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victoria29's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
There were aspects that I enjoyed. Overall, I felt like it was heavy handed. People and situations were either good or bad with little nuance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cancer, Homophobia, Abandonment, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Death of parent
delvainy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
This book was even better than I anticipated it being. Part of me worried it would be kinda White Feminism-y and shallow in that way, but those fears were completely unfounded. I cried several times. This book was perfectly designed to make me cry, actually, with its deep emphasis on sisterhood and the connection between women. I mean that as a compliment. I think the choice of setting was excellent in making the point. I cannot wait to buy a physical copy and give it a home on my shelf. I loved this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Abandonment
darkblueem's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
5.0
oh my god. I have had this book since December 2022 and I've only just now read it and I can't believe it took me this long. this book is a masterpiece. it's fantastic. Barnhill's writing is captivating and compelling and seamless. the characters are bright and sad and flawed and perfect and absolutely THEM. highly highly HIGHLY recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse
joa_price's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
This book is wonderful and heartbreaking and has made me rethink all of my family ties with a kinder heart. I loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Abandonment, and Grief
dfbballinger's review
adventurous
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent and Child abuse
jacquibear's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Sexism, and Racism
Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Lesbophobia
ka_ke's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? No
4.5
Calling all feminists, this book is a must read. A carefully balance mix of fantasy and memories, When Women Were Dragons shares the stories and the struggles of those who fought for the rights we have (for now at least) so that we may preserve their memories and work towards a better future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Sexism, Misogyny, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Dysphoria, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
thequeengeek's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I have spent a large amount of time debating in my mind and with other people about whether this book is magical realism or urban fantasy. And I think that is part of the strength of the book. It's a tale of a world where mainly women have a secret power that no one may speak of or study because the innate womanlyness of it makes it dirty and unseemly. The political and historical mystery helps keep the plot moving, but it is far from the soul of the book. The magic is both in plain sight and never spoken of. It's everywhere, but no one is permitted to admit they have seen it. And that layer of silence and shame is the background for a moving family story between a girl and the women in her life.
I think what makes this book so engrossing and moving is exploring the implications and impacts of the allegory/fantasy element on a single family. The POV character is telling the story of her childhood and young adulthood from later in her life. So she both has the the ability to tip off the reader on the outcomes, but also give the proper emotional weight to each event as she describes it. The world-building is told through the main character and so it sometimes is a little unclear and it sometimes is a little fantastical, but the world is so well made and tangible that you believe her description of it, even when you know she's retelling her impressions as a young child from well in the future.
I don't want to give too much of the book away, but it totally undid me. I deeply cared for the POV character Alex, and her little family. I felt her loss and her yearning acutely. By the time I got to the end of the book I was sobbing both for what she looses but also what she gains.
The weaknesses of this book are similar of those you get in many "gender plague" books, they aren't the same. While Barnhill does a better job than 99% of other authors taking on the weird particularities of something being tied to gender in a world where there is a lot of gender variance but society ignores it, it could leave you with questions of "what about people like me?" Though it's said that not all people who dragon are women and that there are accounts of LGBTQ+ people (as they appeared in 1950-60s Wisconsin) dragonning, it's more set dressing than plot point. The one thing that saved this for me and made me love the book and not be overwhelmed by this line of critique in other similar themed books (like The Power) is that choice is involved. The idea that choice comes into play means that there's a lot more room to exist and exhale in the worldbuilding.
The other weakness for me is in the back half of the book where the plot takes us into the less magical realist and more fantastical realm. It's a really emotional and exciting time in the narrative and the world we are in, but somehow the physical descriptions can border on ridiculous or humerous. Maybe a little too much.
That said, I finished this book and IMMEDIATELY wanted to find people to talk to about it. The more I think about it, the more allegory, meaning, and humanity I see in it. And the way it can both be a complicated and touching book about mothers and daughters and a powerful story of agency in the face of oppression is uniquely moving.
I think what makes this book so engrossing and moving is exploring the implications and impacts of the allegory/fantasy element on a single family. The POV character is telling the story of her childhood and young adulthood from later in her life. So she both has the the ability to tip off the reader on the outcomes, but also give the proper emotional weight to each event as she describes it. The world-building is told through the main character and so it sometimes is a little unclear and it sometimes is a little fantastical, but the world is so well made and tangible that you believe her description of it, even when you know she's retelling her impressions as a young child from well in the future.
I don't want to give too much of the book away, but it totally undid me. I deeply cared for the POV character Alex, and her little family. I felt her loss and her yearning acutely. By the time I got to the end of the book I was sobbing both for what she looses but also what she gains.
The weaknesses of this book are similar of those you get in many "gender plague" books, they aren't the same. While Barnhill does a better job than 99% of other authors taking on the weird particularities of something being tied to gender in a world where there is a lot of gender variance but society ignores it, it could leave you with questions of "what about people like me?" Though it's said that not all people who dragon are women and that there are accounts of LGBTQ+ people (as they appeared in 1950-60s Wisconsin) dragonning, it's more set dressing than plot point. The one thing that saved this for me and made me love the book and not be overwhelmed by this line of critique in other similar themed books (like The Power) is that choice is involved. The idea that choice comes into play means that there's a lot more room to exist and exhale in the worldbuilding.
The other weakness for me is in the back half of the book where the plot takes us into the less magical realist and more fantastical realm. It's a really emotional and exciting time in the narrative and the world we are in, but somehow the physical descriptions can border on ridiculous or humerous. Maybe a little too much.
That said, I finished this book and IMMEDIATELY wanted to find people to talk to about it. The more I think about it, the more allegory, meaning, and humanity I see in it. And the way it can both be a complicated and touching book about mothers and daughters and a powerful story of agency in the face of oppression is uniquely moving.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Sexism, and Abandonment
percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book gave me trauma, and I'm only half-joking. Okay, for real though, When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill cracked open a lot of feelings and thoughts I've had all my life and especially now as an adult as I try to explore exactly who I am in this world. This book is about identity, it is about trauma, it is about rage, it is about so much more than you can put into words.
When Kelly Barnhill wants you to believe in something, she puts her whole soul into it. By the end of this book, I was convinced that dragoning was real, and wondering why I couldn't dragon myself away, or even if I could. I know at times her metaphor can fall apart at the seams, but that's honestly what helped ground it for me. These are dragons, these are women. Dragoning can mean everything and it can mean nothing, though the latter would be unusual. Pretty much every time, that meaning made me want to cry. Often, I did cry while reading this book. And after finishing it too. It struck a chord in me so forcefully: the depiction of female generational trauma and the mixing of rage and sadness and hurt and unfairness and love one can have for their mother.
At times, I was a bit frustrated with Barnhill's decisions throughout the book. I needed a bit more about trans people and what dragoning meant for them, and I know I am not alone in feeling like the intersectional aspects of feminism were a bit lacking, though in some ways that seems par for the course of the 50s and 60s. This book filled me with emptiness at the lack of catharsis in some areas. There was a lot of build up and not enough resolution for me at times. Which, in some ways, feels perfect for the messiness of life, that truthfully we don't often get the catharsis we need. But I disliked the hollowness and in the end, I felt dissatisfied and want to scream, "Why?" and "It isn't fair!"
Do not look to this book to heal you, it will wring you dry. I can't wait for the day I will reread this, and pick things apart more. And maybe by then I'll have actually settled on a star rating for this book. For now, I leave that empty. This book is too much for me now.
When Kelly Barnhill wants you to believe in something, she puts her whole soul into it. By the end of this book, I was convinced that dragoning was real, and wondering why I couldn't dragon myself away, or even if I could. I know at times her metaphor can fall apart at the seams, but that's honestly what helped ground it for me. These are dragons, these are women. Dragoning can mean everything and it can mean nothing, though the latter would be unusual. Pretty much every time, that meaning made me want to cry. Often, I did cry while reading this book. And after finishing it too. It struck a chord in me so forcefully: the depiction of female generational trauma and the mixing of rage and sadness and hurt and unfairness and love one can have for their mother.
At times, I was a bit frustrated with Barnhill's decisions throughout the book. I needed a bit more about trans people and what dragoning meant for them, and I know I am not alone in feeling like the intersectional aspects of feminism were a bit lacking, though in some ways that seems par for the course of the 50s and 60s. This book filled me with emptiness at the lack of catharsis in some areas. There was a lot of build up and not enough resolution for me at times. Which, in some ways, feels perfect for the messiness of life, that truthfully we don't often get the catharsis we need. But I disliked the hollowness and in the end, I felt dissatisfied and want to scream, "Why?" and "It isn't fair!"
Do not look to this book to heal you, it will wring you dry. I can't wait for the day I will reread this, and pick things apart more. And maybe by then I'll have actually settled on a star rating for this book. For now, I leave that empty. This book is too much for me now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Cancer, Death of parent, Abandonment, Grief, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Body shaming, Violence, Outing, Sexual harassment, Rape, Child abuse, and Confinement
Minor: Gun violence, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, War, and Drug use
dealingwithdragons's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
I loved this book. I especially appreciated that the moment I wondered "where are the trans dragons" was the moment the trans dragons showed up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Cancer, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Gun violence
The mentions of guns are mainly in the context of "dragons are bulletproof". Body horror is entirely women turning into dragons.