Sorry about the delay. Our desktop is down and I couldn't post on the laptops until now. It would have been cool if I could say At last! One year later..., but I'll have to settle with Has it really been twenty-eight days?
Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
In fairy tales, the maiden is always saved from a dragon by a knight in shining armor. But it is Creel who saves herself with her own quick thinking, and gets a gift from the dragon's hoard in the bargain: a pair of magic slippers. Creel goes to the city to get a job at a dress-makers, and her slippers constantly attract attention- from a co-worker all the way up to the crown-prince's spoiled fiancee, Amalia. When the slippers are stolen and a war looms, Creel must use her skills and brains to save her country.
A good story. In Andrew Lang's fairy tales, the maiden is helpless, dependent on the dueling abilities of a prince. Dragon Slippers was a happy medium between that and the modern stories where the princess cuts off the dragon's head herself. That's one side of the feminist movement that I don't appreciate: empowering women are ones who are beautiful and buff; Creel is plain but smart, and she is the one who saves the day.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
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