The Best Dragons in YA, Just in Time for Shadow Scale

Seraphina and Shadow Scale, by Rachel Hartman
For the sake of our friendship, I’m going to assume you’ve already read the amazing Seraphina and that I’m just summarizing this for formality’s sake. Dragons and humans have been at peace for decades. But even though half-breeds are totally possible thanks to dragons’ ability to take on human form at will, both races are still utterly disgusted by the idea. That’s why Seraphina has to keep her identity hidden, a secret that gets harder and harder to hide as Seraphina gets more involved in royal affairs. Hartman’s dragons are cold, calculating creatures that remind me of Spock (live long and prosper, Leonard Nimoy), and their battle to merge emotion with logic is bewildering and relatable at the same time.

The Fairyland Series, by Catherynne M. Valente
Valente’s series follows the adventures of September, a human girl who finds her way into Fairyland, where she completes a series of quests to save the realm from the evil Marquess. She also meets a fellow traveler named A-Through-L, who, okay, technically isn’t a dragon, but who’s writing this list? A-Through-L is a wyvern (exactly like a dragon, but with two limbs instead of four) who believes his father was a library, which is where he gets his knowledge on all topics beginning with the letters (surprise!) A-L. It’s an interesting take on dragons’ stereotypical mysterious wisdom, and the contradiction of A-Through-L’s beastliness with his impeccable manners makes him one of the most lovable fire-breathing beasts we’ve ever met.

The Two Princesses of Bamarre, by Gail Carson Levine
Princess Addie isn’t brave; that’s what she has her sister, Meryl, for. But when Meryl falls ill with the Grey Death, Addie summons her courage to seek out the only creature who knows the cure: the drgaon Vollys. Vollys is everything a dragon should be. She’s greedy, mischievous, witty, and, most importantly, completely, bloodthirstily dangerous. As Addie gets closer to getting Vollys to tell her the cure, it’s hard not to hope Vollys will just be everyone’s friend in the end…but the best part is you always know Vollys will never be anything but a murderous dragon.

Eon and Eona, by Alison Goodman
For the past four years, Eon has been training to be a Dragoneye, one of the boys chosen to be a human link to the twelve energy dragons. The problem is twofold: Eon is crippled, and he’s also a she. If anyone finds out her secret identity, she’ll face a terrible death—but it’s worth it for the chance to practice Dragon Magic. And though I’m not in love with the books’ love triangle, I am in love with Goodman’s depiction of the dragons. Instead of flaming physical giants, they are mystical beings of energy only visible in the mind. They’re beautiful and good, but still totally badass.

The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde
Magic is disappearing from the kingdom, which means Jennifer Strange’s job as a wizard manager is getting harder. But when all signs point to Jennifer being a dragonslayer, responsible for killing the world’s last dragon, things get a little, well, strange. In the midst of hilarity and oddity, Fforde creates a dragon that, underneath all that majestic beastliness, is really just a peaceable elderly being looking for a rest. But how does one slay the world’s last (friendly-ish) dragon without feeling guilty?
What’s your favorite take on dragons in fiction?