When Women Were Dragons (an Enduring, Feminist Novel From New York Times Bestselling Author, Kelly Barnhill)

By (author) Barnhill Kelly
Short description/annotation
Imagine a world where women and girls can transform into dragons... Alex Green is four years old when she first sees a dragon.
Description
''A soaring coming-of-age novel.'' - THE OBSERVER ''Completely fierce, unmistakably feminist, and subversively funny. When Women Were Dragons brings the heat to misogyny with glorious imagination and talon-sharp prose.'' - Bonnie Garmus, LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY In a world where girls and women are taught to be quiet, the dragons inside them are about to be set free ... In this timely and timeless speculative novel, set in 1950s America, Kelly Barnhill exposes a world that wants to keep girls and women small - and examines what happens when they rise up. Alex Green is four years old when she first sees a dragon. In her next-door neighbour''s garden, in the spot where the old lady usually sits, is a huge dragon, an astonished expression on its face before it opens its wings and soars away across the rooftops. And Alex doesn''t see the little old lady after that. No one mentions her. It''s as if she''s never existed. Then Alex''s mother disappears, and reappears a week later, one quiet Tuesday, with no explanation whatsoever as to where she has been. But she is a ghostly shadow of her former self, and with scars across her body - wide, deep burns, as though she had been attacked by a monster who breathed fire. Alex, growing from young girl to fiercely independent teenager, is desperate for answers, but doesn''t get any. Whether anyone likes it or not, the Mass Dragoning is coming. And nothing will be the same after that. Everything is about to change, forever. And when it does, this, too, will be unmentionable... Perfect for fans of THE HANDMAID''S TALE, VOX, and THE POWER.
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In this soaring coming-of-age novel, Alex brings up her younger cousin Beatrice, awakening to independence, feminism and identity as she navigates Bea''s urge to "dragon". Fans of modern feminist classics such as The Power will find much to admire here; for teenage readers and beyond.
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Ferociously imagined, incandescent with feeling, this book is urgent and necessary and as exhilarating as a ride on dragonback.
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Completely fierce, unmistakably feminist, and subversively funny, WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS brings the heat to misogyny with glorious imagination and talon-sharp prose. Check the skies tonight - you might just see your mother.
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In lesser hands the dragon metaphor would feel simplistic and general, but Barnhill uses it to imagine different ways of living, loving, and caring for each other. The result is a complex, heartfelt story about following your heart and opening your mind to new possibilities. This novel''s magic goes far beyond the dragons.
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Such a divine book. Had me hooked from the author''s introduction, incredible to have such a moving inspiration following the story the whole way through! Barnhill has such a way with words, Alex was such a clear and easy character to read and Beatrice was incredibly vibrant, too! Literally couldn''t give higher praise.
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I loved the inspiration behind this book almost as much as the book itself. Reminiscent in some ways of The Power, this is a world where women can and do become dragons - and how the same world deals with this (don''t look; don''t think; don''t remember)
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When Women Were Dragons is a fabulously fierce, utterly original and unapologetically feminist novel that explores centuries of female rage, due to subjugation, violence and misogyny-leading women to spontaneously transform into DRAGONS. A relevant and timeless coming of age story that''s heartfelt, complex and thoroughly addictive...I also loved the inclusion of LGBTQ+ rep with both Marla and Alex being lesbia