Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

29 reviews

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Exquisite. Exquisite! I can write paragraphs of nitpicky thoughts about books I like but books I love often turn my brain to mush. This is one of those books I think

This book is full of love, rage, vindication, revenge, grief,… do yourself a favor & just read it! 

A quick but lasting read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Racism and War

katiecentabar's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.25

I enjoyed where this book ended up but I didn't always love the journey to get there. There were times that felt very gender essentialist and there were  moments that alluded to the ongoing Civil Rights movement. I think there's a very specific reason it was set in the 50s and I wish that had been explored more fully ie. in a way other than "patriarchy is bad". 

I would have preferred split narratives to get different perspectives on dragoning because the most compelling parts of this story were not the main character. I really enjoyed the last third of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Dysphoria

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual harassment

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Abandonment

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, and Grief

Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

chloemakesbooks's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

Although I do think the end of the book could have stood to get a haircut of about 50 pages or so (typical youth fiction author feels the need to play out the entire lives of her characters) the book was an interesting foray into magical realism, with some really difficult hit-too-close-to-home moments and some beautiful passages toward the end. I wish the author had spent more time with the dragons (and clearly, she wanted to, hence the drag toward the end) but what time we did get was lots of fun. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Homophobia, Sexism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

breadwitchery's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

faduma's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Death of parent

kshertz'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I friggin loved this book. It could be the time period. I love the idea of women becoming dragons spontaneously in 1955. It’s a result of anytime the woman is suppressed, or had their rights pushed away, or tried to be put in a box. There’s a few stories going on but the main is a family where the mom doesn’t spontaneously dragon but probably should have, and the aunt does. The young daughter is left to pick up the pieces and decide what she and her cousin (pretend now sister) will do. Her dad is trash. The other side is people trying to silence all the dragonings happening. There are fake centers for learning and congressional hearings. It’s just brilliant in my humble opinion. I only loved it more when I found out it was written and dedicated to Christine Blasey Ford and written after the Brett Kavanaugh hearing. I think if you’re currently enraged and feeling helpless, this book made me feel a little less alone. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

clhtdr's review against another edition

hopeful reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

beforeviolets's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to Doubleday for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

DISCLAIMER: I'm still very much processing my thoughts on this book and will likely come back to this review to add/edit my thoughts.

All I need to know to pick up a book is "sapphics and dragons" and that's exactly what gravitated me towards this work, which I would describe as a false historical memoir about women transforming into dragons.

This book is nothing but rage against the patriarchy, and I was here for it. With all feminist literature, I worry about TERF rhetoric or about a lack of intersectionality, and fortunately this book passed the test. Coast is all clear of TERF behavior and trans women are even mentioned to be included among the study of women who turn into dragons. I wouldn't say its centered around intersectionality, but it wasn't lacking to a point of ignorance.

The way that dragons were utilized as an allegory for women freeing themselves of the confines of a misogynistic society was incredibly clear and well done. From how dragoning was treated as "dirty" along with conversations about menstruation, to how scientific facts are silenced for the sake of an oppressive status quo, it all felt very relevant. There was even a pro-dragon protestor at one point holding a sign that said "My Body, My Choice." Though historical, the rage of these women breaks through time and space, asserting this book's importance even in modern day.

I do enjoy the way it read as a coming-of-age memoir, and appreciated having a character to ground us in the reality of women's hardships, but I do wish that the book had leaned into the potential of its fantasy elements a bit more. Especially towards the end, I felt as though it wrapped up rather swiftly, leaving me feeling a little empty-handed. The book spends so much time mentioning how freeing it is for women to become dragons, and we even hear some dialogue from characters as they turn into dragons, but I wish we as an audience had been granted a sliver of a dragon POV.

To be honest, I wish we could have seen Alex transform at the very end. Even if we didn't see beyond transformation, just to get a glimpse into that process. I also just felt like the book was leading to that, and when it didn't, it felt quite anti-climactic.

Overall, if you're looking for a unique piece of speculative fiction about feminism and the importance of scientific discovery and discussion, I would recommend this. Especially if you love sapphics and dragons.

CW: misogyny, homophobia, parental death (father, offscreen/mother from cancer, onscreen), parental abandonment, child abuse (emotional, physical), panic attack, alcoholism, fire (mention), death, animal cruelty/death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Panic attacks/disorders