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brewijen's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Really enjoyed and would recommend but don’t know if I’d re-read, perhaps. Slow ish start, mid exciting pickup, then kinda flat ending.
Great view/imagining of world addressing patriarchy and feminine power/strength/rage
Great view/imagining of world addressing patriarchy and feminine power/strength/rage
sheltonmegan22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
elenival's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
slow start but after 120 pages i didn’t want to stop reading. very heavy-handed on the feminism but that was to be expected, would have liked for it to touch on the civil rights movement though. i particularly liked alex and her complicated relationship with her mother, and how she deals with (or rather avoids dealing with) grief.
katvanfos's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, and Homophobia
Minor: Alcoholism
ncataldo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
3.5
bb_11's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
"Is it possible for a book to say feminist things yet not be feminist?", was possibly my book clubs best discussion topic after reading this book. Ultimately, we decided yes it is possible and we have "When Women were Dragons" to thank for it. This book was all over the place narratively and thematically. Any single issue the author was willing to tackle was burdened by her attempt to tackle 15 other things all at once. This led to a strangely paced, contradictory, and emotionally whiplashing plot.
Another sentiment my bookclub shared: we couldn't wait for the first half of the novel to be over, but then the second half made us miss the first half! The end of book "climax" completely invalidates the main character's development and obliterates the stakes all at once.
Would recommend if you want to challenge yourself to critically deconstruct feminish literature and uncover evidence as to why a novel needs more than women>men to say something powerful.
Another sentiment my bookclub shared: we couldn't wait for the first half of the novel to be over, but then the second half made us miss the first half! The end of book "climax" completely invalidates the main character's development and obliterates the stakes all at once.
Would recommend if you want to challenge yourself to critically deconstruct feminish literature and uncover evidence as to why a novel needs more than women>men to say something powerful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Misogyny
Minor: Body horror
amyjoy's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I really loved this one! I was pleasantly surprised at how queer it is, and I just love the idea of half a million women turning into dragons and eating their husbands. I also felt like this is the book that Lessons in Chemistry thought it was. So many of the basic themes are similar, dragons aside, and I just feel like Barnhill was so much more successful executing them.
mouseczko's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
maddysjustadream's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
5.0
pjustin's review against another edition
1.0
This was absolute garbage. Couldn't even finish it...which has literally never happened to me before. EVER. If I could give it zero stars I would. Saving this for the next community book-burning.