efsimpkin 's review for:

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

3.75

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This was a lot more focussed on sisterhood and motherhood than it was about dragons. I was hoping, through the relentless insistence on Alex rather than Alexandra, we were going to see gender nuances to dragoning, and a deeper explanation of the queer themes touched upon, but it didn’t seem to happen. We had lots of Alex just straight up ignoring things or not bothering to think about things, all to extend the plot. This felt more YA and should be advertised as such, I think. I was skimming by the end -

Beatrice being a peacekeeper and the “chosen one” felt so cliché and cheapened the book for me.