To Shape a Dragon's Breath

By Moniquill Blackgoose

Publisher Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE NEBULA AND LODESTAR AWARDS • FINALIST FOR THE ASTOUNDING, LOCUS, AND BRITISH FANTASY NEWCOMER AWARDS • “My favorite book of the year . . . a coming-of-age story that is cozy and hair-raising in equal measure.”—Charlie Jane Anders, The Washington Post

“I tore through it, caught up in an enthusiasm for dragons that I hadn’t experienced since I was a teenager obsessed with Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea and Anne McCaffrey’s Pern.”—NPR

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, PopSugar, Chicago Public Library, Polygon, She Reads, Autostraddle

The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.

Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.

For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.

Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.

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1444 Reviews

4.0

thatnataliedawn

Created 2 days ago

“Remember how happy you were as a kid, reading a magical series that had a lot of soul? One that made you wait with bated breath for the next book? This is that series. Oh it’s so…lovely. You fall in love with Anequs, her people, her world (well, most of it, bc…people are people in fantasy worlds too). The world is different, yet, it’s based on our world, (it was described to me as a historical retelling-that feels accurate), except: there are MFing dragons, y’all. And it’s so cool. It’s a coming of age series, for sure, but it has deep social/political themes also. It’s got a very diverse cast of characters, and I love the character growth we are shown. I cannot say enough good things about this book. I will definitely be rereading it and suggesting it ad nauseam. I’m ok with that. Book #2 is scheduled to be released in 2025, which means less time to wait to see what happens next. Read this one!!!”

Believable Change and grow Diverse representation Likeable Multilayered Original Strong relationships

Mack

Created 3 days ago

Kristen Maristany

Created 4 days ago

literaryhomebody

Created 4 days ago

“I really wanted to love To Shape a Dragon’s Breath. The concept? Absolutely incredible. A young Indigenous girl forming a bond with a dragon and having to go to a dragon school to learn how to raise her dragon? I was all in from the premise alone. It had so much potential, and I was genuinely excited. That said, the book just didn’t quite work for me the way I’d hoped. One of the main challenges was the pacing, it felt slow and never really built the momentum or tension I personally look for in fantasy. It's really just us going to school with her and following her as she navigates its challenges. It leaned more toward a slice-of-life or maybe even cozy-serious vibe is more accurate, which I know some readers adore, but it's a style that doesn't usually click with me. I truly appreciate the depth of thought and care that went into this. The themes the author explores, especially around colonialism, cultural identity, and systemic oppression, are powerful, relevant, and handled with a clear sense of purpose. There’s a lot of value in the story being told here, and I admire Moniquill Blackgoose’s intent and the unique voice she brings to the genre. Also, Anequs is amazing FMC. She’s so strong, clever, and determined. I just needed to say that. Even though this one wasn’t the right fit for me personally, I can absolutely see it resonating deeply with the right audience, especially those who enjoy thoughtful, slow-burn narratives. I’m glad books like this exist and are finding their place on shelves. This was really hard for me to rate.”

Ariel

Created 6 days ago

“This is a review of the story Moniquill told: I loved the complex nature of Anequs and her world. She is the main character, native to the Masquapaug Islands. While learning about her culture, her life, and what dragons mean to her people, I was enthralled with the story. I was particularly captured with her relationships with her family. The author wrote them in a way that conveyed love and care. A great sense of honor it was when her dragon picks her. It helped impress the importance of duty when she realizes that the Anglish would need to feel in control of her dragon to not wipe out her town, the need of going to one of their schools to learn their ways for herself, to at least have choice in the life of her dragon. It is when the story switches to Anglish territory where some of the story becomes convoluted. It was culture shock for Aneques. The way it was written was well done, in my opinion. Enough that was familiar, with enough changes, that I also had a sense of her experience. Her initial introductions were interesting, realistic. However the issues flare, when she started classes the story became somewhat of a slog. She felt like Harry Potter facing Snape with how her professors were written. On repeat. I felt stuck in class with Anequs, learning unnecessary information. Particularly terms to replace concepts that easily have real world components. Important for where the author was going with her magic system through the dragon's breath. The hurdle of matching to what I could relate to, to understand better, made me not enjoy the story as much. Too much work for my wee brain. Anequs' classes were then replaced with social events that were almost just as boring minus the parts important to the main arch. A lot of the story felt unnecessary and like it could be condensed for a better flow. If it weren't for the classes, and the pomp and circumstance needed for all the little social events.. what she wore, why she wore it, why the event was necessary, her questioning it, being judged on all actions.. on and on.. or the made up terms for basic elements I think I would have enjoyed better.”

Likeable Multilayered Epic scope Slow-paced Expansive Historical Immersive world-building Descriptive Takes getting used to Bigotry

About Moniquill Blackgoose

Moniquill Blackgoose is the bestselling author of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, which has won both the Nebula and Lodestar Awards. She began writing science fiction and fantasy when she was twelve and hasn’t stopped writing since. She is an enrolled member of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe and a lineal descendant of Ousamequin Massasoit. She is an avid costumer and an active member of the steampunk community. She has blogged, essayed, and discussed extensively across many platforms the depictions of Indigenous and Indigenous-coded characters in sci-fi and fantasy.