seeking employment amongst the dragons. Naturally (naturally?) she is hired on the strength of her Latin and her skill at cooking cherries jubilee.

In this book and its sequel, Cimorene is proof that one can thwart any evil plan by the application of practical thinking, good manners, and a willingness to tell ballsy lies to nosy wizards. Now, isn’t that a world you’d like to live in? They were mainstays of my childhood (back when they had way cooler covers) and still bring me immense joy…

Dealing with Dragons is so unexpected, I completely adored it! Though I love fantasy, I’m not usually a huge fan of dragons. (I know, I hope we can still be friends.)

This book changed my mind a bit.

How can I not love a princess who is bored out of her mind and gives herself up as a dragon slave to keep the princes from coming around, trying to marry her all the time? It’s just so adorable, I can’t even.

There were so many quirky moments similar to that. Wizards and soapy lemon water, dragon king as a title…

A School for Unusual Girls

By Kathleen Baldwin,

Book cover of A School for Unusual Girls

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Kathleen Baldwin Author Of Sanctuary for Seers: A Stranje House Novel

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Why am I passionate about this?

Author Loves God Mother to Many Wilderness Adventurer History Enthusiast

Kathleen's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

A spy school for girls amidst Jane Austen’s high society.

Daughters of the Beau Monde who don’t fit London society’s strict mold are banished to Stranje House, where the headmistress trains these unusually gifted girls to enter the dangerous world of spies in the Napoleonic wars. #1 NYT bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this exciting historical series "completely original and totally engrossing."

A School for Unusual Girls

By Kathleen Baldwin,

What is this book about?

A School for Unusual Girls is the first captivating installment in the Stranje House series for young adults by award-winning author Kathleen Baldwin. #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this romantic Regency adventure "completely original and totally engrossing."

It's 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England's dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society's constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young…


Everyone knows the story – the princess is kidnapped by a dragon and a knight comes to rescue the princess. Cimorene is the princess of a king who is very traditional. The problem? She’s not. She has no interest in a Prince. So off she goes to find the dragons and be properly captured. I love how Wrede breaks the traditional mold in this trope. It shows girls/women can find their own way in a traditional world. This pushes the boundaries and teaches our kids they can break the boundaries too. 

From Eileen's list on dragons for all ages.

As a kid, Dealing with Dragons was unquestionably one of my favorite books. It’s the first book I remember reading and knowing with absolute certainty that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. There is so much to love: the delightfully twisted fairytale elements, the smart, independent, female characters, the humor, the dragons, and of course, Cherries Jubilee. The story of a princess who runs away to intentionally become a dragon’s princess captured my heart, but it was the incredible dynamic between the characters that brought me back again and again: the prickly dragon Kazul, the pragmatic,…

From Kerelyn's list on fantastically fun ensemble casts.

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