Juv Fantasy: Dragon Slippers, Jessica Day George

Dragon Slippers

Jessica Day George (Tuesdays at the Castle)

ISBN: 978159990575

Coming-of-age, betrayal and friendships, and very nice dragons, with a side order of creepy.

I really loved Tuesdays at the Castle, and I don't know why I assumed it was George's first book, but I just discovered the truly excellent Dragon Slippers, and I'm very glad I did.  Great storytelling, excellent characters (both good and bad) and a lovely take on dragon-kind and dragon hoards.

Creel's family is dead, so she and her brother are being raised by her aunt and uncle.  Sadly, no one really has any money, so auntie gets the bright idea to have Creel captured by the local dragon, rescued by the local lord's son, and carried off to a glorious life in the manor house (whereupon manorial favor (ie, money) will shower down upon the rest of the household (meaning auntie).  Creel, like most of us reading this devious plot, attempts to point out the many and manifest errors in logic, but auntie is firm, and Creel figures the old dragon is probably dead anyway, so she'll hang out for a bit, then come back home and her aunt will move on to a new wild scheme.

But the dragon is NOT dead, and Creel finds herself set off on an adventure that has her struggling to use her wits and her talents (embroidery and design) to support herself in a wide and wild world that doesn't particularly care about her.  

Creel is sharp and smart, clever and hard-working, and she's aided by (and hampered by) a well-written supporting cast (human and dragon).  She plans, she acts, and she is unafraid to speak up for herself (even when it doesn't necessarily work out well for her).  

The story gets a little dark and parts of it are downright creepy towards the end, but the overall tragic/terrible details are blurry and distant - think Prince Caspian, or the weirder parts of Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Anyone who's more than one book into Harry Potter ought to be just fine as well.     

Wednesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George

Wednesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George
ISBN: 9781599906454
Read November 21, 2013
Juv: Sequel to Tuesdays at the Castle

Argh!  Cliffhangers!

Also griffins, which mollifies me a bit.  But really?  After such a beautiful first self-contained book, a cliffhanger?  Hmph.>

Attempting to put that aside, I still love everyone, from Celie herself, her lovely family, to Prince Lulath (he's so delightful, he reminds me of Lord Akeldama from Carriger's Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series.  LOVE them both) and the oddly-proportioned visiting Wizard.  Characterization remains a really strong point for this writer.

The Castle is acting hinky all of a sudden, but Celie's up to her eyebrows with a new responsibility that the Castle is determined should be kept VERY SECRET.  Those two seemingly disparate events of course are symptoms of a greater problem, but there we get back to my distress at the CLIFFHANGER ENDING.

The next in line, Thursdays... is planned for spring of 2014, so hopefully not too long a wait.  Still, a bit of a peeve for me.

Tuesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George

Tuesdays at the Castle
Bloomsbury, 2011, ISBN: 9780599906447

Celie is the youngest daughter of the King and Queen.  They live in a wonderfully accepting Castle, that helps (or hinders) people according to how well it likes them or not.  Thankfully, Celie's parents (and ancestors) have been good people, and the castle has currently taken quite a shine to not only Celie's parents, but to her and to her siblings (good thing too, as her brother Rolf is in line to be king).

The book begins with tragedy - parents missing, presumed dead.  The Council takes over, menacing envoys from neighboring greedy kingdoms appear almost magically soon after, and before one can blink, the three siblings are in a fight for their lives, and for the continued existance of the kingdom and the Castle.

This is a super-quick read, on the juvenile level (characters have crushes, but are gently teased for it, and exhibit those crushes by being overly nice or by blushing a lot).  The siblings have a delightful relationship, and they are believably stubborn and amusingly defiant in the face of overwhelming opposition. 

Very good addition to the collection of modern stories told with a fairy-tale feel.  I'll put this one up there with Liar's Moon, Princess Academy, and Bella at Midnight.  Keep an eye out for this author - this was a delightful read.