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A review by trips
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Wow! I wish more people were reading this book! I know there is a dragon craze right now (in 2023 as I'm writing this) so please pick this up!! Its got dragons!! Small bits of romance!! Written by an indigenous author with an indigenous MC!! Cute dragons!!
This was a wonderful YA debut. There were a lot of aspects of this book I thought would bother me but ultimately they didn't by the end of this book.
-I initially felt eh about the colonizers being called the Anglish but honestly, I kinda loved how Anequs kinda lumps all the Anglish as one amalgamation of culture from her perspective, cause that is exactly how we see Native American culture being represented in white media...
-I was worried Anequs would be whisked away to dragon school and we wouldn't learn much about her people and culture, but, without spoiling much, I'm happy to say this wasn't the case! I'm super happy with how this played out in the story.
-I loved that Anequs has loving parents and siblings that all love and support her. I feel like this is so rare in YA fantasy. It honestly brought a tear to my eye as it was so nice to see a young girl with a huge worldly burden with a family that totally had her back.
There were some parts that really did feel like "Baby's first worldbuilding" but the events and plot of this story wholly makeup for it.
This was a wonderful YA debut. There were a lot of aspects of this book I thought would bother me but ultimately they didn't by the end of this book.
-I initially felt eh about the colonizers being called the Anglish but honestly, I kinda loved how Anequs kinda lumps all the Anglish as one amalgamation of culture from her perspective, cause that is exactly how we see Native American culture being represented in white media...
-I was worried Anequs would be whisked away to dragon school and we wouldn't learn much about her people and culture, but, without spoiling much, I'm happy to say this wasn't the case! I'm super happy with how this played out in the story.
-I loved that Anequs has loving parents and siblings that all love and support her. I feel like this is so rare in YA fantasy. It honestly brought a tear to my eye as it was so nice to see a young girl with a huge worldly burden with a family that totally had her back.
There were some parts that really did feel like "Baby's first worldbuilding" but the events and plot of this story wholly makeup for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Ableism, and Child abuse
Minor: Classism and Bullying