Guest Post from Emily at Emily's Reading Room: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Today I'd like to welcome Emily from Emily's Reading Room to my blog! Last week I begged for guest blog participants and she enthusiastically stepped up. After thinking of several potential subjects, we settled on having her tell you about one of her favorite authors and series of books.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede

I am so honored to be guest posting on the wonderful Suey’s blog. Suey and I met last Summer at a get-together with fellow Utah bloggers. I really feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such talented bloggers and authors here in Utah.

I want to introduce you to (or remind you of if you’ve already read them) the wonderful Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede. The first book in this series is Dealing with Dragons.

This series of books is what got me re-interested in reading after a several-year hiatus from reading. I used to be a voracious reader as a child. I would get in trouble for hiding a book in my desk while I was supposed to be doing math. After I graduated high school and went to college, I had so much required reading that I really didn’t have time to read fiction anymore. I slowly turned to newspapers, magazines, and other non-fiction sources for reading material.

Then, one day as I was working in my wonderful government job, I realized that I needed some fiction in my life. I walked down to the local library and went straight to the Children’s section and asked for recommendations on books. I was directed to “Dealing with Dragons.”

This book is an oldie but a goodie. Cimeron is a spunky girl that decides that there is more to life than needlepoint, and sitting around waiting to be married to a loser prince. So, she decides the best way to have adventure and escape her fate is to volunteer to be a “dragon’s princess.” She finds Kazul and convinces him to take her on. As princes come to the Kazul’s cave to rescue Cimeron, she sends them away. As Cimeron learns more about the dragon culture and the conflicts they face with the wizards, she discovers there is more to this job than she thought.

This whole series was wonderful. I don’t want to give anything good away, so I’ll just say this. There is a twist later in the series that when I read it, I literally gasped. And... I may have shed a tear. Or not. Who knows?

I’d recommend this series to reluctant readers and the kids that can’t get enough of dragons. It’s well-written, fun, and timeless.

One feature that I do on my blog is called “Book A-Likes.” So, here are the book-a-likes for Dealing with Dragons:

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Dragon’s Milk by Susan Fletcher

Thanks again Suey for the opportunity to share this wonderful series with you and your readers!

Be sure to stop by Emily's blog and say hi. She wrote a wonderful post just yesterday about why she loves blogging so much. I agree with all she had to say. She's a new mom with the cutest baby girl, just born in March. You can see them both on Emily's first vlog she did earlier this week. Emily is on Twitter as @emsreadingroom. Thanks Emily for a fantastic post!