Rating: Summary: a great beginning to an even greater series!! Review: When I first ordered this book online I didn't think that I would like it because it wasn't exacly my type(ya know dragons and stuff).... but once I started it, it was amazing. This fairy tale is about a princess named Cimerene who hates being a priness, she does everything in her power to be difficult and unpredictable and she is really good at it. She confuses her parents because all of thier other daughters were very beautiful and well-brought up. So she runs away (by the advice from a frog) and meets a pack of dragons. As they are deciding wheather or not to eat her, she decides they aren't as bad as she might have guessed. She becomes a princess to a dragon named Kazul and the rest happens on it's own. Adventure arises and the fun begins. This is a wonderful fantasy book with humor and adventure
Rating: Summary: Dealing with Dragons deals with female stereotypes Review: Patricia C Wrede is a good author and I would highly recommend this book to young girls, but the feminist lesson is a bit forced. Cimorene isn't your typical princess and she knows it. She's been groomed her whole life to marry a prince and live happily ever after, but that isn't what what would make her happy? Cimorene wants more from her life and she's willing to run away to get it. She finds herself at the door of Kazul and soon finds herself the assistant and housekeeper of a very powerful dragon. If only the stupid princes would stop trying to rescue her she might really get her happily ever after. The characters are sometimes a bit simple, but the story is fairly clever. Cimorene frowns upon girls who actually do enjoy the standard princess life. She ridicules them and finds them "silly". Wrede sets up Cimorene to be a feminist in an old fashioned world and that in itself is a good message, but putting down those who live their lives in the standard way might not be the best way to do it. You want girls to feel empowered. They should feel free to be whatever they want to be whether it's a doctor or a homemaker. All of the choices are an option and that should be taken into consideration. The book is well written, entertaining and funny. It has a good message for young girls, but would be enjoyed by boys who like fantasy also. I haven't read the rest of the series, but it be interesting to see how Cimorene develops.
Rating: Summary: Brilliant Review: Short, Sweet, To the Point and Hilariously Funny! If you love fantasy and are incredibly bored with the sterotypes of the genre then check out this book. The sterotypes are all there, with a twist. Everything that happens is so unexpected. And the simple style is perfect for middle school, although adults would enjoy this book just as much. And if you like this book, read the rest; the third book of the series is very very good.
Rating: Summary: A Gem of a Fantasy! Review: I just can't believe I have never written anything up on this particular book before now! I discovered this novel when I was eduring what I now call my Junior High Slump, something which everyone should be rather familiar with. This book seemed to be the brightest and most cheerful thing I can remember from that time. I still pick it up at LEAST once a year and find myself in the realm of talking dragons and stone princes. Anyway, getting to the plot- Basically the story revolves around several strong willed and admirable women; an unruley princess, a beautiful witch, and an enormous firebreathing dragon. As the story progresses, princess Cimerone (the heroine of the tale) runs away from the nuisances of courtly life to reside with a large dragon named Kazul. She soon busies herself tidying up the place and making huge portions of chocolate desserts in addition to warding off pesky knights, princes, and wizards. The real work begins when a new King of Dragons is to be crowned. Cimerone teams up with a stone prince and Morgwen the witch to help make sure that nobody causes any trouble, which is easier said than done. All she needs is a couple of buckets of soapy water with a little lemon juice. This book is the first in a set of four (but you can read this one by itself if you are so inclined). I only wish that Ms. Wrede will continue writing more stories about the wonderful characters of the Enchanted Forest. If you are looking or a fairy tale with a little spice and some really strong leading ladies, this is the book for you!
Rating: Summary: A delightful piece of fantasy craftmanship.... Review: This book was thrilling, complete with the usual set of boundaries....action, adventure, romance, humor, and the like. Beautifully written, complements to the author. This is literally the best work of art I've ever read. I write my own series of books and go under my character's name, Raye, and I base my books on fantasy/fiction to create a novel. My inspiration is based on Patricia---thank you! You're my heroine, just like Cimorene in your series....a true masterpiece!
Rating: Summary: Strongly recomended! Review: This is a wonderful book. It has all the elements of a great story- action, good characters, magic and friendship. It is about a beautiful princess, (Cimorene) who rebels against being proper. after being caught taking forbidden fencing, cooking and economics lessons she is told to marry an extremely dull proper prince. Cimorene runs away and discovers a free world of magic, dragons, and cherries jubilee. This is a definate read for pre-teens like me craving more harry potter. my compliments to Patricia Wrede!
Rating: Summary: Best of the Best Review: A daring and unique princess bored out of her mind, who sets off for a journy and ends up with an adventure. The excitment of being a dragon's princess, the thrill of tricking evil wizards, and the fun of saving all the magic in the world! Patrica C. Wrede is by far the best Fantasy writer out there, but Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Talking to Dragons, and the others in this series are DEFINITELY her best works. I have read my book of this so many times, the cover is actually coming off!
Rating: Summary: A Delightful Work of Fantasy Review: This is a delightful little book of fantasy. I think all of us like to escape from time to time to a world such as that of the Enchanted Forest and the Mountains of Morning. Although this world is inhabited by dragons and bothersome wizards, it is still an airy, light-filled world that captivates the imagination. Cimorene is a princess who has no interest in learning the things a princess is supposed to learn; she would rather learn fencing, magic, cooking, and other things forbidden by her parents. Her parents finally give up on changing her ways of thinking and decide to marry her off to the prince of a neighboring realm. Rather than submit to this unwanted fate, she takes the advice of a friendly frog and volunteers to serve as a dragon's princess. The dragon Kazul accepts her offer, and Cimorene goes to work organizing Kazul's treasure rooms, cataloguing the scrolls in her library, and making cherries jubilee and other foods for her. Several princes, including her betrothed, come calling to rescue her, and she has to continually explain to them that she does not want to be rescued. Cimorene comes to discover a plot between the Wizard Society and one turncoat dragon, and it is largely up to her and the princess Alianora, working in conjunction with Kazul, the witch Morwen, and a stone prince to sort out the plan and goals of this dastardly plot and prevent the dragons from granting kingship to the traitor. Even when things are hairy, Cimorene keeps her wits about her, foiling much of the action with her own extraordinary determination. Apparently Wrede's Enchanted Forest chronicles are considered young adult literature. I did not know this when I began reading the story, and I certainly would urge other adults not to let this fact rob them of the opportunity to enter this wonderful realm of fantasy. The writing is witty, the plot is well-thought out, and the action moves along well with no dead spots or literary pot-holes. A few allusions to traditional fairy tales are interspersed in the story, lending a good bit of fun and charm to the book. Younger readers will find this book enjoyable, and Cimorene seems to me to be a pretty good role model for young women given her forthright nature, zest for learning, and discontent with the life others tell her she is supposed to lead. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
Rating: Summary: the Best fantasy book EVER!!!!!!!! Review: How could this be just a 5 * book???? This is like a 10 star or something! So i must give the book what it deserves. The plots are very good. they make you sit up if you're on your bed. sit at the edge of your chair jump up and down if you're standing. The names are very original and very creative. Cimorene, Mendanbar, Kazul. These are not names you would usually find in books. Thses are very modified (well not very) tales and are rib tickling. they are also very suspensive. You have to read these books. They are as good as Harry Potter! They go a long the same lines yet at the same time are completely different. They have many of the same characters, yes i'll give you that, but they are in no way similar. Who can call Antorrel and Zemanar good? WHere as Harry is the hero. Who can say that dragons are good in HP? In DWD They are good. If you are a die hard fan i strongly recommend that you read these!
Rating: Summary: Great Tale ! Review: Cimorene was a bit out of line compared to her other sisters. Although she was pretty enough, she acted as UN-princesslike as she could. Cimorene found all of her regular lessons extremely boring and she was more interested in fencing, magic, and cooking. All three of which her parents banned.Then her parents forced her to wed Prince Therandil.(Cimorene said, she would rather be eaten whole by a dragon) So Cimorene ran away. Guess what she found? Dragons! Cimorene became Kazul's (the lady dragon) princess and found her new life much more fitting. Cimorene gets new friends, new fiends, and a cunning mystery to solve.
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