Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

5 reviews

arood's review

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Alcoholism, Grief, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

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

atamano's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Xenophobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Grief and Fire/Fire injury

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

Ugh 😫 the first half of this book was delightful. The middle was a challenge, and the end complicated.

The premise is unique. In the 50s, a bunch of women turned into dragons, and they left. Alex, the primary's story, is one of remembering and forgetting as her culture remembers and forgets.

If you read it as a memoir, the story flows like water. 

It centers rage, trauma, and healing, and it leans into an idea that if women had more power the world would be better. I find this challenging since colonialism and white supermacy wield white feminism as both a shield and a knife. 

It's a book I'm going to be thinking about for a long time. It is both tragic and hopeful, sad and sweet, and creative and destructive. 

I can't get over the how it centers white people in stories of black and brown people though. If recommend it to a specific type of reader. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Abandonment, Cancer, Grief, Misogyny, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Physical abuse, War, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, and Dysphoria

Further warning for descriptions of menstruation.