To Shape A Dragon's Breath is a fantasy novel by Moniquill Blackgoose that tells the story of Anequs, a young Indigenous woman who finds a dragon's egg and bonds with its hatchling. Anequs is forced to send her dragon to a colonizer-run dragon academy, where she must learn to adapt to a new culture and way of life. Along the way, she must also learn to harness her own power and fight for what she believes in.

The novel is set in a world that is both familiar and foreign. The characters are complex and relatable, and the plot is full of twists and turns. The author does an excellent job of weaving together Indigenous culture and mythology with traditional fantasy tropes. The result is a novel that is both exciting and thought-provoking.

To Shape A Dragon's Breath is a must-read for fans of fantasy, Indigenous literature, and strong female protagonists. It is a powerful story of coming of age, finding your place in the world, and fighting for what you believe in. Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey Books for the chance to review this advance copy. To Shape A Dragon's Breath is available for purchase everywhere you buy books now!

I really enjoyed this clever and thoughtful YA book involving dragons and a school for dragon riders that tests and fortifies our protagonist, Anequs. Aneques is revered as Nampeshiweisit, someone who has a special bond with a dragon. Aneques' people no longer have the means to help her and her dragon adjust so she is forced to leave her family's island in order to go to an Anglish school. At school, Aneques is introduced to many new customs and people that don't think she deserves a dragon or a spot at the school.

The world of this book is very clearly modeled on our own. This is an own voices book and Aneques is a young indigenous woman entering a colonizer-run academy who is being tasked with assimilating to their ways. We get to follow Aneques as she questions these expectations and requirements while also trying to find her place in a world that doesn't want her while also wanting to right by her dragon and her people.

Aneques is forthright and very smart and I loved as she finds ways to rebel and speak her mind within the confines of this repressive world. The people she meets are layered and interesting and I am very intrigued by the romance(s) introduced. This book raises a lot of questions that don't have answers while providing a very stark commentary on the type of world these colonizers are trying to produce, one very much like our own.

There's no "big bad" in this book because the big bad and the big evil in the book are the colonizers as a whole and the way their ideologies manifest in the outwardly evil characters in the book as well as even the coded "good" characters who grew up in this power paradigm and don't know better than to question it.

I hope there are more books in this world because I am so curious what happens as Aneques continues through school and learns even more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with this novel when Anequs, the MC, stood up for herself and gave no shits about what the colonizers thought of her and her nackie savage ways.

This is everything I ever wanted in a novel with a WOC who uses the colonial system to her advantage in order to get what she wants. (I know this is really specific, but as a WOC, you tend to acquire specific tastes when it comes to fiction that deals with white supremacy.) There's no grand indigenous vs. colonizers physical conflict here. Nothing flashy that's so common in YA Chosen One against the world type of novels. To Shape a Dragon's Breath is idyllic and understated in comparison.

Which is why I love this novel.

The world building is exquisite and very detailed. It's pretty much an alternate universe that very highly mirrors our own, but with a very strong Nordic colonial influence. It was cool to try and figure out which words, country names, terms, etc. had their equivalents in English. The author has created a world that feels familiar, yet foreign at the same time. There are even discussions on sexuality and the different practices between Masquisit society and Anglish society. (Surprise! Anglish society is extremely heteronormative.) The juxtaposition between indigenous Masquisit life and Anglish life, with Anequs (and Theod, to an extent) as the bridge between worlds, was really well done. I loved it.

But with this amount of world building also comes with a lot of info dumping. I honestly didn't mind it because the author used scenes, dialogue, and the MC's inner monologue to explain the world, its people, history, and cultural practices. Through Anequs (who's also experiencing a lot of Anglish life and customs for the first time), we get an audience surrogate. It works really well imo.

It's also such a breath of fresh air to read a novel set in a historical time period that doesn't use modern slang or idiosyncrasies. It's very immersive in a sense.

I loved the MC, Anequs. (Although she does stray into Mary Sue territory sometimes.) She's a brilliant young woman who can hold her own in an imperialistic society that's doing everything to tear her down. I loved how the author showed Anequs dealing with different examples of racism, both outright racism (like the death threats that both her and Theod receive) and the ones that are more subtle (with Marta or another Anglish character's casual comments on how Anequs isn't quite Anglish enough, etc.). For being only fifteen, Anequs deals with the racism and sexism with grace and maturity. Plus, the fact that she's outspoken about her injustices makes me love her even more. She doesn't back down from a fight, even when she knows she should (because, you know, polite Anglish society frowns down upon strong women fighting for their rights and voicing their beliefs).

Overall, I can't wait for the sequel. I hope that it goes beyond the dragon/magic school trope where Anequs and her friends have to deal with the real world on their own, without the Kuiper Academy as a safety net. We see hints of this near the end, and I'm hungry for more.

The author, Moniquill Blackgoose, has given us an absolutely wonderful story. She navigates politics, colonialism, inequality, different beliefs and so much more with such a beautiful written story that does not hold back at all. The novel breaks down colonialism in an academic setting. There is a diverse cast of characters. There is queer representation and of course there are dragons.
I absolutely loved this book and it is definitely going to be in my top 5 books of the year. This is going to be a tough book to beat. Also, this is listed as book one and I most certainly cannot wait for the next book in the series.

This book was not only excellent, it was also, unexpectedly, cozy.

The premise here (dispensing with made-up names of the fantasy veneer) is that Anequs, a Native American girl in early-to-mid 19th century New England, has found a dragon egg. Her people had lost their dragons, and the knowledge of how to train them, with the population crash brought about by European epidemics a couple hundred years before the book began. Since then her people have been living quietly on their island, largely left to their own devices because they are no threat and have nothing the colonizers want. The surviving natives on another nearby island are a major background presence: they had been in a similar situation, but that changed when coal was discovered on their island. Suddenly the colonizers wanted it very much indeed.

So Anequs has a dragon, and while this is hugely celebrated, there’s also a few problems. For one, she doesn’t know how to train her dragon to control its insanely dangerous breath. For another, the colonizers have strict rules for the keeping and training of dragons; if they find out that Anequs’ people had a dragon and were concealing it, the consequences would probably be extreme. So Anequs contacts a reputable dragon training school and enrolls.

The problems she faces are, largely, predictable. She is totally unfamiliar with the colonzers’ culture, and finds their social rules both stifling and baffling. The students, and dragoneers in general, are almost entirely male, with all that goes along with that. She hasn’t had the education and training that her classmates have had, since most of them come from the gentry. Some of her teachers do not respect her, and a large and powerful faction (both within the school and within colonizer society at large) don’t think she should be allowed a dragon at all. She knows she must excel academically if she is to succeed, and must not appear to be any kind of a threat, but at the same time she is proud of her people and their culture and unwilling to assimilate more than necessary.

But “predictable” does not mean “bad.” Anequs through it all maintains a solid sense of self, and that carries the story wonderfully. She makes a core group of friends, including potential romantic interests. She has her attackers, she has her defenders as well. I kept expecting things to go very wrong - her dragon killed, her friends killed, her village destroyed, something on that spectrum. It’s not all sunshine and roses, but it’s also not dark in the way I was expecting. Like I said at the top, it was, surprisingly, cozy.

One last point: the big thing that she needs to learn how to control is her dragon’s breath. Dragonbreath can, essentially, do magic chemistry. Everything is given different names, but a dragon can (for a very basic example) break down water into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen. I myself got my degree in chemistry, and those parts of the book were a delightful diversion as I tried to follow everything. Blackgoose did her homework.

Strong debut, and I’m excited to see what she comes out with in the future.

The first in a new fantasy series about a world where dragons exist and can be tamed. It centers around Anequs, an indigenous girl, who finds a dragon's egg and is then sent to the Anglish boarding school to learn how to train her dragon.

I thought this concept was really interesting. The world building was unique, and I loved the parallels between real life and this world, with clear colonizers and pushback, etc. My main critique of this is that I found the writing very slow and dense. I was not immediately pulled in by the writing, especially before Anequs gets to the boarding school. It does pick up a bit from there, but that definitely detracted from my enjoyment of this novel.

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Nampeshiweisit series. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This is the 1st book in the Nampeshiweisit series and was good but a bit slow at parts. There is a ton of detail here on the magic system and our main protagonist learning things about dragons at her school. It can get a bit dry at times and the main protagonist comes off as one of those people who can do no wrong. The world-building is very intricate and unique but at times it completely takes over the story.

The story follows Anequs, who finds a dragon egg. When the dragon hatches it chooses her to be its bond mate. Unfortunately, no one on Anequs’s island knows much about dragons so Anequs is forced to journey to the Anglish mainland to go to a dragon school and learn how to control her the very dangerous breath of her dragon. What Anequs doesn’t realize is how big of a deal it is for someone from Masquapaug (Anequs’s home island) to go to an Anglish school and how much prejudice there will be against her.

The world-building and magic system is intense in this book and explained in somewhat excruciating detail. There are large sections of the book where we attend lectures at school with Anequs and are taught about the world in extreme detail. While I appreciate solid world-building, I though portions of this book took it too far and just made the whole thing a bit boring.

The characters are generally well done and have a lot of depth to them. I did struggle a bit with Anequs’ character, she was way to well spoken and knowledgeable for her supposed situation and she is one of those characters who can do know wrong. She is wiser than everyone around her and helps everyone solve everything. I would have preferred a bit more balance to her.

I did greatly enjoy seeing the contrast between Anequs’s people and the Anglish and I also enjoyed Anequs’s family. The dragons were amazing and I loved seeing the different types of dragons and their different skills. This book deals very deeply with prejudice and you can see huge parallels between real-life European or American culture and the conflicts these populations have had with smaller indigenous cultures.

This was an easy read, I enjoyed it. However, I did end up skimming parts that were too drawn out. I think some better editing could have made these more boring portions tighter and more fun to read. I did enjoy that there are a number of times throughout the book where a character goes into a folklore story within the book.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a decent read. I loved the dragons and the intricate world-building. I do think some of the details of the world-building and magic were a bit too drawn out. I also thought Anequs was one of those heroines who can do no wrong and that makes her a bit boring to read about. This book also has incredibly heavy themes around prejudice and mainstream cultures taking over important small-group traditions. I do plan on reading the next book since I think this could develop into an amazing epic fantasy series.

This book is an excellent example of the usual magical school setting while being artfully entwined with own voices experiences of colonialism. The way that the story continues to develop make you want to understand more about Anequs and her adventures while she tries to understand what it means to be Nampeshiweisit and how to navigate the Anglish world that she's never been apart of before in a truly amazing way. I loved this book and can't wait for the next one!

3.5 rounded to 4
Our heroine is Anequs, an Indigenous girl living in an an alternate Earth that evokes the mid-nineteenth century, when empire-building was rampant. She discovers that a Nampeshiwe, a nearly extinct dragon, has laid an egg on her island. As in many dragon fantasies since Andre Norton first introduced dragon-egg bonding, the baby dragon, Kasaqua, on hatching bonds with Anequs.

As dragons are nearly extinct, no one has any idea how to care for and train a dragon, so Anequs must attend an Anglish dragoneering academy. And here, she runs straight into colonialist racism and bigotry, but she has to stick it out learning how to shape her dragon’s breath, or her dragon will be put to death.

The opening was a real page turner. The setting was vivid, island life rich with tradition and details of daily life. I also loved the fact that polyamory was a part of life here, and Anequs's bisexuality was an integral part of her personality.

That said, once Anequs got to the dragon academy, the plot slowed down. I found myself putting the book down after shorter and shorter reading engagements. The emphasis on colonialist bigotry was like a huge, stomping boot constantly thumping its message, between long, long dissertations on the "science" of dragon breath. It could be that all this is setup for the series, but it made it difficult to engage with the story, especially when the narrative voice resorted to summarizing occasional action after the fact.

Also, though I really like diversity in novels, the sense that the protagonist's group is all rejects for being Different veers a bit too close to checking boxes. But that might be my old age, and younger readers coming fresh to a book with lots of diversity will be engaged with the characters, who--as individuals--I liked a lot.

To wind this up, we have a very long book here that I felt would have kept its great pacing all the way through if a couple hundred pages had been trimmed at the back end. But overall, it's an engaging read, and I'm sure once the story gets going, the stakes, and the pacing, will pick up again, fulfilling the promise of the early part of the book.

Ahoy there me mateys!  This is a dragon book and the start of a new series that ended up being an uneven read even though I do want to read the next one when it comes out.

Pros:

- Dragons: Cause who doesn't love them?
- Indigenous main character: I really enjoyed Anequs and did sympathize with her plight regarding her world being colonized by the Anglish.
- Diversity: I enjoyed the ideas of a bi-sexual main character who comes from a culture that is okay with polyamory.  I enjoyed the neurodivergent friend.  I loved Anequs befriending a servant against the norm.
- Alternate History:  I like worldbuilding where our world is twisted.

Cons:

- Dragons:  How can they be a con?  Not much happens on the page with them.  If they were turned into fancy horses or dogs, a lot of the story would stay the same.
- Indigenous main character:  Anegus world seemed like an utopia with only a little bit of money.  It seemed like an overly idealized version of such a culture.
- Diversity:  Some of the friendships seemed contrived, and I am not always a fan of the friend group being made up of all misfits.  Makes it feel like the characters are checkboxes.
- Alternate History:  I felt that this alternate history was too much English and Nordic culture.  We did not get enough of Anequs' world.  I also feel like the message about colonization took away from the plot.  Too much moralizing and not action.
- Too Long:  This book was over 5oo pages.  A lot of the political philosophizing could have been removed as well as the chemical educational lectures.  This novel needed about 200 pages trimmed.  And more dragons!

Arrrr!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this eARC through NetGalley.

3.5 stars, rounding to 4

I genuinely really enjoyed this book. Something I felt all throughout this book was that it felt like a story that was being verbally told and just happened to be written down at the same time. I have a feeling that was intentional, but it made for an interesting experience, especially since there are no chapter numbers. But I thought it was kind of cool. Like it was a story meant to be TOLD, as many indigenous stories have been passed down through the generations. I found the overarching themes and messages to be so well done and laid out. It was very obvious that the author put a great deal of time and thought into this world and the creation of it, while at the same time clearly drawing on the true history of indigenous people under the thumb of colonialism. The references to indigenous culture in this book were so informative and I feel like I learned quite a bit. I really enjoyed reading about the culture from the perspective of an indigenous person. I could feel the authenticity and I also felt the anger and frustration that they felt during the moments of trial when pushed against the colonizers.

Unfortunately though, I found that some parts were a little too heavy on the intricate "scientific" details for my attention span (i.e. during Anequs' classes) and I found myself skimming to get through some parts (which I don't typically do). I also found the fantasy side lacking a little for me. I thought this was going to be a little heavier on the dragon side, and it was very much in the background. I would have liked to have seen it a little more at the forefront. I believe this is the first book in a series, so that could be why. Maybe the later books will have more dragon action.

I absolutely adored Anequs and loved the bisexual representation of her character! She truly demonstrated the simple nature of being attracted to more than one gender and her love for both was just so beautifully done. I loved her determination, her love of home and family, the reverence she has for Kasaqua and her island/culture. I adored the way she looked at the world, just the simplicity of it, like Theod said "she always had an answer for everything" and was always so sure of herself. Her confidence, steadfastness and willingness to always speak her mind really just spoke to me. I thought she was a beautifully done character and I enjoyed her development despite being chastised at every turn.

I also enjoyed Sander and Theod's characters and their development over this book. Sander just seemed like such a beautiful soul and genuinely good person and he and Anequs' friendship really was so sweet. Theod rubbed me wrong a little at first, but slowly grew on me. But then when events happened later in the book...my goodness, I was close to tears for him! Liberty was another that I really loved reading about. Her interactions with Anequs just made me so giddy for them and I really hope there is more to their story.

Another aspect I wish there had been more of: moments of bonding between Anequs and Kasaqua. It felt like their connection was very instant, but never really cultivated between the two of them. Like as soon as Kasaqua hatched, they were connected, but they never really spent a whole lot of one-on-one time together to form a tighter bond. I don't know, maybe it wasn't necessary, but I would have loved to read a little more about just the two of them having more experiences together. Again, maybe they will have more time together in later books. I hope so.

I think I would be interested in reading the follow-up book to this, there's enough here that I'd be interested to see where the story goes. I would definitely recommend if you are looking for: light on fantasy; steam-punk vibes; queer representation; own voices; YA; no spice; genuinely feel good story; and overcoming obstacles set by society. Enjoy!

A brutal and beautiful story about a girl and her dragon. I haven’t connect with book that featured dragons like this since Eragon. This story had all the elements I loved from Eragon but with so much more. I really felt the sense of culture and history. Excited to see what this new author writes next, one to watch!!

I really enjoyed Moniquill Blackgoose's To Shape A Dragon's Breath. The novel follows Anequs, an indigenous woman, as she travels with her hatchling dragon to an academy run by the Anglish colonizers. Anequs has to navigate social and political challenges in order to be able to "prove" herself and keep her dragon.

The middle section gets a little slow as it teases out more exposition, but this is clearly in advance of future novels in the series.

Set in the nineteenth century, To Shape A Dragon's Breath is a reimagined United States during, I imagine, the US's most aggressive expansionist policies and "Frontier Wars." The fantasy reshaping of historical events reminded me of The Poppy War.

Overall, I'm really looking forward to the next books in this series!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Rating: All-Time Favorite, 5 stars

To Shape a Dragon's Breath was an absolute masterpiece! This book follows Anequs, a young, indigenous woman in a fantasy version of America where we were settled by the Vikings instead of the English, and there are dragons and the magic that comes from their breath. One day Anequs sees a Nampeshiwe dragon that are considered sacred to her people. They had thought to have all died many years before, and when Anequs finds the egg this dragon lay, she bods with the hatchling and becomes Nampeshiweisit, one who belongs to a dragon. The Anglish have lots of rules and regulations surrounding dragons, and she needs to learn the secrets of skiltkraft from someone so that she can safely control Kasaqua's breath. So, Anequs finds herself as the only indigenous woman at a prestigious dragon academy. She must find a way to learn everything she must without losing who she is.

We essentially follow Anequs through her first year at school. By the nature of the setup of the book, we take a hard look at colonization, systems of inequality, classism, racism, sexism, and so many other big topics. But I feel as though this book handled it really well. First off Anequs is a joy to follow. She is smart, determined, and very sure of her identity and worth. It was super refreshing to follow a young woman who already possesses that sense of self-worth and self-peace.

I thought that while the trials that Anequs has to go through throughout the book were at times difficult to read about because it just felt so unfair, her spirit and determination really kept the book from becoming too overwhelming with all the racism and microagressions that occur throughout. This book has a lot of diverse representation. In addition to the fact that this is written about an indigenous MC by an indigenous author, we also have other people of color, LGBTQ+ rep, polyamory rep, and a heavily featured side character who appears to be on the autism spectrum. I thought that the issues that arose for these different characters and groups of characters were tastefully handled and got the message across without being overly on-the-nose.

I ended up loving the characters though. Anequs and Kasaqua are delightful, and I came to really love Theode, and Sanders. I also really enjoyed the Fraus running the academy, Anequs' family, and even came to appreciate Marta. I appreciate the personalities of the characters, and while Anequs is the most developed, I think they all were pretty well-written with good individual motives.

Something else that I really loved was the storytelling voice. I feel like it is super descriptive, which as someone who is not a very visual reader can be a detriment, but not in this case. It almost felt like as I read it that it should have felt info-dumpy or over the top, but it never really did. I felt like it added to the voice and the cadence. It felt to me like an oral story, and I loved that. The chapters are very short and it moved so quickly, despite being over 500 pages. We are learning a lot about the world at the same time that Anequs is, so by nature there will be some info-dumping but it felt fairly natural and it mostly flowed.

I think that is it in a nutshell. This is a beautiful, dragon school story that was incredibly difficult to read at times, but has ended up being one of my favorite books of the year so far. Anequs is a strong and brave heroine who I greatly admire and really loved reading about. I highly recommend this book if anything about it sounds like it would be up your alley. I think this is the first in a series, but it also wraps up really well and feels like a contained thought. I will definitely be keeping my eye on this author and checking out other works by them.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance eARC of this book. All opinions are my own. To Shape a Dragon's Breath comes out on May 9, 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS
~a dragon cannot be owned
~never forget where your home is
~draw the line and hold it
~two love interests ≠ love triangle
~weaponise the tea parties
~remember your dances
~take what’s useful from your colonisers and set the rest on fire

OH, TO SHAPE A DRAGON’S BREATH, HOW DO I LOVE THEE? LET ME COUNT THE INNUMERABLE WAYS!

This is a queer Native American dragon-rider story. If that’s not enough to make you preorder it immediately, I am happy to enumerate for you exactly how excellent it is, but the tl;dr version is that yes, To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is every bit as epic as that sounds.

QUEER

NATIVE AMERICAN

DRAGON-RIDERS.

Or dragon-rider, technically. Even more technically, not a dragon-rider but a Nampeshiweisit, which means chosen by a dragon, because Anequs’ people do not consider dragons as animals to be owned and it’s you who belongs to the dragon, not the other way around–

…I’m getting slightly ahead of myself, aren’t I?

Okay. SO.

Blackgoose introduces us to a world where the Anglish, aka the Vikings (who, now I think about it, made it to North America before Columbus in our world too!) have taken the role the British Empire did in our own history, ie colonising everyone they could, considering themselves the pinnacle of civilisation, and slaughtering everyone who disagrees with them. Or looks different from them. Or lives differently from them. Or–you get the idea.

Anequs is a young Indigenous woman in an analogue of our North America, who can mostly ignore the existence of the Anglish, as they rarely come to her island. And she lives a perfectly normal life, until one of her people’s dragons – thought to be extinct, at least in the area – guides her to an egg. When the dragon who hatches from it – Kasaqua – chooses Anequs, Anglish law says she must attend a dragoneer academy to learn the ‘right way’ to be a dragon-rider. If she fails, Kasaqua will be executed – and the Anglish really want her to fail.

I don’t think Anequs is intended to be read as autistic – especially since one of the secondary characters very much is clearly autistic, even if Anglish society doesn’t have a word for it – but my gods: as an autistic reader, Anequs was a JOY and a RELIEF to read! She just makes sense in a way neurotypical characters often don’t, just as the culture she comes from makes sense in deep, sweeping ways. Her rational, compassionate matter-of-factness highlights the glaring nonsense that is ‘civilised society’; she’s quick to point out, and call out, how meaningless, bizarre, and often damaging the Anglish way of doing things is – and she doesn’t let any of these new and ridiculous rules compromise who she is, or what her goals are. (Or stop her from having two love interests, and no, this is not a love triangle!) Her dedication to her people and her heritage is one of my favourite things about her, and I cannot tell you how much I loved that she has absolutely no interest in becoming an Anglish-approved ‘Nackie’, nevermind trying to become Anglish herself.

<“I didn’t ask to be a precedent. I never wanted to leave Masquapaug. If we had anyone there who could teach me, I’d still be there. But our dragons died two hundred years ago, and their dragoneers with them, and the knowledge was lost. I’m here to help my people, Frau Kuiper. I’m not here to make them more like yours.”>

Which is not to say that she doesn’t do her best to not make (unnecessary) waves, because she’s very much aware of how precarious her position (and Kasaqua’s) is – but she also knows when and where to draw the line and defend it. I will always love a character (or real life person) who isn’t afraid to say this is wrong – or who is afraid but does it anyway.

And unfortunately, Anequs does have cause to draw that line and say that what she’s facing is wrong, a lot more than once. Racism and colonialism are very big themes in this book; both the institutionalised kinds and the direct, personal kinds aimed at Anequs specifically. One instance of the former that hit hard was on the first day of classes, when Anequs comes to the classroom without notebook and pens – because she’s never been taught this way before, and no one thought to prepare her. Worse is the teacher’s reaction; he assumes she either doesn’t care about his class or is an idiot, rather than the obvious conclusion, which is that her people teach and learn in a very different way. (As someone who is very anti the rote-memorisation approach to learning, this was yet another case where I thought Anequs’ people were much smarter about things!) Even the apparent ‘liberals’ are unintentionally thoughtless or insulting at least half the time – in other words, it’s all exactly like real-world racism.

The clear contrast between how the Anglish are obsessed with their history and myths, while so much of Anequs’ heritage has been lost – because of Anglish colonisation – is a perfect snapshot of the horrifically imbalanced power dynamic between the two cultures. Anequs is penalised in her lessons for her unfamiliarity with Anglish history and lore – but she’s only at the academy in the first place because the Anglish wiped out the Nampeshiweisit who could have taught her what she and Kasaqua need to learn. It’s as enraging as it is heart-breaking.

But Blackgoose has absolutely not written a story that is all suffering or misery-porn; I experienced a lot of rage at what Anequs and her people have to deal with, but I never felt despair. Blackgoose writes bigots as potentially very dangerous but also contemptible, and between Anequs’ calm but fierce strength, her brilliant clever mind, and the allies and support network she has and adds to over the course of the book, it’s pretty clear that no one is going to snuff her out.

If anything, she is clearly starting a much-needed wildfire.

<I had become like Crow, venturing to dangerous and unknown lands to bring fire back to my people. I wondered, as we sat together in one another’s company, what we were going to burn with it.>

Speaking of fire: let’s talk about the DRAGONS!

Blackgoose has also come up with a really unique (as far as I’m aware) approach to dragons: in this world, dragonfire makes an excellent weapon, but that’s not actually its most important function. Guided by the will of their bonded rider, a dragon’s breath can break down materials into their component elements – think the Periodic Table, not earth/air/fire/water – or combine them to create different materials. Uncontrolled, this is massively dangerous; controlled, it’s almost endlessly useful for all kinds of applications, and it gives dragons a place and role in human society that’s not like any other dragon-rider book I can think of. It’s learning this power and bringing it back to her people that is Anequs’ main goal in studying with the Anglish, although it gradually becomes clear that the Anglish skiltakraft – what we might call chemistry – doesn’t go far enough, has the potential to be and accomplish so much more, but is limited by the Anglish’s rigid thinking and their belief that dragons are ‘just animals’.

<“Well, I can certainly see why Frau Kuiper solicited my assistance in making you aware of civilized customs, as it’s obvious that you have little experience with polite society. Primitive superstition and folklore aside, dragons are beasts—as much as dogs or horses are. I very dearly love Magnus, and I’m sure that every dragoneer would say the same of their dragon, but I hold no particular illusions about him. He’s an animal of a witskrafty nature. If he weren’t bonded with me, or some other dragoneer of firm resolve, he would be vicious and dangerous. There are still truly wild dragons in the remote mountains of Tyskland and Vaskosland, and they still menace shepherds and even kill and eat mountaineers and explorers from time to time. It’s my understanding that there are wild dragons in the interior of Markesland as well, along the western and northern frontiers, and that they’re as much a menace to settlers as wolves and great cats are.”

“The dragons—and the wolves and great cats—were all here long before people were. My people have always endeavored to be good neighbors to them, and if your people find them menacing, then I can only presume that you haven’t taken the same care,” I said. “My grandmother didn’t think that there was anything worth knowing that I could learn by coming here, and I’m beginning to wonder if she wasn’t right.”>

(Passages like the one above are manifold and will make you want to shake the Anglish idiots. Dragons form psychic bonds with humans, and even if they don’t think in words, how stupid do you have to be to think they’re no different from dogs? THEIR BREATH LITERALLY RESHAPES THE WORLD. THEY ARE CLEARLY NOT ‘JUST ANIMALS’!)

The role of Anglish dragoneers in their society, versus that of a Nampeshiweisit in theirs, is radically different. A Nampeshiweisit works for the good of their people; being a dragoneer, on the other hand, is essentially a status symbol, as if a dragon is the equivalent of an expensive car or Louis Vuitton handbag. We see this in the completely opposing ways Nackies and Anglish take to the hatching of a dragon egg; Anequs’ people keep the egg in a communal space so the dragonet inside ‘meets’ everyone in the village, and chooses their Nampeshiweisit from among all those people – but the Anglish stick the egg in front of just one person, and the dragon can bond to that person or be put down as feral.

Honestly, that kind of tells you all you need to know about how the two cultures view dragons.

Another way in which Blackgoose’s take on dragons – and dragon-riding stories – is something special is that, in this book, Anequs never actually gets to ride Kasaqua. Not because the Anglish won’t allow it or anything, but because Kasaqua is still a baby! I feel like this is something we don’t see very often in dragon-rider stories; in all the examples I can think of, the period between a dragon’s hatching and when they’re big enough to ride is skimmed over, fast-forwarded through. And as much as I am looking forward to Anequs and Kasaqua’s first flight together – and I REALLY AM – I really loved that we got to see this phase of Kasaqua’s development in depth. For one thing, it makes Anequs and Kasaqua’s relationship feel much more organic and real; we see and experience them growing together and into each other, rather than just being told about the bond they have. But it also makes Kasasqua feel more like a real creature; as magical and incredible as dragons are, they start off small and take time to grow bigger, like all living things. It makes Kasaqua easier to believe in.

(And a book full of small!Kasaqua is, as you might expect, completely adorable and enchanting. I’m more than happy to wait for her to get big when it means we got a whole book of her curling up on Anequs’ shoulders, or in her lap, or bounding around like a puppy after butterflies!)

Look: To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is a beautiful, impassioned book, a journey of discovery and dragons, friendship and fear, and being true to yourself, your people, and your dragon. It’s about being an outsider while knowing exactly where your home is; it’s about refusing to be made small, made less, by the people who hate you; about succeeding in spite of how much they want you to fail. It’s about having a strong heart and an open mind, about the importance and value of your heritage, about being able to identify and hold to the things that truly matter. The worldbuilding is deceptively simple and unabashedly impressive; the cast is wonderful, with a whole slew of amazing misfits and social outcasts for Anequs to weave into her pattern; and the main character is an absolute star. The whole approach of this book – to literally everything – filled me with Feels and made me so damn happy.

There’s absolutely nothing I would change. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is utterly perfect in every respect. This book feels like a game-changer, the start of a new generation of dragon stories, and I could not be more delighted to see it.

<“Daughter of my daughter, you’re going to teach us all how to dance with dragons again.”>

I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a book, for what it has the potential to do – to its readers, to the genre, to the publishing industry.

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is possibly the most unmissable fantasy book of 2023, and definitely the start of the next great dragon-rider series! Preorder it now to come dance with Anequs and Kasaqua next week!

the premise of this book sounded right up my alley, queer Indigenous fantasy with dragons??? sign me up.

however, i think the book was unnecessarily 500+ pages with really not that much happening. this book did a good job in laying the groundwork and setting the world building for the series. we spend a lot of time getting to know the characters and lore of this world, which was interesting in the first chunk of the novel but just felt far too long. Anequs didn't seem to have much growth as a character which is part of what really irks me about the length of this novel. with 500+ pages you would expect the main character to have some sort of internal growth and there just wasn't. Anequs is a pretty level character the entire time and it felt to me that she was having the same conversations over and over again about this new society she was thrown into. i just wish there was more interesting plot points to break up the monotony.

there might be enough interest for me to pick up the second book but i'm not 100% sure yet.

Overall, this was a really great start to a series. The world is sort of a transplant of our own in a steampunk-type world with dragons. There's a wide range of diverse characters and the world, despite seeming like our own, is unique in a way that makes it a pleasure to immerse yourself in. I will say that this book is not action-heavy. There's a lot of lore and scene-building, but the majority of the novel is Anequs trying to navigate in a world that, despite a thin veneer of politeness in some places, doesn't believe she deserves the right to exist in it as herself (and in some cases, not at all).

One critique I have is that there's a <i>lot</i> of info-dumping. Anequs comes to the Anglish dragon school to learn and you learn alongside her. There's a helpful glossary in the beginning (at least, there is in the arc I received), but it's relatively simple to follow along with; it's just a lot at once. And, a lot of the time, this info-dumping is done through huge swathes of dialogue. This can have the unfortunate side effect of making things a little stilted at times.

Despite this, the real strength of Moniquill Blackgoose's writing comes through in the characters. Anequs and her interactions with the people around her are wonderfully fleshed out. I loved seeing Anequs make friends and stand up for herself and her people. The way each character was fleshed out felt done with care and compassion and I truly rooted them.

Things really ramp up towards the end, but I do feel that the ending could have been slightly smoother(?). It just felt slightly abrupt, but it definitely wasn't bad. More than anything, I'm eager for the next book (not sure how many are going to be in the series yet).

Honestly, despite the critiques, I do think this is a book worth picking up. The characters really make it and Anequs is a protagonist that truly shines.

Fifteen year old Anequs becomes the first person to become bonded to a dragon on her island in over 200 years. She is Nampeshiweisit - a person who belongs to a dragon. Her people are seen as backwards and uncivilized to the colonizer Anglish people. However, in order for Anequs to keep her dragon Kasaqua alive she must attend an Anglish dragon academy to learn to control Kasaqua's breath. She faces many challenges from people who don't want her at the academy, but she is determined. Truths come to light that were hidden or forgotten. Anequs makes several unexpected friends and teaches them about her people. Will Anequs make it through the school term and keep Kasaqua?

The book is full of adventure and magic. It is a great read for anyone looking for a unique fantasy story. It is also a great example of indigenous representation in fantasy literature, as Anequis story is explored. From start to finish it consumed my thoughts.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read this incredible book early!

For those missing magical schools and dragons in their TBR, this subversive new addition is not one to be missed. This is a story about both magic academies and dragons, this is also a scathing allegory for the generational impacts of colonization. This is also a coming of age tale as Anequs discovers the true cruelty of the world she lives in and chooses the make a stand. I’m still having trouble putting into words how much I loved this book and intend to push it onto everyone I know, but what I can say is that it is an excellent (perhaps dark academia) story that shows us that no one is too small to make a difference.