Scan barcode
A review by corita
Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
4.0
I completely enjoyed Dragon Slipper by Jessica Day George. It’s definitely a princess type story for girls who want spunky heroines and princesses. Creel, the protagonist, is charming, has a mind of her own, takes chances, and is fun. Girls between 9 and 14 will enjoy the book.
Dragon Slippers is the first book in Jessica Day George’s Dragon trilogy. Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear finish the series.
Brief Summary:
Creel is an orphan, being raised by her aunt and uncle. When her aunt comes up with the idea of offering Creel to a dragon so she can then be saved by a prince and become a princess, Creel as well as her uncle and her cousins go along with her because they know that dragons died out hundreds of years ago. It’s clear that Creel’s aunt is a naïve and simple person who persists in an idea until she gets her way. Everyone, except the aunt, believes Creel will return home to them safe and sound without encountering a dragon.
To Creel’s surprise, there is a dragon, who turns out to be somewhat friendly and has no intention of taking Creel hostage or causing a fuss. He wants to remain safely hidden. He also doesn’t have a horde of gold and valuables. He hordes shoes. After making a deal with the dragon, Creel gains a pair of slippers and several dragon friends. In the bargain, the dragons remain safely hidden from human society.
Instead of returning home, Creel heads for the city to make her fortune. What she doesn’t know is that life in the city is difficult and the slippers are much more than they appear to be.
Adventure ensues.
What I liked:
•Creel is spunky, mostly intelligent, bold, and outgoing 15 year old country girl.
•The fairy-tale aspect of the book is engaging and fun.
•Dragon Slippers is a quick read with adventure, dragons, an evil princess, and several interesting characters.
Negative Points:
The plot is sometimes implausible and a little challenging to believe. The biggest problems were:
•believing a dragon would give away a valuable and dangerous pair of slippers;
•understanding why the dragons didn’t warn Creel of the power of the slippers;
•accepting that the younger prince would go out of his way to befriend Creel, a poor, country girl, but it is a fairy tale so it’s easy to overlook this;
•believing that Creel, an intelligent girl, wouldn’t realize sooner that there is something special about the shoes; the reader definitely knows long before she does.
However, I’m reviewing the story from an adult point of view and wanted some sort of reasons for withholding information. I don’t think younger readers would have major problems with these issues, but they might be impatient that Creel is slow to figure out that the slippers are special.
Once the dragons appear, there’s lots of action, adventure, and conflict, making the story interesting and engaging. I’d say most young readers would thoroughly enjoy this story.
Dragon Slippers is the first book in Jessica Day George’s Dragon trilogy. Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear finish the series.
Brief Summary:
Creel is an orphan, being raised by her aunt and uncle. When her aunt comes up with the idea of offering Creel to a dragon so she can then be saved by a prince and become a princess, Creel as well as her uncle and her cousins go along with her because they know that dragons died out hundreds of years ago. It’s clear that Creel’s aunt is a naïve and simple person who persists in an idea until she gets her way. Everyone, except the aunt, believes Creel will return home to them safe and sound without encountering a dragon.
Spoiler
To Creel’s surprise, there is a dragon, who turns out to be somewhat friendly and has no intention of taking Creel hostage or causing a fuss. He wants to remain safely hidden. He also doesn’t have a horde of gold and valuables. He hordes shoes. After making a deal with the dragon, Creel gains a pair of slippers and several dragon friends. In the bargain, the dragons remain safely hidden from human society.
Instead of returning home, Creel heads for the city to make her fortune. What she doesn’t know is that life in the city is difficult and the slippers are much more than they appear to be.
Adventure ensues.
What I liked:
•Creel is spunky, mostly intelligent, bold, and outgoing 15 year old country girl.
•The fairy-tale aspect of the book is engaging and fun.
•Dragon Slippers is a quick read with adventure, dragons, an evil princess, and several interesting characters.
Negative Points:
The plot is sometimes implausible and a little challenging to believe. The biggest problems were:
Spoiler
•believing a dragon would give away a valuable and dangerous pair of slippers;
•understanding why the dragons didn’t warn Creel of the power of the slippers;
•accepting that the younger prince would go out of his way to befriend Creel, a poor, country girl, but it is a fairy tale so it’s easy to overlook this;
•believing that Creel, an intelligent girl, wouldn’t realize sooner that there is something special about the shoes; the reader definitely knows long before she does.
However, I’m reviewing the story from an adult point of view and wanted some sort of reasons for withholding information. I don’t think younger readers would have major problems with these issues, but they might be impatient that Creel is slow to figure out that the slippers are special.
Once the dragons appear, there’s lots of action, adventure, and conflict, making the story interesting and engaging. I’d say most young readers would thoroughly enjoy this story.