Start Date: 23 August 2011
End Date: 24 August 2011
Paperback, 352 pages
Published April 29th 2008
Summary (from Goodreads):
Many stories tell of damsels in distress, who are rescued from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons by knights in shining armor, and swept off to live happily ever after.
This is not one of those stories.
True, when Creel's aunt suggests sacrificing her to the local dragon, it is with the hope that the knight will marry Creel and that everyone (aunt and family included) will benefit handsomely. Yet it's Creel who talks her way out of the dragon's clutches. And it's Creel who walks for days on end to seek her fortune in the king's city with only a bit of embroidery thread and a strange pair of slippers in her possession.
But even Creel could not have guessed the outcome of this tale. For in a country on the verge of war, Creel unknowingly possesses not just any pair of shoes, but a tool that could be used to save her kingdom…or destroy it.
Many stories tell of damsels in distress, who are rescued from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons by knights in shining armor, and swept off to live happily ever after.
This is not one of those stories.
True, when Creel's aunt suggests sacrificing her to the local dragon, it is with the hope that the knight will marry Creel and that everyone (aunt and family included) will benefit handsomely. Yet it's Creel who talks her way out of the dragon's clutches. And it's Creel who walks for days on end to seek her fortune in the king's city with only a bit of embroidery thread and a strange pair of slippers in her possession.
But even Creel could not have guessed the outcome of this tale. For in a country on the verge of war, Creel unknowingly possesses not just any pair of shoes, but a tool that could be used to save her kingdom…or destroy it.
My Review:
Dragon Sippers was wonderful this time around. It was the perfect FOOF book, lots of fun and very sweet. From the first line - "It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon" - I knew I'd love rereading it. And I was right. It was just light enough for me to pick up whenever and be happy, but well-written and never dragged.
All of the characters were great, not necessarily because they had enormous depth (a la Thirteenth Child) but because I felt like I was revisiting old friends. Creel, the main character, was absolutely lovely. She's someone I would love to be friends with in real life, and she seems like the person everyone wants to be a little more like. And Luka was super sweet. He is also on my list of characters I wish I could meet in real life. My two favorite Luka moments were when he followed Creel on her rescue mission and the very last scene (the best!). I loved the characters of al the different dragons, especially Shardas and Feinul.
Some of my favorite parts (which I had forgotten about for the most part before this reread) were the descriptions of Creel's embroidery. She managed to make something that most likely few readers had personal experience with sound amazing. It certainly made me want to try my hand at it. I could easily visualize Creel's beautiful embroidered creations.
I don't rememeber much of the two sequels, Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear, so even though Dragon Slippers is a wonderful stand-alone, I'm looking forward to rereading them as soon as FOOF is done, which is one of the thigs I was hoping FOOF would do - remind me of other books I can reread even after this challenge.
Overall Thoughts: Dragon Slippers was a delightful MG read that older readers will enjoy as well.
Read my review of one of Jessica Day George's other books, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.
I met Jessica Day George at the Super Author visit back in April, and she is so nice. She also did an interview on The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl mostly about her books Princess of the Midnight Ball and Princess of Glass, but a little bit about her other works as well.
I read this book for my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.
2 comments:
I loved this book! I really want to do a reread at some point. I remember loving Creel's embroidery and her relationship with the dragons, especially Shardas. That scene with Shardas's mirrors almost made me cry! Oooh and that stupid princess made me so mad!
It's definitely worth a reread. When I picked it off the shelf, I remembered liking it, but I couldn't remember any of the details that made it so special. I didn't really know what to say about Shardas and the other dragons when I was writing the review, but I definitely loved reading about them. I was so happy when I reread the last few pages (Spoiler - "A window's been stolen!").
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