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alliekc1010's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It took me about 50% of the book to get used to the writing style, which has a lot of transitions in conversations and scenes that do not flow very well. However, I love the characters so much; they make the story amazing. TSADB is an excellent examination of colonization, racism, gender roles, and more from the perspective of an indigenous teenage girl in a reimagining of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. There is excellent depictions of queer relationships and autism spectrum disorder. I know that this is supposed to be a series, so I'm excited to see where Anequs and her friends go!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Genocide and Hate crime
There is a specific word in this book that I believe the author uses as a made-up racial slur against the indigenous peoples in this world. It is used very often throughout the book.cadence99's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I absolutely loved this book- incredibly lovable characters, dragon companions, romances that had me giggling and kicking my feet and a nice leisurely (though certainly high stakes at times!) plot to carry us along. I loved the intertwining of historical elements and serious subject matter woven into this fantasy world and truly cannot wait to see where the series leads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Bullying, Colonisation, Racism, and Ableism
Moderate: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Animal cruelty, War, Classism, Death of parent, Homophobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, and Hate crime
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Genocide
chaoticbookgremlin_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
4.75⭐️
To Shape a Dragon's Breath is an absolutely stunning debut. It offers itself up as a deeply-rooted criticism of the political and social ideals within Western European cultures, and does not shy away from the cultural appropriation and blatant racism taking place within its pages. It is a story about being presented with a role for which you are expected to fill, but being spurning it in favour of being true to your individuality and your own beliefs, and Moniquill Blackgoose executes it beautifully.
This is not a high-stakes, black-and-white good-vs-evil type of novel. The characters will not fight in an epic battle with the fate of the world on their shoulders. Instead, the conflict within this book are largely social and political, a battle of wills and social ideals over those of swords and armies. Worldbuilding and characterization are highly emphasized in favour of plot and epic scale, and I loved every minute of it.
The worldbuilding, especially, is where I think this book really shines. The worldbuilding is very heavy - and as somebody who loves heavy worldbuilding, this worked very well for me. While clearly modelled after our own world, the author creates a society so rife with original history and a deeply rooted sense of culture that I found myself astounded at its depth. The cultural conflicts, specifically between the Anglish and Masquisit people, were such a blatant reflection of a similar conflict taking place in our own history (both recent and not-as-recent) that I found myself, yet again, getting angry at the Euro-centric mindset that is still present today, the idea that their culture and civilization are the only correct one, and everybody else simply needs to be "civilized."
Which leads me into the characters - they were so delightfully complex, and flawlessly written with so many flaws. I had such a complicated relationship with so many of them, with they way they would do something iconic and badass one page, and then the next be spouting racist crap that, in retrospect, they've been taught since childhood, a racism so deeply rooted that it is difficult to move past - not that that is any excuse for the shit some people say to Anequs. One prime example of such a character is Karina Kuiper, who has a Mulan-esque backstory but also firmly believes that the Anglish perspective is the "correct" perspective, and that all other cultures must conform to this perspective, and it was... absolutely infuriating.
The utter infuriation this book was able to instill within me was probably my favourite part of this book. If you look at my top 5 favourite books, you'll notice a common theme among them - they've all, on some level, manage to instill a deeply rooted anger within me, mostly along the lines of misogyny, which is also definitely present in this book, but also with one group of people believing without question that they are objectively better than another. This book managed to accomplish that feeling, where such rage was weaved through that pages, and what I was feeling is both a personal reaction, and a hint of the POV character's own emotions spilling from the page, intertwining with my own. This book made me so mad. And I loved every minute of it.
In all honesty, the one factor that kept this book from being a true 5-star is that, as much as I loved the worldbuilding, sometimes it felt like it was not quite enough. I wanted to know more, to get a deeper understanding of the very foundations upon which this world was built upon, and I didn't quite get that. However, this was a phenomenal, emotional novel, and I highly, highly recommend it.
To Shape a Dragon's Breath is an absolutely stunning debut. It offers itself up as a deeply-rooted criticism of the political and social ideals within Western European cultures, and does not shy away from the cultural appropriation and blatant racism taking place within its pages. It is a story about being presented with a role for which you are expected to fill, but being spurning it in favour of being true to your individuality and your own beliefs, and Moniquill Blackgoose executes it beautifully.
This is not a high-stakes, black-and-white good-vs-evil type of novel. The characters will not fight in an epic battle with the fate of the world on their shoulders. Instead, the conflict within this book are largely social and political, a battle of wills and social ideals over those of swords and armies. Worldbuilding and characterization are highly emphasized in favour of plot and epic scale, and I loved every minute of it.
The worldbuilding, especially, is where I think this book really shines. The worldbuilding is very heavy - and as somebody who loves heavy worldbuilding, this worked very well for me. While clearly modelled after our own world, the author creates a society so rife with original history and a deeply rooted sense of culture that I found myself astounded at its depth. The cultural conflicts, specifically between the Anglish and Masquisit people, were such a blatant reflection of a similar conflict taking place in our own history (both recent and not-as-recent) that I found myself, yet again, getting angry at the Euro-centric mindset that is still present today, the idea that their culture and civilization are the only correct one, and everybody else simply needs to be "civilized."
Which leads me into the characters - they were so delightfully complex, and flawlessly written with so many flaws. I had such a complicated relationship with so many of them, with they way they would do something iconic and badass one page, and then the next be spouting racist crap that, in retrospect, they've been taught since childhood, a racism so deeply rooted that it is difficult to move past - not that that is any excuse for the shit some people say to Anequs. One prime example of such a character is Karina Kuiper, who has a Mulan-esque backstory but also firmly believes that the Anglish perspective is the "correct" perspective, and that all other cultures must conform to this perspective, and it was... absolutely infuriating.
The utter infuriation this book was able to instill within me was probably my favourite part of this book. If you look at my top 5 favourite books, you'll notice a common theme among them - they've all, on some level, manage to instill a deeply rooted anger within me, mostly along the lines of misogyny, which is also definitely present in this book, but also with one group of people believing without question that they are objectively better than another. This book managed to accomplish that feeling, where such rage was weaved through that pages, and what I was feeling is both a personal reaction, and a hint of the POV character's own emotions spilling from the page, intertwining with my own. This book made me so mad. And I loved every minute of it.
In all honesty, the one factor that kept this book from being a true 5-star is that, as much as I loved the worldbuilding, sometimes it felt like it was not quite enough. I wanted to know more, to get a deeper understanding of the very foundations upon which this world was built upon, and I didn't quite get that. However, this was a phenomenal, emotional novel, and I highly, highly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Hate crime, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
caitb_05's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, and Hate crime
Moderate: Ableism and Genocide
Minor: Misogyny and Homophobia
aksmith92's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What an interesting tale!
The setup: We follow Anequs, a 15-year-old from Masquapaug, the fictional island (known as Mack Island to white people) in the world Moniquill Blackgoose set up for us - FYI the map is very cool. I highly recommend you check that out in front of the book and the pronunciation guide.
Anequs is on Masquapaug with her lovely family when she sees a dragon, something improbable since dragons haven't been around for a long time on Masquapaug. The following day, she heads towards where she saw the dragon and finds an egg, returning it to her village. Next thing you know, it hatches and imprints itself onto Anequs. Anequs finds herself in a difficult situation - either she connects with the young Kasaqua (what she names the dragon) on her home island, or she leaves to go to the closest dragon school (yes, imprinting dragons are a thing, and there is a whole school for it!). She decides the latter since she needs to better understand how to communicate and work with her dragon - the art of doing so was lost on the island when their dragons left them some centuries ago. So, Anequs finds herself on an adventure to learn everything about controlling her dragon's breath - an essential piece of the dragon education system - but also finds herself in a very different and cold environment than the one on Masquapaug.
What I liked: I absolutely LOVED the world-building and plot in this novel. At times, it might have been a little dense, especially when Anequs was at school learning about components of the dragon's breath. But I loved every second; it was beyond innovative! This was the type of world-building and fantastical elements that I love to see. It was complicated. It was unique. It was original. Ugh, I had a blast. I also loved the characters. No two characters were alike, which I appreciated. They were all layered and dimensional, even the ones that you didn't necessarily love (I'm looking at you, Martha!). This book could, at times, be somewhat challenging. It incorporated deep racist threads to our world when it came to the Indigenous community, alongside colonialism, since this took place in the "1800s." (In quotes since this is what I would argue be a parallel world to our own history). But, while it was hard to read, it was essential to read.
What fell a little flat: This was not an action-packed book, in my opinion. There was some action near the end, but it was more of a narrative. There was a LOT of telling and only a little showing or doing. The writing style was sometimes like "I went to stand by Kasaqua to watch the clouds." "I went up to my room to read." And then, that was that. It was a VERY different writing style than I was used to, but it was still engaging. It didn't sway me too much since Blackgoose was no doubt trying to make this a YA novel, build the characters, and share a lot of the world-building in this book in a series.
Additionally (and lastly), I will say that while I loved Anequs's character (her uniqueness, candidness, and authenticity), there were times when I felt that it was unrealistic that she would say all of those things back at colonizers and not somehow get in more trouble. Anequs sometimes felt perfect and unwavering. While this certainly worked for the story and made me love Anequs in many ways, I thought it was occasionally unrealistic. It wasn't too big of a deal because I enjoyed reading about Anequs and her story.
Overall, this was a fantastic read. I have yet another dragon book that outweighs some other books I think may be a little overhyped (*cough cough iykyk*). I am looking forward to continuing this series when more are coming out.
The setup: We follow Anequs, a 15-year-old from Masquapaug, the fictional island (known as Mack Island to white people) in the world Moniquill Blackgoose set up for us - FYI the map is very cool. I highly recommend you check that out in front of the book and the pronunciation guide.
Anequs is on Masquapaug with her lovely family when she sees a dragon, something improbable since dragons haven't been around for a long time on Masquapaug. The following day, she heads towards where she saw the dragon and finds an egg, returning it to her village. Next thing you know, it hatches and imprints itself onto Anequs. Anequs finds herself in a difficult situation - either she connects with the young Kasaqua (what she names the dragon) on her home island, or she leaves to go to the closest dragon school (yes, imprinting dragons are a thing, and there is a whole school for it!). She decides the latter since she needs to better understand how to communicate and work with her dragon - the art of doing so was lost on the island when their dragons left them some centuries ago. So, Anequs finds herself on an adventure to learn everything about controlling her dragon's breath - an essential piece of the dragon education system - but also finds herself in a very different and cold environment than the one on Masquapaug.
What I liked: I absolutely LOVED the world-building and plot in this novel. At times, it might have been a little dense, especially when Anequs was at school learning about components of the dragon's breath. But I loved every second; it was beyond innovative! This was the type of world-building and fantastical elements that I love to see. It was complicated. It was unique. It was original. Ugh, I had a blast. I also loved the characters. No two characters were alike, which I appreciated. They were all layered and dimensional, even the ones that you didn't necessarily love (I'm looking at you, Martha!). This book could, at times, be somewhat challenging. It incorporated deep racist threads to our world when it came to the Indigenous community, alongside colonialism, since this took place in the "1800s." (In quotes since this is what I would argue be a parallel world to our own history). But, while it was hard to read, it was essential to read.
What fell a little flat: This was not an action-packed book, in my opinion. There was some action near the end, but it was more of a narrative. There was a LOT of telling and only a little showing or doing. The writing style was sometimes like "I went to stand by Kasaqua to watch the clouds." "I went up to my room to read." And then, that was that. It was a VERY different writing style than I was used to, but it was still engaging. It didn't sway me too much since Blackgoose was no doubt trying to make this a YA novel, build the characters, and share a lot of the world-building in this book in a series.
Additionally (and lastly), I will say that while I loved Anequs's character (her uniqueness, candidness, and authenticity), there were times when I felt that it was unrealistic that she would say all of those things back at colonizers and not somehow get in more trouble. Anequs sometimes felt perfect and unwavering. While this certainly worked for the story and made me love Anequs in many ways, I thought it was occasionally unrealistic. It wasn't too big of a deal because I enjoyed reading about Anequs and her story.
Overall, this was a fantastic read. I have yet another dragon book that outweighs some other books I think may be a little overhyped (*cough cough iykyk*). I am looking forward to continuing this series when more are coming out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Hate crime, and Violence
saltylane's review
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I enjoyed reading this book, though some parts are a bit rough around the edges, imo. The world building is thorough, but I’m unsure if it all “worked” for me. Some words were used to replace common ones, like names of chemicals/elements, and those words were used in a way that I couldn’t follow what meant what, but that may have been wholly intentional, in order to show the reader how the main character, Anequs, felt being tossed into an unfamiliar world.
Some of the scenes were rather detailed to the point that I was a bit bored with them, like a couple of the class scenes wherein Anequs had to learn detailed concepts. It’s possible they were intentionally written that way to have the reader share the confusion of Anequs upon having to learn the complex concepts, but I almost skipped the scene entirely about midway through. On the other hand, some scenes were briefly described when I might’ve liked to read more about them in detail.
The descriptions of the dragons when they first appeared were added in such a way that it was hard for me to actually picture the individual creatures in my mind. The species were almost all described at once, and I couldn’t retain what they looked like after that point because the ideas blended together. The descriptions were thorough, but being introduced to most of them all at once made it harder for me to keep up with what was what afterwards. I would like to see illustrations of them, though, because they did sound interesting to see!
The story itself is inspiring as Anequs faces much adversity in the community she’s thrust into. The analogs to real-world issues can be painful a lot of the time, but it’s informative and inspiring when Anequs fights to make change. The way she becomes an agent for change in those around her with her tenacity and kindness/empathy is heartwarming.
Overall, I enjoyed the read, and I look forward to the sequels.
Some of the scenes were rather detailed to the point that I was a bit bored with them, like a couple of the class scenes wherein Anequs had to learn detailed concepts. It’s possible they were intentionally written that way to have the reader share the confusion of Anequs upon having to learn the complex concepts, but I almost skipped the scene entirely about midway through. On the other hand, some scenes were briefly described when I might’ve liked to read more about them in detail.
The descriptions of the dragons when they first appeared were added in such a way that it was hard for me to actually picture the individual creatures in my mind. The species were almost all described at once, and I couldn’t retain what they looked like after that point because the ideas blended together. The descriptions were thorough, but being introduced to most of them all at once made it harder for me to keep up with what was what afterwards. I would like to see illustrations of them, though, because they did sound interesting to see!
The story itself is inspiring as Anequs faces much adversity in the community she’s thrust into. The analogs to real-world issues can be painful a lot of the time, but it’s informative and inspiring when Anequs fights to make change. The way she becomes an agent for change in those around her with her tenacity and kindness/empathy is heartwarming.
Overall, I enjoyed the read, and I look forward to the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Colonisation, Misogyny, Classism, Sexism, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Grief, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, Slavery, War, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Look at me, you are going to want to quit this book at the first third where they start introducing fantasy chemistry. DO NOT. I promise it is worth it for the way it is used later in the book, with a twist that made me gasp aloud. I do think in general this book would be greatly improved by just saying this is America but it has dragons, deal with it, instead of making the audience memorize fantasy words for everything. Other than that I had so much fun. I really liked the characters, with Anequs someone I would have been utterly obsessed with if I had this book at the right age. I love that she knows who she is, what she wants, and what is right and she is going to do that. The bisexual poly romance is super cute as well. And the exploration of native vs colonizer ways of the same knowledge was so interesting. I called my roommate when I got to the dance reveal, I was so excited. Can't wait for the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, and Sexism
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Hate crime, Murder, and Animal death
Minor: Genocide, Slavery, and War
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
This was really enjoyable. A decent amount of plot and a lot of excellent world building. I enjoyed the various folklores, the representation of queer and poly relationships, and the autistic representation. The dragons! So many different dragons. I love reading about them. I also love the bond that they have with their chosen people. The pronunciation guide at the beginning is super helpful!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Colonisation, Murder, and Sexism
Moderate: Hate crime, Genocide, Racial slurs, Death, Classism, Transphobia, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Bullying, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
hawksrye's review
4.25
Content Warnings
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
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
If you want to read an incredibly well-written fantasy with vivid and expansive worldbuilding (which will, to the American reader, seem verrrry familiar) that involves dragons, some queer romance, and, most importantly, a clever young Indigenous woman handily beating the racist colonizers at their own game even with all the chips stacked against her, then this is an absolute MUST.
I read this in audiobook format on a couple long drives, and I thought the narrator, Charley Flyte, was really impressive. It was an engaging and thrilling listening experience.
This story will make you laugh, it’ll make you cheer, and it’ll most certainly make you viscerally angry. I highly HIGHLY recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Ableism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Death of parent, Classism, and Hate crime
Minor: Homophobia and Gun violence