The Princess Who Flew with Dragons

Sofia’s lively first-person narrative is full of dramatic twists as this dragon-loving heroine undertakes a dangerous rescue mission, experiences a terrifying setback, and discovers an unexpected ally. Here's a rousing adventure story with convincing characters and a colorful setting.

As in the other books in the series, Burgis deals with issues as serious as privilege, immigration, and identity in a manner that is both honest and free of didacticism. Characters are a range of skin tones, from pale to brown to green to white; Sofia herself has brown skin. Anti-princess Sofia, her friends, and their adventures will amuse and delight readers. 

Gr 4 Up--Picking up where The Girl with a Dragon Heart left off, we meet Princess Sofia, the erstwhile younger sister of Queen Katrin who was rescued from a disastrous betrothal to an evil fairy by Silke and Aventurine. Sofi would love nothing more than to be left alone with her philosophy books and letters with her best friend and pen pal, Jasper, who happens to be the younger brother of Aventurine. Katrin, always devising ways to get Sofi to do her bidding for the "greater good," has concocted a plan to get Sofia out of her shell. Villene, the largest and most famous city in all of the kingdoms, is hosting its renowned Diamond Exhibition and Katrin wants Sofi to attend in her place. Luckily, Villene is home to the University and her favorite philosopher, so Sofi agrees with her sister's scheme. A reluctant princess at the best of times, Sofi manages to offend the local royals and have herself exiled for the duration of her trip. Tired of being cooped up under house arrest, Sofi ventures out disguised as a student of the University and triggers a series of events that will change her perspective on life. To fully appreciate how the different characters intertwine it is best to have read the other books, but new readers can still enjoy and follow the story at hand. As in the other novels of the series, the characters are diverse in appearance. Readers will also get to explore other races of humanoids. There are more dragons, of course, as well as goblins and kobolds who are immigrants from a distant, northern land. VERDICT Compelling female characters and an emphasis on self-reliance make this, and the other books in the series, a good choice for those seeking middle grade fantasy with a feminist message.--Sara Brunkhorst, Glenview Public Library, IL