Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - When Women Were Dragons

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When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

42 reviews

jennmichelle_otsr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

I really did love this read, but something is keeping me from giving it five stars. Some of the imagery in the second half made me want to grab my sketchbook because Ms. Barnhill painted some vivid pictures with her words. I think ultimately the reason I am giving it a 4.75 is because at points the main messages got a little more heavy-handed than was needed. It is a beautiful story. It made me laugh, cry, and made me get angry at points (I’m looking at you, Mr. Green.). Good stories do that. They also make you look back at things when they pop up later. Strong threads go throughout this entire tale. Blending in history with the fantasy was a stroke of genius. It will probably be among my top reads of 2024 when all is said and done because I really did enjoy it. I want to read some of the author’s YA books now.

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questionable_reader's review against another edition

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reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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itshrewsbury's review against another edition

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4.0

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kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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atsuanna's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.75

“All women are magic.

Literally all of us. It's in our nature.

It's best you learn that now."

Oh goodness… words cannot describe how this book made me feel? It’s so different from what I normally read so it was really difficult to get through at some points, it felt longer then it needed to be for me. But I adore how Alex grew into herself and as a character, the sister dynamics that tug your heart, the overall message, there’s just so much to talk about. This book is for all the women who feel stuck in place, who have seen the women they admire and love the most be worn down but a society that wasn’t ready to see their light or hear their words, who have seen the pure joy and love you can only feel with each other, who want to be more then society tells them they are. This book is heartbreaking in all the best ways, the kind of book that feels like an elder telling you a story of their life. It’s honestly magic.

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grubrednuf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This book utterly destroyed me. When I saw the book dedication to Christine Blassey Ford I anticipated a hard read. The first page was intriguing and hooked me but the story was slow to 'get to the point' already, once it did I could not put it down- I had to know how it ended.

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