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4.0 

To Shape a Dragon's Breath

By Moniquill Blackgoose
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose digital book - Fable

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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1317 Reviews

4.0
Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes“I adore this book and I am so excited to read the next. The main character is formidable, intelligent and outspoken, her relationships with others (especially her love interests) are very sweet, and her determination and dedication to her dragon are admirable. There was no character I didn't enjoy reading about, whether I liked them or not and the culture displayed in every way was great. My favorite chapters had to have been the chapters that are solely the stories told by others that explore the mythology of the religions/cultures in the book. I loved every bit of the steampunk aspect (I believe this is the first book I've read with a steampunk setting, as it's not my go-to setting) and the different species of dragons remind me of How To Train Your Dragon. The book holds so many serious themes such as, oppression, racism, cultural identity, family, sexuality, tradition, ableism, bullying, systemic issues, and more. It's all handled well through the steadfast main character who doesn't compromise who she is or what she believes in even if it would make her life easier. Amazing story, amazing writing, amazing in general. If there was one thing I could critique, I wished there was a bit more focus on the relationship between the main character and her dragon. It's never dropped but it slowly feels as if the dragon loses character throughout the book, becoming more of a common pet than the equal companion she's portrayed to be at the beginning. They're relationship has so much more time to grow, so it's not a big problem, but it's the only thing keeping me from giving this book five stars.”

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.

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