When Women We’re Dragons is a thought-provoking allegory about how women are viewed in our world, particularly by men, but also how this affects how they view themselves. I found it to be very well-written, with well-developed female characters and an interesting, unusual plot line. My one quibble is that the men were, for the most part, less well-developed, and were almost all depicted as weak, self-centered villains. I would recommend it!

When Women Were Dragons is an alternate history, set in a nearly-recognizable America in the 1950s and 1960s - but there are dragons, not just then, but scattered throughout history. Largely ignored, dragons are predominantly transformed women; scattered transformations have occurred throughout history, but a massive transformation of women into dragons occurs in 1955, and for all that it, too, is ignored - as.much as such an event can be ignored - this events impacts society. Children are taught not to mention the missing, not to look at the skies, and all of society is given explanations that ignore dragons, even in the face of eyewitness accounts.

Told through the experiences of Alexandra (Alex, by preference), much of the broad strokes of history and societal attitudes will be familiar to anyone with any knowledge of the era, but many of the issues effecting society, and particularly women, are retold through the lens of the missing women and the dragons they become. Alex’s aunt Marla is one such woman, and her daughter, Beatrice, is left behind, adopted by Alex’s mother, and somewhat more reluctantly by her father. Alex’s mother is ill , her father works long hours (or is he really working all that time?), and Alex is left to raise her cousin/sister largely on her own.

This novel addresses equality via the rights of dragons rather than via gender, and thus bypasses many f the related issues; dragons are far from powerless, and some husbands, assumed to be abusive, vanish when a woman in their lives transforms - although the explanation never mentions dragons; instead, the man vanished in a fire, and explosion. It also touches on sexuality in ways that reflect historical issues, evolving as time elapses. Watching Alex change over time, with the times and from her own experiences, is well done, and yet the novel seemed to end too abruptly, and with an ending that seems too pat.

I had hoped to like this book, but I didn't. It felt very inconsistent, like there were too many ideas involved and none of them flowed. I enjoyed the dragon aspect but that honestly was probably the only part I liked. I struggled to finish this book because it didn't captivate me and I contemplated DNF-ing it several times.

Alex lives in a male dominated world. Her aunt Marla used to be a pilot but now can only get a mechanics job because she is better than the men. Women are supposed to be mothers. But sometimes things just happen and they change. But one can’t talk about them. Like dragons. Alex thinks she saw a dragon, but she was told she didn’t. There are no dragons. Sometimes women just disappear. Like her aunt Marla, she just never was one day. For Alex, as one who questions. Life is difficult in this world. Even more so for her cousin, no sister Bea, who wants to be a dragon. An entertaining story that is alittle to close to home.

Alex Green is a girl who is growing up in the 1950s. She is navigating many familiar things--going to school, having a first crush, fending off an overly protective mother, and looking out for her younger sister. But in this version of America, things are a little different than you might expect. On a seemingly normal day, thousands of women suddenly turned into dragons and flew away, including Alex's Aunt Marla. Alex's "sister" Beatrice is actually her cousin, but no one is allowed to talk about the women who turned into dragons or the pain and confusion their leaving caused. Alex sets out to find the answers about just what happened that day, for herself, for her aunt, and for her beloved Beatrice who is showing signs of becoming a dragon like her mother.
For readers who like all of the answers, this might be a frustrating experience. Alex's own failed attempts as a child and young adult to get more information are interspersed with a scientist's reports as he tries to research the phenomenon of turning into a dragon and is thwarted at every turn by politicians and other scientists who want to keep everyone in the dark. But it rings very true to that experience of knowing that something bigger is going on and having your questions ignored because you're not old enough, or it doesn't concern you.

Kelly Barnhill's writing is excellent. She clearly depicts the anger of a girl and then a woman who is kept from answers, left without support, and then belittled as she tries to use her intellect and skills. This is obviously a book about feminism and female anger. In America in May 2022, when women are dealing with parenting during a multi-year pandemic, a formula shortage, multiple mass shootings, and the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, many of us are very angry. Reading When Women Were Dragons can give readers hope that they are not the only ones who are angry; in fact, women have been angry for a very long time. But it also reminds us that we aren't alone, and that we can make bold choices to protect and defend ourselves and the women we love.


When Women Were Dragons
By Kelly Barnhill
Doubleday Books May 2022
352 pages
Read via Netgalley

Dragons, feminism, and urban fantasy, what’s not to love? When women were dragons was such a fun and meaningful read, we get to discover “dragoning” with Alex and follow her through her life growing up in 1960s America.

I will not be giving feedback on this title. I gave it almost 4 hours and there is not enough going on in the plot to make me want to continue. I think the problem here, for me, is that we have a child as a protagonist. A child who spends a great deal of time telling us that the adults do not share information with her or allow her to ask questions. As the reader, I got really tired of not getting any answers. Sorry, gave this a real shot, but it's not for me. I will not be posting a DNF review.

I really wanted to love this but struggled getting into it! wish it were more intersectional, or just more modern (which sounds impossible for something that is magical realism-historical fiction vibes but I swear it is not indeed impossible). Felt a touch repetitive to me, which was such a bummer because the premise and potential for absolutely electric rage and rawness was SO GOOD!!!!!!!

A HUGE thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book. 5 stars all around! Of course, the premise is amazing, where hundreds and thousands of women in 1955 spontaneously turn into dragons and devour their unfaithful and unloving husbands in what is called the "Mass Dragoning". I loved how the history in this book was treated as non-fiction, with scholarly papers about this dragoning event interspersed between the chapters.

The main character, Alex, was immediately compelling and a character who is easy to sympathize with. This book made me simultaneously angry at all the gaslighting and sexism she has to deal with, but the idea of women rising up and becoming fire-breathing magical beasts was definitely empowering. I could go on and on— I just loved this book!

This speculative historical novel set in 1950s America which personifies women breaking out of the constriction of the era by “dragoning” is thematically very similar to Lessons in Chemistry, which I read recently, but is light years away from it in terms of genre and style. Where Chemistry is frothily realistic, Dragons is slow and rather serious - your choice but my preference is always for the funny.

Alex(andra) Green is a strange child living in strange times. On April 25, 1955, there was a Mass Dragoning in which 642,987 American women became dragons. Some simply flew off, others took vengeance on husbands or bosses before leaving. But it was an event, along with other spontaneous dragonings that happened before or after, that was never to be spoken of, never acknowledged, and never to be thought about. This puts Alex in a tricky position because her Aunt Marla dragoned and vanished from the family’s story and she left behind her small daughter Beatrice who then becomes Alex’s sister.

The novel moves rather sluggishly through Alex’s childhood, her passionate friendship with another girl that is abruptly stopped by her father, and her mother’s death. Following this event, it picks up a little, for me, when Alex’s father moves her and Beatrice into a rundown apartment to fend for themselves while he moves in with his mistress and their children. The fragile relationship and the contrast between the two girls is beautifully drawn: Beatrice is effervescent and physical, Alex is quieter and intellectual but they have such a strong bond as they only have each other.

The novel is interspersed with academic papers and presentations about dragoning which gives us a wider context and introduces us to characters who later appear in the book. There’s also a librarian who is a crucial figure both in Alex’s life and in the wider world - yay librarians!

I found dragoning as an expression of early feminism to be maybe a little heavy handedly metaphorical but at the same time, I delighted in the author’s translation of the longing women feel for something “beyond the limits of the daily tasks of washing and straightening and keeping up appearances” and their busting out of their limits to be very satisfying. The description of Marla as someone who’s “always been bigger on the inside than she is on the outside” is very evocative.

I truly enjoyed the scenes of when the dragons start coming back home, ready to pick up domestic tasks again but with a new perspective. I usually avoid novels with dragons in them because it’s often a signal for the type of fantasy I don’t enjoy. Dragons here, however, are symbols and it works pretty well.

Thanks to Doubleday and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

This book made me angry and so happy all at once.

I really liked our main character and the growth she goes through as she goes from cousin ot sister to mother as the world changes around her. I adored the female rage turned dragoning.

I have recommended this to every person born and socialized female that I have come across. Stunning and so important.

Dragons and fantasy and feminists. Probably all you need to hear to read this one! It’s stunning! The story captures you right from the beginning and in the end you are left hoping and wishing this was the world you lived in! The author did a wonderful job of writing about the strength of women—who are all powerful dragons in their own ways! I loved this book and would recommend to anyone!

What would happen in America if women got so fed up with the way men treat them and the way men run the world? They'd spontaneously turn into dragons of course, and start to use their strength and power to set things right. Eventually. I loved this book so much I was upset when I got to the end and had to accept that it wasn't non-fiction.

Kelly Barnhill is an exquisite storyteller! I love that this story isn't so allegorical that it feels moralizing. I love that the mystery of it all is kept a little vague. I also really appreciate that she can tell a gender-specific speculative story without, to my eyes, being transphobic about it (but listen to reviews from trans readers over my opinion). The way this story doles out details keeps you absolutely spellbound and it's a real treat. The Girl Who Drank the Moon is probably my all time favorite middle grade fantasy, and I sincerely hope Kelly Barnhill continues writing for adults because I'm selfish!

A fascinating story, strangely reminiscent of Roald Dahl's 'The Witches' - I enjoyed every moment of this strong tale of powerful women.

I am breathless. This book has taken my breath away and replaced it with hope and happiness. I am familiar with Kelly Barnhill’s works as a former middle school librarian. I had high expectations. I am not disappointed. I am thrilled knowing someone has the imagination to create this world of dragons, and that this same someone has the ability to write it down in such a compelling, memorable style. I will not be the only reader who glances skyward just to double check.
Feminism, civil rights, LGBLT, adoption, divorce, poverty. Diamonds, rubies, gold, poetry, tenderness, love. What a pattern Ms Barnhill has woven for us.

While the beginning was compelling, I slowly started to feel less and less engaged as it went on. The story felt like it dragged a bit, and I just didn't vibe with the tone of the book.

When Women Were Dragons is at once steeped in the reality of our world's insistence on females being the lesser, weaker sex (in the 1950s and '60s when this book is set, as well as now) and a soaring fantasy about what would be if women became dragons.

Alexandra "Alex" Green lives in a world where men and women have their separate spheres, and she is expected to be seen and not heard, especially as a female child. Her mother is brilliant, but forcibly hides that brilliance as to not make her husband and other men uncomfortable. Her aunt Marla is an enigma - she flew planes and worked on their engines during World War II, then became an auto mechanic when she came back at her parents' deaths. Marla loves her sister very much and takes care of her when she's sick, but their relationship is difficult because of the different lives they lead.

Alex sees a woman "dragoning" - making the change from woman to dragon - when she is 4, but didn't have the words or the context to really understand. Dragoning is not talked about in polite society, and very little is taught to children about the phenomena. When someone she loves turns into a dragon, and other calamities leave her alone in the world, other than her cousin/sister Beatrice, Alex must find her own path forward and make her peace with dragons and dragoning.

Dragoning can be seen as a metaphor for the power of women, and how anything that challenges the patriarchal control of women is ignored, or deemed embarassing, or seen as sinful/traitorous/criminal. What makes this book so good is you can imagine this happening, women releasing their power into the world, and taking off to explore the galaxy, or fix society's injustices.

It has always seemed to me that women who were "allowed" to work outside the home during the war and found they liked it very much, must have really struggled when the men came back and they were told they were no longer needed. It's not that women don't work, it's that women's work is not valued. I seethed along with Alex when her father implies that education is wasted on someone who will just wash dishes and take care of children. I cheered for Alex as she got the highest grades on math tests and took correspondence courses from colleges because her math skills were beyond the skills of the teachers at her school, but then got frustrated along with her when the new principal her senior year ignored all of that and put her in the same Calculus class she had taken her freshman year.

When Women Were Dragons is a book about women blazing their own path, whether that path is a traditional one or one that cannot be imagined by others. It is about the family you make which may or may not include your biological family. It is about accepting people for who they are and loving each other freely and without judgment.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this wonderful book.

I was drawn to both the cover and the title, but I honestly didn't have any idea what to expect when I started reading this. I certainly wasn't expecting a beautiful feminist historical fantasy.