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theirgracegrace's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
My favourite part of this book was the worldbuilding! Blackgoose builds a world like our own, but without a Roman Empire or Christianity, the Europeans have a distinctly Norse flair that matches well with the themes of resistance against colonialism. Each character has distinctive features, mannerisms and traits that make them real and powerful parts of the narrative.
Eagerly awaiting the next book of this series, particularly in light of the final handful of chapters!
Graphic: Slavery, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Ableism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Genocide, Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Animal death, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: War and Medical content
Minor: Cannibalism, Cursing, Infidelity, and Vomit
garrettcz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Colonisation, Racism, Ableism, and Classism
Moderate: Hate crime, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Racism, Genocide, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Racism, Racial slurs, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexism, Colonisation, Animal death, Biphobia, Classism, Murder, Lesbophobia, Death, and Death of parent
spicycronereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The story is set against a backdrop of colonialism in progress. The setting moves between the “mainland” and Masquapaug, an island off the coast of, I think, Nova Scotia or the upper northeast coast of what we think of as the United States. The Maquisit and their neighbors the Naquisit are trying to live in peace and preserve their way of life amidst ongoing attempts by Norse and English forces to colonize them. The setting includes some steampunk events as well as magic.
Anequs, the FMC, is a fifteen year old “woman.” I put woman in quotes because the indigenous customs are quite different from ours - she became a woman when she bled at age 13. The story centers on her as she is the first of her people in a long time to be chosen by a dragon and goes off to dragon school on the mainland, which is ruled by, and heavily steeped in the culture of the Anglish, a people of seeming Norse - British hybridity. She’s confident, assertive, and determined to do her best to benefit those whom she loves. She’s a mender in a lot of ways, always trying to repair broken relationships or to befriend those whom others would overlook or discard.
She is surrounded by a full cast of secondary characters, including two love interests, one female and one male. This is not a love triangle. She intends to court them both according to what is permissible in her culture though it should be noted that the neither romance advances very far. Maybe .25 🌶️ for a few swoony moments. The most important secondary character is Kasaqua and she is my absolute fave! A little dragon that acts like a kitten? Yes, please! Their relationship is really sweet to see developing. There is enough depth in Anequs’ friend groups and her brother, Niquiat’s, friend group that I hope we will see lots more of them in subsequent books.
The book has a lot of diverse representation. Anequs, her family, and Theod, Anequs’ male love interest, are all indigenous. Anequs is polyamorous and there is a FF couple among the faculty. There are characters and societies that seem to draw from Muslim and Asian cultures. Liberty, Anequs’ female love interest, is Black and her background seems to draw on some elements of a vaguely African culture.
Not much actually happens in terms of plot. There is a lot of worldbuilding and establishing of relationships. The story mainly revolves around Anequs starting at the school and her struggles with assimilation. There is a bit of political intrigue that develops toward the end, setting the stage for the next book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and I am intensely curious to see where it goes next. I wish a bit more had happened in this book, but what was there was done well enough that I feel good about investing more time in the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 / .25🌶️
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Bullying and Genocide
Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, and Animal death
trips's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was a wonderful YA debut. There were a lot of aspects of this book I thought would bother me but ultimately they didn't by the end of this book.
-I initially felt eh about the colonizers being called the Anglish but honestly, I kinda loved how Anequs kinda lumps all the Anglish as one amalgamation of culture from her perspective, cause that is exactly how we see Native American culture being represented in white media...
-I was worried Anequs would be whisked away to dragon school and we wouldn't learn much about her people and culture, but, without spoiling much, I'm happy to say this wasn't the case! I'm super happy with how this played out in the story.
-I loved that Anequs has loving parents and siblings that all love and support her. I feel like this is so rare in YA fantasy. It honestly brought a tear to my eye as it was so nice to see a young girl with a huge worldly burden with a family that totally had her back.
There were some parts that really did feel like "Baby's first worldbuilding" but the events and plot of this story wholly makeup for it.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Ableism, and Child abuse
Minor: Classism and Bullying
hawksrye's review
4.25
Moderate: Racism, Animal death, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Genocide, Slavery, Colonisation, Homophobia, Blood, Hate crime, Death of parent, Gun violence, Ableism, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Transphobia
novella42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Also, I don't know what the audiobook is like, but I can't imagine getting the same effect without a text version. I'm very glad I have the hardcopy so I could page back and forth to the pronunciations, maps, periodic table, etc. I wish I could share photos of the pronunciation guide because it's a sliver of a glimpse of the amount of brainpower Blackgoose poured into this work. I wish I could show you some of the heart, too, but for that you'll need to immerse yourself in the story.
As a lifelong wheelchair-user, I really enjoyed the steampunk wheelchair alternative (though if I were that character I'd probably try and develop some sort of smaller backup mobility aid to allow me to move into all the inaccessible places around the school where the larger device couldn't go). I loved the magical AAC device the neurodivergent character uses to communicate, too! Brilliant and respectful rep for disability, neurodivergence, queer, and polyam characters. I've been recommending it left and right. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Gun violence, Colonisation, Sexism, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Classism, Homophobia, Ableism, Violence, Biphobia, Racial slurs, and Genocide
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, War, Slavery, Transphobia, Body shaming, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse
rockyroadbutch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Blood, War, Homophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Bullying, Violence, Sexism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Child abuse, Classism, Slavery, and Lesbophobia
eguare's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, War, Homophobia, Ableism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Bullying, Murder, Slavery, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Death of parent
The book takes place in a fantasy version of 1840s "America" under colonization, with main characters including a young indigenous girl, a young indigenous boybookish_afrolatina's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
According to the author Moniquil Blackhoose, “To Shape a Dragon’s Breath takes place in southern New England (Rhode Island, Massachussetts) in the 1840s in a very alternate timeline — the Roman Empire never existed, the British Isles were settled by Scandinavian seafarers, and the European colonization of the east coast of the US is proceeding differently. “ Therefore, all of the names of the countries, religious practices, and culture of the colonizers of Turtle Island are almost entirely different from our reality.
I think that Blackgoose handled discussions of race, eugenics, queerness, polyamory, and the autism spectrum with care despite ableism, homophobia, and racism being acceptable by Anglish society. Anequs is our moral guide, in a sense.
I loved the pacing of this book. I found that no matter how many times I thought I knew what would happen next, I was wrong! So that was such a treat. I especially loved the way the characters shared their cultural stories.
The audiobook was lovely thanks to the narrator Charley Flyte! Part way through it I began to wish I had a print copy. Now that I’ve finished the book I know I absolutely want the print since I expect I’ll reread it before the second book comes out.
Y’all need to read this!!!
Graphic: Genocide, Child abuse, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racism, Ableism, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Animal cruelty, War, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Alcohol
quinnyquinnquinn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, and Bullying
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Classism, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, and Animal death