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3.5 

When Women Were Dragons

By Kelly Barnhill
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

A GOODREADS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A fiery feminist fantasy tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.
 
"Ferociously imagined…and as exhilarating as a ride on dragonback." —Lev Grossman, bestselling author of The Magicians Trilogy

"Completely fierce, unmistakably feminist, and subversively funny." —Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry
 
In the first adult novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Ogress and The Orphans, Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.
 
Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and 
watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.

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5730 Reviews

3.5
““When power belongs, not to the violent, and not to the wealthy and well-connected, but to the people, a different sort of future begins to present itself. A lasting, global peace seemed not only possible, but probable.” This book is absolutely brilliant. With all the hateful politics being spewed forth at the moment, this is an absolute must read for anyone who actually cares about women (and not just cishet white, middle-class women). This tended my internal rage and in a positive, empowering and constructive way. “It serves no one to close our eyes and stop our thinking.””
Thinking Face“I really enjoyed reading the world the author set up. It was fun to see a society of dragons in the most unexpected of places, Wisconsin. Especially the prom scene. The world building was fascinating and I enjoyed learning the history of dragons. I also love the changes and growth in feminism as well and how this affects each of the characters. That being said, the plot is slow and Alex, our main character, takes a very long time to figure it all out. The pacing is slow and its shows. My audiobook was 16 hours long and I thought we would make it all the way through Alex’s life, but we only made it to her college years. I think I would have preferred to follow Marla or Beatrice’s story.”

About Kelly Barnhill

KELLY BARNHILL has written several middle grade novels, including New York Times bestsellers The Ogress and The Orphans and The Girl Who Drank the Moon, which won the 2017 John Newbery Medal. She is also the recipient of the World Fantasy Award, and has been a finalist for the SFWA Andre Norton Nebula Award and the PEN America Literary Award. She lives in Minneapolis with her family. 

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