The concept of women turning into dragons seemed silly when I read the description of this book, but something made me select this book anyway and I am so glad I did. Women turning into dragons, either individually or in large groups (mass dragoning) does not make this book a fantasy novel. In fact, the larger theme is feminism. The government hides all information about dragoning and even sends people to jail for studying or discussing the concept. Would this be the case if men turned into dragons? Since much of the book takes place in the mid 20th century, women already were denied rights and opportunities, so it is no surprise that their pent up anger drives their change and woe to the husbands, schools, and workplaces who held them back. In addition to feminism, there are themes of finding your true nature and being accepting of different ways of defining a family. One of the heroes of the story is a librarian, and what reader doesn't love that idea! This book will resonate with me for a long time to come. While aimed at a young adult audience, adults will also appreciate this story.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Anger is a funny thing. And it does
funny things to us if we keep it inside.
I encourage you to consider a question:
who benefits, my dear, when you force
yourself to not feel angry?" ~ Kelly Barnhill

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is one of my all time favorite Newbery winners so as soon as I saw that @insufferable_blabbermouth had written a new adult book coming out in May I requested an ARC immediately.

Little did I know how much I would need a magical book about women who can only shed the confines of the patriarchy by shedding their skin and taking to the skies. I loved it.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC.

What a unique experience this book turned out to be! I really enjoyed so many aspects of this story. It was really a magical way to explore some serious topics for women in society. I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

There are no words to express how much I adored this book. I chose to pick it up on a very challenging day in my life and I was immediately absorbed into the alternate history of mid-century emergent American feminism vis-a-vis dragons.

It's no secret that I enjoy books exploring motherhood and the female experience, especially the further I get into middle age. And it's no secret that I enjoy speculative fiction and magical realism. AND it's no secret that I enjoy books about women in the STEM fields.

This was the perfect confluence of all of those elements put together into a wonderful literary telling.

And the librarians! Can I even mention the librarians? I'm biased of course but the library as being central to the preservation and perpetuation of knowledge is something that always gets me in the gut.

Teen crossover appeal due to the main narrator's age during the book, even though it is clear from the outset of the narration that she is reflecting back on her experiences as a much older woman. Though nothing about the story is explicitly mature, it may take high school level context for this story to truly resonate. But then again it may not?

Kelly Barnhill floored me with The Girl who Drank the Moon, and as I read the last pages of this book I found tears welling in my eyes at the world she created and the truth she spoke.

I may give away five star reviews willy-nilly to ridiculous books that happen to delight me in the moment, such as Ice Planet Barbarians. But this is truly a five-star book, One that takes your breath away and makes you realize all that a truly good story can accomplish.

This was a highly anticipated read for me, so I’m very sad that I didn’t like it as much as I had hoped to. I’ve seen others praise Kelly Barnhill’s middle grade books, but I was completely new to her work.

This is a fantastic idea with a thought-provoking message, but I thought this story was rather uninteresting, repetitive, and disjointed.

I am throwing in the towel a bit early. While I’m disappointed I couldn’t even make it to the end of this, the reading experience, so far, has been completely joyless.

I am immensely grateful to Doubleday Books for my digital review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I received a copy of When Women Were Dragons on NetGalley, and I am so glad I got to experience this story. I love historical fiction and I love feminist novels, and this book was outstanding!

Beautifully written and perfectly paced. When women can spontaneously turn into dragons, the world is a fascinating place! Female empowerment as told through the creative lens of fantasy realism. The author uses the term “dragoning" as a proxy for women's liberation from social shame and violence against their bodies.
This book really showcases the power and beauty of being female.

I can not wait until I can purchase the physical copy of this book. I can not recommend it enough!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone who loved the book "Dragonology" as a child is sure to love this book as well. Written as a fictional memoir interspersed with historical documents/scientific writings, "When Women Were Dragons" takes readers through Alex's journey through life in America during a period of turmoil and suppression. In addition to sexism and homophobia inhibiting Alex's life, loves, and passions as she grows up, there is also the significant issue of "spontaneous dragoning" -- the phenomenon of women suddenly transforming into mythic scaled beasts. As Alex reflects on her life story, her personal journey from child to adult is inextricably and beautifully interwoven with the larger themes that the dragons embody/personify (feminity, acceptance, rage, expression of emotions, loss, love, community, freedom, etc.). I was impressed by how well-developed Alex was as a character, and her journey of learning to accept the depths of emotion, complexities of love and loss, navigation of grief, and letting go of control was both moving and inspiring. I think that many readers, particularly women, will be able to identify with many of Alex's inner musings like I did. I also appreciated that this book did not have sexual trauma as a part of Alex's transition to adulthood, and it was refreshing to read a coming-of-age story where that type of trauma was not a catalyst for the female character's growth/"maturation". Additionally, the queer representation was a pleasant surprise! Barnhill did well incorporating that into a time period setting where queer relationships were unacceptable -- characters' queerness was presented in a way that felt true to the time but still celebrated and honored those relationships. Overall, this book is a triumphant exploration of feminity and love through the eyes of a stunningly compelling character, with the perfect amount of magical realism fantasy as a backdrop.

A fierce and powerful ode to women who shed their skin to become something more. This left me speechless.

This was an interesting mixture of fantasy and realistic storyline. When women can spontaneously turn into dragons, the world is a fascinating place! I loved the feminism all over these pages! It was an interesting story, and I found myself transported.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Written in an epistolary style reminiscent of Sylvain Neuvel’s Sleeping Giants or Manuel Gonzales’ The Regional Office is Under Attack, Kelly Barnhill’s newest novel is an interesting foray into a different type of women’s revolution. Instead of burning their bras or discussion Simone de Beauvoir’s Second Sex over tea, Barnhill’s disgruntled women instead become dragons. The book details the mass dragoning of 1955, a date when many women shed their too small lives and took to the skies.

An interesting premise for a book, Barnhill really finds her stride when discussing the life of Alex, one young woman who the mass dragoning affected. I was interested in her story - her love of math, her relationship with her Aunt Marla, her discovery of queerness.

I was less compelled by the abruptness with which Barnhill ended the book. Over the course of the novel we’ve come to love Marla, the head librarian, Bea, and countless others. In the final few chapters, we get only a cursory overview of what happens to any of them. Some die with no real opportunity for grief on the part of the reader or Alex, others simply retreat from Alex’s life. This gives everything an unfinished feeling, but not in a satisfying “the story goes on” kind of way.

If you loved Barnhill's "The Girl Who Drank the Moon," then this book is for you. It contains the same magic and sharp introspective voice that earned her the Newbery, and I hope this book goes on to win just as many prestigious awards!

"When Women Were Dragons" spans several decades, starting in the 1940s at a time during which women are spontaneously turning into dragons, and escaping to far away lands. Such phenomena are incredibly taboo and suppressed by the government, relegated to the realm of mysterious female hysterics. Alex is a young girl at the time, growing up in a turbulent home. Her life changes forever when her dear aunt Marla "dragons" and leaves behind her daughter Beatrice. The author uses "dragoning" as a proxy for women's liberation from social shame and violence against their bodies. Alex', who never could dragon or had any interest in doing so, is confronted with this heartbreaking question: how do you move on when those around you have changed and come into their fullest shelves, and you're left behind? The plot itself is fairly slow, and is primarily concerned with showing Alex and Beatrice's growth into adulthood. This is where the book truly shined for me: capturing the inner voice and turbulence of a child without cliches or shortcuts. It's no surprise that a children's book author accomplished this so well. I read the last page incredibly moved and thankful for the rich mythology that Barnhill created, where women's hopes and fears coexist so beautifully.

This was a fantastic read that really surprised me! I won a copy of When Women Were Dragons on NetGalley, and I’m so excited for this to release! This was a lovely story about the changes we go through to become ourselves, talking about uncomfortable things, and accepting ourselves and those around us as they are. This really book really surprised me. I didn’t know what to expect when I started and I am so glad I got to experience this story.

A book that will resonate with many readers. Female empowerment as told through the creative lens of fantasy realism. I hope readers take the time read the opening letter from the author prior to reading the book, reading her thoughts regarding the somewhat recent hearings for Supreme Court and how her book spiraled from the collective outrage offered a foundation so many could relate to going into this book. Sometimes readers don't pick up fantasy because of the incredible patience it takes to build worlds and then for the reader to make sense of this new land, but reading this with her thoughtfully prepared foundation made this book a joy to read.

This book was 100% outside my normal comfort zone. But I love historical fiction and I love feminist novels, so I stepped into the unknown and… wow.

I honestly don’t know how to rate this book. I gave it four stars because I think the writing was phenomenal and the story was so unique. But I also had such a hard time melding reality with fantasy. And yet, I also think that was kind of the point with this book?

This book has SO many good quotes. It really showcased the power and beauty of being female while also showing the way a world reacts to our power.

I just loved this book in a way I haven’t liked other books. It was so unexpected and different. I don’t even know how to describe it - just read it.

Wow. Just wow. This was everything I wanted it to be and more. An intricate knot of metaphors (though never heavy handed), feminist, angry, queer, and kind. Beautifully written and perfectly paced. I loved every minute of it.

I don't have a lot more to say review-wise yet (I do want to sit with it a bit more) except I would like to note that Barnhill avoids the gender essentialist trap that many of these kinds of novels end up falling into. She allows space for the existence of trans women in the mass dragoning - while they are not the focus, she also does not exclude them from the narrative. I appreciated that she wasn't exclusionary (even by omission) the way that other narratives have been. Excellent, thoughtful work, in my opinion.

4.5 stars

Wow - I powered through this one in a day. I admit that I was initially interested in this book because (1) it was about dragons, and (2) the premise reminded me of The Power. The Power is a book I actually think about a lot, despite reading it three years ago. And my main takeaway from this book is that I really want a whole bunch of people to read both The Power and When Women Were Dragons and then we all have a big major discussion about it comparing and contrasting the change and how society dealt with it, and what it means, and what we think would really happen if one of these scenarios occurred.

But this book on its own is really interesting. The first few chapters were a little slow, but I kept reading because I really wanted to get to some dragon-y parts. And then... my heart broke for Alex through most of it, in the ways that her family kept failing her as she grew up. And her father -- GARBAGE. I found myself wishing that she knew more about what was going on (and that someone would TALK about it), but I saw by the end that it was really effective storytelling that set us up so that we were learning about dragons and becoming more open=minded along with Alex. By the end, I was fully invested, and pleased by the beautiful ending. Definitely worth a read.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

"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.". And I loved it.