The failure of the majority of the characters to fit into any particular mold as “good” or “evil,” even when they clearly stand on one side or the other, gives the story a complexity that may not be at first apparent.

Not everyone is who they appear to be, and kindness and dishonesty, pride and generosity, shallowness and cunning meet together in the most unlikely of places. Creel seems like a friend, and readers will find themselves desperately wanting her to succeed.Ī diverse cast of characters joins Creel, making the story come alive with all the types of personalities readers might expect to find in the real world. Her combination of spunk and cheerful good humor, along with a comical inability to see things right in front of her, proves irresistible. Despite the daunting obstacles placed in her path and a propensity for getting into trouble, Creel perseveres, learning valuable lessons about friendship, love, and life. She freely acknowledges the awful comedy of her situation-the unlikelihood that a knight will bother to rescue a poor girl, the possibility that she might not even like the knight-then continues forward, determined to make a life herself with the scant means she possesses. Readers will cheer Creel on as she strikes out by herself, learning that the world is not always kind, but still believing in its ultimate goodness.Ĭreel proves herself a worthy modern-day heroine, capturing the sympathy of her audience from the moment she declines to wait around for a random knight to save her and takes charge of her own destiny. Led by its strong heroine, Dragon Slippers takes the readers on a magical journey that explores the power of the friendship and the discovery of self. Review: George cleverly takes some common fairy tale elements and turns them upside down, creating in the process a story as amusing as it is engaging. War threatens the country, however, and it just may be a peasant girl with an unusual pair of slippers who can save it. There she hopes to find work as a seamstress-and perhaps, one day, to open her own shop. After rescuing herself from the clutches of the dragon and gaining a pair of comfortable slippers in the process, she strikes out for the capital with only some embroidery yarn in her pocket. Her aunt accordingly hatches a plan to sacrifice the girl to the local dragon, in hopes that a rich knight will rescue Creel and bestow wealth upon the entire family. Summary: Raised by her aunt and uncle, Creel has proved only a burden to her struggling relatives.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George