#when women were dragons

[godzilla-reads]

“I was four years old when I first met a dragon. I never told my mother. I didn’t think she’d understand.”

—When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

[themelodyofspring]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

March 21 - Favourite Title

[saltwaterandstars]

JOMP BPC - 28th March - This Month's Favourite

I loved this so much. The whole idea of a mass dragoning in the 1950s is so compelling: hundreds of thousands of women, mostly put-upon wives and mothers, turning into huge, powerful dragons and just flying away. And then the story of how the US deals (or doesn't deal) with the aftermath of this event, and this being told alternately from the pov of a young girl and through suppressed scientific reports. So inventive and emotionally stirring.

[sapphic-book-tournament]

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan-

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.

Whe Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill-

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.

[the-final-sentence]

And now I will teach it to you.

Kelly Barnhill, from When Women Were Dragons

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote YES if you have finished the entire book.

vote NO if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[bookcub]

when women were dragons is quite good so far, im about 25% of the way through as of now. i love a fake autobiography, i love fantasy, I love dragons, and im all for a story centering on systematic sexism. . . .but theres no racial diversity so far, which is frustrating considering how many groups of women are mentioned and race is never mentioned, but based on context, i am guessing everyone is white, which might be a me problem. .. but this is set in the 50s in the US segregation is still in full swing, so i want to hear about the racism of it all too!! im hoping since im still in the beginning there is plenty of time to talk about marginalized groups of women in the novel.

we will see!!

[the-emerald-wyrm]

Ugh, the covers are just too pretty!!

I’m obsessed with anything as long as it has a dragon on the cover and between the pages 😋

[goliath1357]

Top 10 Books Read in 2022

[xensilverquill]

"Who benefits, my dear, when you force yourself to not feel angry?"

[apencilandpen]

when women were dragons by kelly barnhill is insane. its about dragons. its about feminism. its about covid. its about believing scientists. its about mcarthyism. its about rage. its about trauma. its about gender. its about taboos. its about a culture of silence. its about propriety. its about coming of age. its about “think of the children” politics. its about magic. its about being othered and othering yourself. its about outgrowing your old self. its about abandonment. its about retribution. its about reconciliation. its about forgiveness and not forgiving. its about change. its about history. its about aging. its about who benefits when you pretend not to be angry. its about community. its about the importance of libraries. its about names. its abo-

[themelodyofspring]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

August 20, 2023 - Made me feel...

[paradises-library]

I was four years old when I saw a dragon. I was four years old when I learned to be silent about dragons. Perhaps this is how we learn silence - an absence of words, an absence of context, a hole in the universe where the truth should be.

When Women Were Dragons, Kelly Barnhill

[sapphicbookoftheday]

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Today's sapphic book of the day is When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill!

Summary: "A rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are. The first adult novel by the Newbery award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve."

[thenavybluet-shirt]

“Anger is a funny thing. And it does funny things to us if we keep it inside. I encourage you to consider a question: Who benefits, my dear, when you force yourself not to feel angry… clearly not you”

-Mrs Gyzinska

When Women Were Dragons, Kelly Barnhill