Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

41 reviews

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

'To Shape a Dragon's Breath' by Moniquill Blackgoose is a fantastic start to a new YA fantasy series about a girl training to be a dragonrider so that she can bring dragon's back to her homeland. 
Dragons are scarce on Masquapaug so it is a surprise when Anequs finds a dragon egg and bonds with the hatchling. When the Anglish colonizers hear that a dragon has been born, they are unhappy and reluctantly allow Anequs to enroll at the dragon academy to study and potentially become a dragon rider. But at this new school, Anequs has to face a society that looks down on her people and doesn't believe that she is capable of studying at the school, let alone being a dragon rider. But Anequs' presence at the school has the potential to affect the political landscape and she is determined to do what she can so that she and her dragon can live and bring dragons back to Masquapaug. 
This is such a fantastic start to a fantasy series and I cannot wait until we learn more about the next installment. Blackgoose has created an engaging world reminiscent of North America, with steampunk and fantastical elements. She weaves together an engaging coming of age story that touches on colonization, representation, academia, and more. Her characters are easy to root for and fully fledged people that feel like they could walk right off the page. I'm fascinated to see where this story goes next as the first book introduces so many great concepts, a fascinating world, and great characters. If you like dragons, I cannot recommend this book enough. A wonderful start to a new fantasy series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Bullying, and Classism

Moderate: Genocide

Minor: Animal death, War, and Death of parent

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!

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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!

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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

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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

novella42's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

Such a phenomenal read, and my favorite speculative fiction book of the year! Indigenous otter dragons!!! Moniquill Blackgoose made a truly audacious worldbuilding choice I have never encountered before, and which took me something like 70 pages to understand. But once it clicked, I felt in awe of her. I won't spoil it for anyone, but the risk she took and the monumental effort she put into her worldbuilding absolutely paid off on multiple levels. 

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! 

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Content Warnings

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

noellelovesbooks's review

4.75

 Content Warnings: racism, colonialism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, blood, gun violence, hate crime, and violence.
Mention of: genocide, animal death, animal cruelty, suicide, death of parents, and internalized racism.

This book was incredible. I love all the lore within, how every so many chapters we get a story told to us, and I LOVE how the dragon's look.

Anequs is such a great main character. She knows who she is, where she's from, and isn't ashamed to speak up when she needs to. Although she's stuck living within a different culture, one that views hers as below them, she stand firm in her teachings and culture. She is determined to learn what she needs to ensure her dragon doesn't cause unintentional harm or danger so that she can return home and help her people.

I love that this book has short chapters, short chapters always make it easier to get through books imo.

I have no idea when book 2 is set to release but I look forward to learning more about Anequs, her people, those that she's connected to, and just more about her life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Gun violence, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexism, Hate crime, Racism, Homophobia, and Blood

Moderate: Genocide, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Suicide

yourbookishbff's review

challenging emotional informative reflective tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Animal death, Classism, Misogyny, and Genocide

epsilonecho's review

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A riveting exploration of an indigenous girl's journey into an unfamiliar, often hostile, colonial culture. Most of the story focuses on Anequs' experiences at school, while slowly developing a larger, more intricate plot in the background.

Possibly one of my favorite books I've ever read. Scratches the character-focused school story itch I obtained in childhood. Don't let some negative reviews about "lack of action" fool you: not all stories need to be directly about violence or conflict. This book proves that by immersing you into Anequs' life, not just her battles. 

I've also seen criticisms that the dragons don't so much in this book:

by the end of the book, most of the main character's dragons are just about a year old!

While dragons provide the impetus for the plot, they are not what the story is about. The story is about Anequs and her journey into this unfamiliar world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Ableism, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, War, Death, and Genocide

Minor: Animal death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Gun violence

All of the themes are treated very respectfully by the author, but they are serious and their impact on people shouldn't be lessened. Overall, I was never uncomfortable reading this book, and I felt the author handled all of these very delicate ideas very well as to not trigger readers, while also ensuring the emotional weight is understood.

bluebleeder2001's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Ableism, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, Animal death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

brogan7's review

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

4.5

A rollicking tale!  Dragons, colonialism, a boarding school, a rebellious, smart, questioning student, young love, a world of inequalities and contradictions, all make for a grand adventure.

There are some distractions, such as lengthy bifurcations of the plot to attend to finer points of chemistry in an invented language, well beyond this reader's interest, and a focus and fascination on the finer points of sewing that made me think if she talks about another dress I am just going to stop reading.

Also, parts of the book (the chapter titles, the style) read more like a 19th century English novel than like 21st century steam punk fantasy, but again, I felt great tolerance for this because the characters, the world building, the dragons!!, the relationships between the characters, and the storytelling were so rich and engaging and compelled you to read more.

I'm not sure what were the antecedents to this story...the boarding school / magic boarding school trope but it's much more than that...a story of resistance and diversity and alliances in the face of the ugliness of the world in ways both big and small...

Not to be missed.  We all want to be Nampeshiweisit now!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Sexism, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Animal death, and Classism