The Princess Who Flew with Dragons, by Stephanie Burgis

I still am busily reading elementary/middle grade speculative fiction a in my roles as a judge for the Cybils Awards (mainly going back to re-read things I read early last year), but I am in good enough shape that I treated myself one dreary day last week to a shiny and new and much anticipated book--The Princess Who Flew with Dragons, by Stephanie Burgis (Bloomsbury, November 2019).

This is the third in the series that began with The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart (link to my review), and it's possibly the one I enjoyed most.  I certainly think it was the fastest read; it was a (more or less) single-sitting of about an hour read for me (when I like a book and need to know what's going to happen next, I read faster, and it was relatively short-- 216 pages).

Princess Sophia, who we met in Book 2, The Girl with a Dragon Heart, is the main character here, and when her story begins, she's being sent by her older sister, the ruling princess, to a distant city to attend a World's Fair type of extravaganza.   It's a three day journey in a basket carried by a flying dragon, and due to the sad consequence of basket swaying, not a pleasant one for Sophia, or her attendants.  Her arrival is also marred by unpleasant-ness, and as a result Sophia is not giving lodging at the palace, but sent off to a private house of her own.

Though this is a snub, she realizes that it's also a once in a life-time opportunity to be a person, and not a princess.  And so she goes to the university as an ordinary, to attend classes in philosophy (her passion), and makes friends with other students (an interesting group of girls--three goblins and a kobald).  This is the part of the book I liked the best (fantasy school stories! new friends and new experiences that might seem mundane but yet are interesting because they are so new to the pov character!).  I could have happily read another hundred pages or so more of this part of the book, but it was not to be, because Excitement!

And those readers who aren't me who were maybe wondering when something was actually going to happen were probably glad it did, in the form of angry ice giants, mass royal abduction, desperate dragonback journey by Sophia, and her use of philosophy to bring about a happy outcome.  There's more to this Happening section of the book, but it's the sort of thing that's more fun to read than to read about.

As well as enjoying the story (both pre-excitement and the excitement parts), I really enjoyed spending time with Sophia, who is a pretty self-reflective person; her growth, through both external experiences and through introspection, engaged me lots, and I think kids in the mg age range (9-12) will find her self-doubt and self-criticism, and the way she starts to see a path away from those feelings,  relatable.  I liked Sophia's university friends too.  There are no particularly dangling plot threads that need resolving, but a fourth book would be appreciated, especially if it picks up on the implications that Sophia's home town might get a university of its own....with dragon, goblin, kobald, and human students....