A review by niyou
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book would have been much better as a novella or short story. In such a format the glaring whiteness of the characters and feminism might have been less obvious. Barnhill includes one (1) brief anecdote about African Americans. Indigenous peoples do not exist in this book. Towards the end of the story, the author goes full white savior with dragons advocating for minorities, educating foreign war lords and, get this, winning the Nobel Peace Price for it lmao. 

Someone publishing work in 2022 should know more and be better. Maybe Barnhill only writes what she knows, and if that is the case I urge her to step out of her bland little bubble and meet the rest of the world. 
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