purplesquirrelbookparade 's review for:

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

4.0

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💜💜💜💜 When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill is a feminist, thought-provoking tale set in 1950s America, reimagined around an extraordinary event: The Mass Dragoning of 1955. Hundreds of thousands of wives, mothers, and daughters suddenly transformed into dragons—sprouting wings, scales, and talons—and took to the skies, leaving behind families, homes, and a society scrambling to erase their existence.

We follow Alex Green, a young girl told never to speak of what happened—even when her beloved Aunt Marla dragons, her cousin Bea becomes dangerously fascinated with dragons, and her own mother’s silence grows heavier. Through Alex’s eyes, the novel explores the limits placed on women in education, careers, and personal freedom; the societal ostracism faced by women who refuse to fit in the “box”; and the complicated bonds of family, love, and acceptance.

The writing is lyrical without being fussy, and the audiobook narration pulled me into Alex’s emotional journey. Lovely, moving, and quietly fierce. This one lingers.