I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I'm a fan of Barnhill's children's fiction, so I was intrigued by what she would write for adults. She weaves a feminist tale of magical realism that beautifully captures the simultaneous rage and power of being a woman in the U.S. (and probably the world). But it's not just some fantasy feminism. It touches on so many other themes with a touching authenticity: the pain and love of family imperfect family relationships, the difficult choices we face as we grow up and get disappointed by those we count on (or we should be able to count on), the sacrifices people make for love, the loneliness of women-of-a-certain-age, the beauty of all kinds of love, and too much else for me to recall, TBH. This story is about vengeance, but it's not about revenge. It's about sorrow and sacrifice, but it's also a lovely coming-of-age story that's about the strength of family, real and found and created. It's about finding your people, about accepting ourselves, about accepting who others really are... and yet none of this feels forced or ham-handed or, frankly, unrealistic. I also particularly appreciated the conceit it uses to frame the story despite being a coming-of-age first person piece: the historical narrative as it really was rather than how "they" wanted you to know it, which fits with the idea that this is a herstory rather than the accepted "history." Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this eARC!

This was a beautiful coming of age story mixed in with a bit of magical realism. It follows Alex Green as she deals with trauma from her abusive dad and pressures of a world that wants to dictate what she must do with her life.

Even though there is a little of the fantasy element, dragoning is more of a great metaphor. I loved this book and thought the writing was beautiful.

DNF @ page 129/340

This book had such a great premise... but it quickly devolved into a tedious bildungsroman of a (perhaps queer?) woman growing up in the repressive 1950s. Things happen but Barnhill writes everything in such a flat, monotonous voice that it's hard to differentiate among individual slights, familial upheavals, and the Mass Dragoning that ultimately struggles to push the narrative forward.

Great book and enjoyed the characters . loved the slight romance and the how well the group worked together. Overall a great book . I would read this author again.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this reading experience. I loved Alex's coming-of-age and what that journey looked like for her, how emotional it was in so many different ways. And of course I loved the dragons and all they stood for.

I've seen the other reviews for this and the complaints that Barnhill has failed to consider so much by setting this story in the mid-50's, by focusing on white middle-class women rather than women of color, poor women, etc. But I wonder, if she had attempted to widen her lens beyond the small stories provided via "historical document" and occasional mentions, would there be equal criticism that those are not her stories to tell? If a writer doesn't feel like they can do justice to a wider story, should they write the story they feel comfortable writing or not write the story at all?

I'm glad Barnhill chose to write the story she felt comfortable writing, even if it's not as inclusive as others wanted it to be. I thought it was beautiful and heart-breaking and infuriating and joyful.

I feel like I missed the a large plot point. The dragons felt...unneccesary? Like maybe I was missing a metaphor or something but I just wanted more plot? More to happen? I'm not even sure how to explain my thoughts. It was good but...not mind blowing?

Although slow to start, I really enjoyed the magical world intertwined in the 1950s.

Overall, Alex’s story was very thoughtful and certainly expressed the many hardships women faced in the 1950s, however, it also felt like a lecture on women’s rights.

I thought the narrative between Alex and Beatrice was really beautiful and certainly showed the power of family through difficult times. In some ways their hardships reminded me of The Glass Castle, with a magical twist.

I loved this blend of softness and rage all tied into one book about feminism and the power of anger. Kelly Barnhill is so good at succinctly putting words to really big universal ideas, thoughts, and feelings and making them feel wholly personal. 5 stars!

I was so excited to read this book and unfortunately it just did not land with me. I loved the idea and the attempt at melding this magical realism with such a deep and meaningful social commentary but none of it worked. Which is very sad because I really appreciate where the author was trying to go with it but the execution was just very poor in my opinion.

I adored When Women Were Dragons. There were whole paragraphs I copied down because they resonated and I think that's the mark of a successful work of speculative fiction: when the world you're writing about reflects things about the world we live in. I loved the metaphor of dragoning and found myself also wishing for that kind of release. I'll be picking up a physical copy of this book for myself because it's definitely a title that I want to return to.

How do you encapsulate female and female-identifying rage from years of oppression, inequity, dismissal, and abuse? Dragons. I felt my own female rage boiling over at certain parts of the book, but I suppose that was the point. This was slow-moving at first but became very enjoyable as the main character/narrator grew and had a better understanding of the world around her. I would recommend this timely book to any fans of magical realism and women's studies.

Okay, maybe this was a bit on the nose and the ending was very idealistic, but I still really enjoyed the writing, the characters and their relationships, and their struggles with the roles society had placed upon them, and how women push back in big and small ways against what the world expects of them.

I wanted so much to like this book. The premise is really neat. Women are tired of being oppressed, and start turning into dragons. Because men can't stand not having control, they try to bury the information and pretend nothing happen. Of course, right?

The book is Fiction, but it reads partially like a biography and partially like a research paper. I just couldn't get past the format. It didn't catch hold of me like most books. I saw another review where they said it should have been short stories, and I agree with that.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What an amazing book. The story was so original, the characters were so relatable, and it felt like a special time in history to be reading this book. I loved, loved it.

Kelly Barnhill is one of my favorite writers. Every woman should read this book, if only to adopt the new verb "dragoning" - we should all be doing it! This book inspired my "uterus dragon" drawing that I made available on items in Redbubble, and a protest umbrella when Roe v. Wade was overturned. Truly, if we all had "dragoning" as part of our arsenal, our world would look very different... and who's to say we don't? Caution should be advised.

Kelly Barnhill imagines a world where women who are independent turn into dragons and fly away from the constraints of a patriarchal society. This idea is described by using the journey of a young girl who watched her mother, aunt, and neighbor, amongst others, make choices that set them on their dragon paths. She, herself, ponders their choices and lives in a world where escape for some means extra burdens for others. And choices, if magical, reflect a reality many women must face.

I'm so glad that I finally had time to pick this book up because GOD was it good. While slow at times, I loved the format of switching between Alex's POV and short academic clippings/trial hearings. At times I found myself thinking "I don't remember a mass dragoning being a real thing taught in school" just because it felt so real in how it was portrayed. The only criticisms I have are how some parts dragged on and then how some words were repeated over and over, but you quickly get over that. This book is going to be one that I recommend to all women in my life.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill.
Kelly Barnhill's first adult fiction novel was greatly anticipated. Combining history with magical realism, Barnhill sets a stage for showcasing feminism. Using dragons as a metaphor for the power of women was brilliant! Barnhill stays true to the fantasy element that is prominent in her middle-grade novels, but takes it to the next level.

This book has a very interesting concept but I found the execution a bit disappointing. It could be that I am not the biggest fam of the historical memoir style. It took me a while to get through it as I had a harder time picking it up to finish. I really wanted to like this more and I know there is an audience who will probably enjoy this more than I did.

I have recommended this to a few customers and a co-worker, my coworker said they enjoyed it.

Very cool concept! Normally, alternate histories drag on, but this one had a narrative that kept the story moving. We were able to see all sides of the new dragon-centric society through one girl's experience.