I loved everything about When Women Were Dragons. The writing, the story, the message. I was pulled in from the beginning and was sad to see the book end. Barnhill tells the story of Alex, a young girl growing up in 1950s suburbia. In 1955, there was a “mass dragooning” where hundreds of thousands of women and girls transformed into dragons and left their families. Alex was 4 when she saw it happen to a neighbor and she was never to speak of it.

Her aunt Marla is a former air force pilot/mechanic who wears overalls and is everything that her mother is not. While her mother cares deeply for Alex, she is strict and adheres to tradition. She gave up her pursuit of mathematics to be a wife and mother. (Her husband is absolutely the worst and had no redeeming qualities.)

This is fantasy, but I do not like fantasy books as a general rule. But this book worked and was so beautiful. It’s a story about a world that tried to confine women and keep them small. It’s a story about what happens when women refuse to be stuffed into a box and keep quiet.

If I were going to chose between this book and the Change, another book I really enjoyed this month with fantastical elements, I would go with When Women Were Dragons. Why? The writing and the story just spoke to me more.

Thank you to @doubleday and @netgalley for an earc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If we only this had happened. I truly enjoyed this alternate history book, where the author gives a very new sense of empowerment to women in the 50s, early 60s. It did not come without heartache and struggles, but it the triumph was sweeter because of it.

This was a very different book than I have read in the past but I am glad I requested it from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
In 1955, 300,000 women in one day transformed into dragons leaving their husbands and families behind. This was called The Mass Dragoning of 1955 and the government made sure that this phenomenon was not reported or written in history books. People did not talk about it and it was taboo to bring it up. The main character, Alex, remembers her Aunt Marla dragoning but could never talk about it. The women who dragoned were women unhappy with their lives either as abused wives and/or not living the lives they wanted to live due to their sex or their interests. Alex spends her adult life trying to find everything out about the Mass Dragoning although there isn't much information out there since it has been hushed up, About halfway through I wasn't sure where this was heading and the transition between chapters was a little confusing but that is probably due to the egalley format which will probably be better formatted by the time this egalley is published. I really liked the last part of the book and it made for a very satisfying ending.

Concept sounded amazing, the book was even better. Loved the writing style and the storytelling. Very compelling and sucks you right into the world!

When Women Were Dragons is a good intro novel for teens/YA readers to feminism/feminist books. I think after they read The Handmaid's Tale, they could read this and still live in the anger of the way that women were once treated.

Wait....once treated? No....the way that women ARE treated.

The inclusion of LGBTQ characters and issues is vital in today's society, especially with the current climate and political situations. I hope this book is added to many school's reading lists.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

This is the story of Alex Green who lived a hard and extraordinary life. She lived through the mass dragoning of 1955 when thousands and thousands of ordinary house wives and women suddenly turned into dragons and left to live among their own. Her mom seemingly disappeared when she was a girl and her aunt came and took over the cooking, cleaning and seeing to Alex. But her mom came back and said she didn't want to see her sister anymore until she changed her ways, for the sake of their relationship the sister changed, got married (to a abusive husband) and had a baby only to disappear later and the husband found dead. Everything after that shapes Alex and her cousin for the rest of their lives, and wow what a ride.

This is a great book, one my synopsis doesn't do justice to for the sake of not giving anything good away. This book has action but more suspense. The characters are awesome and show wonderfully that women can not be silenced and pushed down forever.

This review will appear on my blog on May 3rd

This book tells the story of a re-imagined feminist movement of the 1950's and 1960's, where the women turn into actual physical dragons. Part metaphor, part fantasy, this story switches back and forth between a girl, Alex, who lives through the Mass Dragoning and researchers studying the issue.

Alex lives with her sick but growing stronger mother, her mostly absent father and her beloved aunt who visits. But there's a call on the wind that Alex is too young to hear that will lead to the Mass Dragoning of 1955. Her aunt turns into a dragon, eats her ne'er-do-well uncle and flees to the sky. Her mother resists the urge through sheer willpower and a series of complicated knots that she uses to tie her to life and Alex, who she cannot bear to leave behind. Her mother brings home her cousin Beatrice, tells her she is her sister now, and there's no more discussion about it. Alex's life gets harder and more tragic as the years go on. But mysterious pamphlets and letters left behind by her aunt can lead Alex to the truth, if she can bear to face it.

Alex pulls on the reader's heartstrings even as she frustrates with her inability to see and comprehend truths that are right in front of her face. Her fierce love for Beatrice is her number one priority in life, and she is determined that no matter what happens, they will always have each other. As someone who doesn't feel the call, Alex struggles to understand why women became dragons, but she eventually does face the unpleasant truths at the center of her world.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the story of a young Alex Green who grows up in the wake of the Mass Dragoning of 1955. After 40,000+ women suddenly become dragons and vanish, the families and towns left behind must pick up the pieces. This is a heartbreaking but really well-written book that explores what the word family really means and how sometimes your true family is the one you make for yourself. And it might not look like what you thought it would. The layout is a bit different and took some getting used to in the beginning but otherwise, an enjoyable read!

Kelly Barnhill's When Women were Dragons is a beautiful feminist fantasy novel set in 1950s Wisconsin about family, womanhood, identity, and love written in the style of a memoir. Alex had a confusing childhood--one where her aunt took care of her while her mom was away, but then she never had an aunt and her cousin Beatrice was her sister after the Mass Dragoning in 1955. People don't talk about dragoning, and people definitely don't talk about dragoning in her family. Alex experiences grief and loss, parentification, and the devaluing of her own education, but while Beatrice might be the wild one, Alex is a force to be reckoned with all on her own and she will stop at nothing to achieve her goals and take care of the ones she loves. This heartbreaking story has sympathetic characters, an intriguing plot, and a compelling writing style.

An interesting reimagining of the 1950s era, with women struggling to find their voices turning into dragons. Lots of parallels to women's rights issues. I found it a little slow, but still probably worth the read.

An interesting premise and a captivating story. I loved the characters.


I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was an interesting book. Set in the 50's when women were not usually the bread winners and men were kings in their houses. What they said ruled.. When women started turning into DRAGONS, the world tried to hide it. It wasn't the first time it had happened, but scientists were shut down and many people lost their jobs when they spoke up. Some kept trying though. Alexandra had an aunt that turned and her mother denied she even existed after that. Alex tried to understand everything but when no one would speak, it was hard. The book was clear that in those times, women had no say, until when they changed, Some of the men disappeared and appear to be eaten by their wives. Were they? It was shocking to read about how the 5th graders were taught about sex. Thankfully things have changed. It was a powerful book, but different

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I read an early e-copy of When Women Were Dragons provided to me through NetGalley. I am giving my honest review of this book.

Imagine thousands of women all over the country "dragoning". Shifting, changing, and rising up and leaving their oppressed homes for something better. Sensing a fire burning inside of them and, while maybe resisting at first, they cannot help become who they were meant to be. "Dragoning" happens in this book in 1955. And indeed, "dragoning" is symbolic here, I loved the imagery and meaning behind it. These Dragon-women (though transforming wasn't always centered on females) were not talked about. This country had to ignore this happening, it was unacceptable for women.

We are introduced to many women and people in this book. The relationship between Marla and her sister, Beatrice and Alex, Marla and Alex, and Alex and Sonja was wonderfully captured. I kept hoping wonderful things would happen for these characters and there would be a happy ending. I am glad that I wasn't disappointed.

4 1/2 Uniquely Beautiful Stars

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I delved into When Women Were Dragons. I knew it dealt with discussion of The Mass Dragoning of 1955, a fictional story about hundreds of thousands of women randomly turning into dragons and leaving in one day, I had no idea how empowering this novel would feel. It was a beautifully written story of women and the choices they make. Sometimes they aren't really choices because life has put them in positions where the choice has been taken away. I also loved that in this book, the author made sure to include words that encompassed everyone. Those who are female at birth and those who choose to be female and more. Dragoning was not limited. It was beautiful and expressive and included all who wanted to be a part of it.

I cannot imagine living in the 1950's and being limited by my gender. Being told that I'm too smart and make the men feel lesser than. That I should dumb down to not make them feel inferior. That I should expect less of myself because I am a woman. It's simply horrific that anyone ever thought that was okay in any way.

The metaphorical use of dragons in this book was clever. I'm still thinking about it even though I finished the book more than a day ago. The fact that dragons give you the ability to fly away, to be bigger than, to soar, to destroy and more. But the dragons were also loving. As the book progresses, they sometimes maintained their human qualities too and lived among humans.

Even though so many of the men in the story were despicable, including the main character's own father, I must say that I greatly appreciated the author's ability to show that some men did have sensitivity to the plight and worked tirelessly in an attempt to bring awareness and help others understand. Even when it endangered them and their own safety at times, they still continued. It was a demonstration that certain truths are always worth the risk when human rights (or dragon rights) are endangered. It was definitely a unique way to take history and blend it into fiction but still get a very powerful point across. Well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

The book was conceptually well-developed. I have felt the presentation in the form of a scrapbook pieced together frame of the story was well-done. I think it would have benefitted from illustration. This form seems especially relevant in light of the contemporary distrust of mainstream media. The story itself is a good old-fashioned feminist tale peppered with cleverly reworked tropes. Sometimes it does feel a little hermetic, but overall a worthwhile read.

I received an e-ARC for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed how this book was formatted as a fictional historical memoir. The intertwining of fake articles amongst the reflections was a nice touch. This was definitely a unique take on women regaining their agency. A real force against the patriarchy. It was superb to use women turning into dragons to free themselves from men and the control of the patriarchy as the main allegory for the novel. I did however find it odd that we didn't get a dragon POV - but I suppose that's understandable because they are dragons. I enjoyed all of the female rage!
I do think that within the time period, which the novel is set, the author could have mentioned more about Black women turning into Dragons considering how close it was to the civil rights movement. I noticed other reviewers shared similar thoughts on the intersectionality of this novel. I think it was *almost* there.

Please check the TW for this novel - there are a lot - some include misogyny, homophobia, parental deaths (on and off page)

This book was thought-provoking and told a very full story. Chapters told from the protagonist's (Alex's) point of view are interspersed with excerpts from "official" documents, which contributed to the realistic, thought-experiment feel of the book. I also liked how incorporated some of those snippets were; they directly influenced Alex's story as well instead of just being tossed in. All of the characters are complex and well-developed. Alex is an easy character to root for, especially because we see her when she is a little girl and watch her mature into adulthood. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in speculative, historical fiction, and anyone who is particularly interested in the 1950s and 60s.

Kelly knocked this book outta the park with When Women Were Dragons.
The rage and force that's here is pure gold.
The writing and characters written within this novel are spectacular.
I was blown away by this story and the great writing!
The author captured my attention right from the start and held it all the way through.
I’ve never read a novel by Barnhill but I will certainly be looking for more of her books.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Doubleday,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

I thoroughly enjoyed this alternate historical fantasy! For readers who enjoyed Folklorn by Angela Hur and A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
At the beginning of this book, I saw that it was dedicated to Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who testified at Brett Cavanaugh’s Supreme Court hearing, and while I was reading the book, I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how that dedication related to the theme of the book.
All in all, I found it was a book that made you think more than that made you feel, and I do believe that it would be a good choice for a book group because there are so many themes and motifs to talk over and figure out what Barnhill is saying with this book.
I was absolutely entranced by her Newberry winning book The Girl Who Drank the Moon, and I see the same kind of techniques in a story that’s part fable, part magical realism, part social critique, part family drama.
One of the major premises of the book is that women do quite often actually turn into dragons. The thing that struck me most that even though people saw it happen, nobody wanted to talk about it, and they went to great pains to cover it up and forget. I remember riots in my small hometown that were so bad that they close the school for two weeks, and yet when I went back and looked at the town newspapers from that time, I can only find two oblique references to what it happened.
That’s a topic for quite a discussion in itself, and there are also questions about why the women “dragon” (the word has been turned into a verb in this book) as well as so many other things. I found myself highlighting the book whenever I came across certain motifs – fire, rage, obligation, knots. I’m looking forward to the time when people in my book group have read this book so that we can talk about all the ideas in it.