Grilled Cheese and Dragons by Nancy E. KrulikMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A spoiled brat princess hates her teacher and her Royal School of Ladylike Manners. She wants to go to Knight School instead because that looks way more fun. Her father tells her she can go to Knight School on the condition that she will first go out into the world and do eight good deeds, bringing back proof of each. This proves harder than she imagined, since honor, kindness, and sacrifice are not her strong suits, but eventually she gets an ogre to capture her so she can try and retrieve the jewels he stole and return them to their rightful owner. Along the way, she grudgingly teams up with a Knight School dropout and his dragon friend who wants to be a chef. One down, seven more good deeds to go!
I bought this book for my daughter, and it's pretty cute. I like how the self-centered princess (very) slowly begins to think of others, which bodes well for the later books in the series. I do wish Lady Frump and the ogre weren't basically caricatures of stereotypes, but perhaps they might be given depth and nuance later on in the series? I won't hold my breath on that, though.
For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character secondary. Very fast-paced. Good for showing that not everyone fits neatly in predetermined gender (or species) roles, and even misfits have strengths to contribute.
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