nevanna | Tuesday Top Five: Scales and Wings

My Cartoon Night group just finished watching The Dragon Prince, so I decided to share some of my favorite books that feature dragons.

1. Dragon of the Lost Sea (1982) by Laurence Yep

The dragon princess Shimmer and her human companion, Thorn, embark on a quest to reclaim the sea that Shimmer calls home, after a sorceress has contained it inside a magical talisman.

My mom read this book – the first in a quartet – aloud to me when I was younger, and I loved the sequences of magic and adventure as well as the dynamic between the two lead characters.

2. Dealing With Dragons (1990) by Patricia C Wrede

I talked about Princess Cimorene, the human heroine of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, in a previous Top Five list, but the dragons, who become her new family, are also well-realized characters with a fascinating but not overly complex culture. I respect a community of fairy-tale creatures that appreciates a well-organized library.

3. The Immortals (1992 -1996) by Tamora Pierce

In the second of Pierce’s quartets set in the kingdom of Tortall, teenage wanderer Daine’s mysterious affinity with animals brings her into contact with unusual immortal beings from a parallel realm.

One of the most touching lines in the first book is, “I’ve gone from having no home to having too many!” Daine’s new found family encompasses both human and non-human beings, including an adorable baby dragon named Skysong, whom she calls “Kitten.” She also attends a council of fully grown dragons in the final volume.

4. Damsel (2018) by Elana K. Arnold

Ama wakes up in the arms of Prince Emory, who tells her that he (like many princes before him) has rescued her from a dragon (like many damsels before her), and that they are destined to marry. But as she adjusts to life in the palace, Ama suspects a different truth behind that story.

Arnold offers a take on the “princess trapped in a restrictive engagement and the gender expectations that come with it” premise that I, although no stranger to those tropes, hadn’t encountered before when I first read her celebrated YA fantasy. Reader opinions may vary on how effective the reveal of Ama’s origin turns out to be, but the claustrophobic, secretive palace atmosphere is very compelling, and the final scene is extremely satisfying.

5. When Women Were Dragons (2022) by Kelly Barnhill

In the middle of the twentieth century, thousands of women spontaneously transformed into dragons and flew away, seemingly forever. Most of the world collectively decided to pretend that it had never happened, leaving narrator Alex to wrestle with her grief, new responsibilities, and unanswered questions.

Like Arnold in Damsel, Barnhill uses her dragons to explore themes of female agency and the narratives imposed by the patriarchy, but her story is set in a world closer to our own, covers a much longer span of time, and focuses more on relationships and (eventually) communities between women and girls, as well as the possibility of creating a better world instead of escaping the existing, oppressive one. I think that both power fantasies have their place.

Honorable mention: To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose, of which I’ve only read a couple of chapters but which I think I’ll enjoy.