Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - When Women Were Dragons

Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

40 reviews

sydniv's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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hannahpings's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

3.75

didn't really grip me until the third act, which was wonderful––and retrospectively enhanced the first and second, closing a loop and tying off a careful and intricate knot that barnhill began on dragons' first page. some strong craftmanship and a remarkably well-earned emotional payoff that i'm not ashamed to say made me weep.

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kistasaurus's review

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emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

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val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

I predicted that this would be a new favorite book, sadly it isn’t, but still I really liked it and it’s a 4 ⭐ for me.

I remembered so little of the synopsis I thought this was set in a time before Christ even or in just a little town in the middle of nowhere with very few civilization, I was very surprised when I saw that this was set in the second half of the 1900’s.

I didn’t understand at first why so many women turned into dragons, I thought it was magic, but the fact that it’s presented as part of their BIOLOGY is crazy to me, it’s such an interesting concept. I don’t blame them at all for turning into dragons and leaving because it was mostly to escape men, but there were also some cases where they turned because it just made them happy and feel free and there was no men involved.

The way Alex’s father made my blood boil so many times in this book… he got an easy death for what he deserved. Then there’s her mother who is just… shit at communication, the only good thing she did was not abandoning her but I almost wish she did and killed her father in the process, maybe the girls would’ve been better off that way. He made me so mad I almost wanted to DNF, but this isn’t about him and I would’ve given him the power he doesn’t deserve, so he can go to hell and I’m glad I kept reading.

As Taylor Swift once said: fuck the patriarchy!

Her aunt Marla fits so perfectly the “stereotype” I just knew she loved women, and good for her because damn men are shit in this book, they’re all either sexist or misogynist, that’s the description of the society here to be honest.

We almost never see any representation of menstruation in books, so I was glad to have that here.

I can’t begin to explain what I felt reading how Alex had her friend Sonja and how they clearly liked each other, you know? Like the first innocent love as a child. And when they are together again when they grow up I was just so happy for them.

Alex is so incredibly strong because to Beatrice she was her cousin, sister and mother. She was a child raising another child and she did such a good job on her own and still stayed a good student. I felt sorry for her by the circumstance but at the same time I was proud and just wanted the best for her.

This is a book I would love to have in my library and recommend to every girl, I feel it’s such an important read because it shows how a sexist and misogynistic society was and is, talks about menstruation, about how lucky we are to have education for little girls and women, the importance of family, girls loving girls, having a support system, being free… there could be so many conversations around this, and I love that.

Dragons coming back is something I didn’t expected and it was so interesting to see how people reacted to this and changed their lives and spaces so dragons could study, work, be part of society. I really liked seeing Alex learning to live with and love her new family.

I loved the ending for the sisters and reading who they grew up to be.

Finally, I’ll just like to say that I absolutely LOVE this narrator, I loved picking up this audiobook and hearing her voice again, it was just so comforting and soothing, I will be checking out more of her work.

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throwback682's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

I almost DNF’d this book but I think I’m glad I didn’t.

The first 30% felt painfully slow to me. The rest of the book moved slow but not miserably so. Also in the first third the allegory felt incredibly heavy handed. I feel like later in the book there was a bit more nuance and I was able to enjoy it more and apply more of my own experience to the metaphor.

Things I liked:

- queer love stories
- affirmation that yes, trans women can dragon
- at least one vignette highlighting Black women’s particular struggles
- acknowledgment of sexual violence without triggering descriptions

I’m not sure what else to say; other people’s reviews will probably be more helpful.

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gabbishy's review

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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corabookworm's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

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

5.0

In 1955, in an event called the Mass Dragoning, thousands of women transformed into dragons and disappeared into the sky, leaving fire and destruction in their wake. Alex’s aunt was one of them. Shamed into silence, the girl struggles within the dynamics of her family and the oppressive world they live in.

When I read this book back in January, I expected exactly what the blurb pitched: a fiery feminist historical fantasy focused on female rage. Which I got. But (at least the first half of) this book was so much more. It covered complex themes of grief and motherhood and sisterhood and loss and love and shame and guilt and I devoured every single word. (And cried. Parts of this book struck close to home and OUCH.)

The concept itself is intriguing, and Barnhill’s execution is brilliant, packed with gorgeous prose and raw emotion. Parts of the story remain almost a mystery, unraveling through the passages between chapters and little clues scattered throughout the pages.

This book definitely has its flaws, as well. A few other reviewers have pointed out that this book views feminism through a very white and middle-class lens, which is a fair criticism and something to think about while reading. There’s some events that stretch reality a little (not including the whole turning-into-dragons thing) and it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea–it’s slow-paced, with lots of focus on characters and concepts.

However, if you enjoy literary fiction and historical fantasy, with a focus on the complexities of girlhood and female relationships, I’d check this one out! (Also there’s women. And dragons. <3)

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