When Women Were Dragons doesn’t read like a fantasy novel. In fact, it starts out and continues for a long while very much like contemporary fiction. We follow the story of Alex who was born in America in the 1950s, a time when girls and women were expected to shut up, do as men told them and let themselves be married off when they come of age. I’m not a fan of contemporary fiction, in fact, I couldn’t throw it far enough. So I was reading along, wincing at how awful Alex’s life was and then lo and behold there were dragons. Yes, readers, ACTUAL DRAGONS. Not some magical realism construct, or some vague metaphorical attempt by the author to claim something fantastical when it’s not. No, there are real fire-breathing, gorgeous, flying dragons.

I feel that it’s important to make that clear early on, because while this is a novel about dragons, it’s also about so much more. In 1955 a mass dragoning took place in the United States, with thousands of women turning into dragons and disappearing. Despite the huge gap left in peoples lives by these sudden disappearances, as well as the deaths of spouses, family members and other people related to the dragons, and the monumental destruction left in their wake, the stance by the Government was to ignore that it had ever happened. It is something that nowadays could never happen. In the 1950s, however, it would have been possible and the world Barnhill has created is thoroughly believable.

You only need to look at the history of women’s rights to see how women were treated in the 1950s and realise that the events of When Women Were Dragons are not just plausible, they are what would happen if this was reality. The thought of anyone turning into all powerful mythological creatures is a terrifying thought, even more so for the men of 1955 who at that point were quite happily subjugating women. Have you ever tried to control a dragon the size of a house? Especially one that was angry with how she had been treated as a human woman by the man/men in her life? Yeah, they had no hope. Luckily for them the dragons didn’t stick around, they left – and who can blame them really. If I had been treated poorly and suddenly sprouted wings I’d lay waste to whoever had treated me that way, and then I’d be out of there.

The problem the men left behind had was that they knew nothing about dragoning, and they didn’t want to know. The more people knew about the ins and outs of dragoning the more likely it would happen again. So they forbid the subject completely. Wiped it from public knowledge, made it a social taboo to discuss it, and researching it a crime. The “it” being dragons. When Women Were Dragons tells the story from the perspective of Alex, an eight-year-old who doesn’t understand all these things and only knows one thing; you don’t talk about dragons. Her story begins as a young child, four years before the mass dragoning and all the way up to her late adulthood.

Alex’s story runs the gauntlet of emotions, you will scream, you will rage, and you will cry. Despite When Women Were Dragons being a work of fiction there is the unspoken knowledge that the things Alex does through have happened to real women. Her story is someone’s actual story. In When Women Were Dragons Alex is helped by another woman who in turn was helped by another, allowing her to pursue her dream of further education. But I couldn’t, and still cannot, let go of the hollow feeling that settled inside me when I think of how many women were prevented from doing things by their male relatives. How many women were held back from education and could have been the next Marie Curie, for example? So much talent wasted all because of misogyny, and even more so if they were women of colour.

While there is so much darkness in When Women Were Dragons, there is also so much light and joy too. There is a beautiful sapphic romance, and watching it unfold felt like I had been given a gift. There is also trans and non-binary representation, with some of the dragons that changed becoming their true selves when the mass dragoning took place. I thought that this was a beautiful way of representing the transgender and non-binary community.

Barnhill introduces her novel with a note about what prompted her to write When Women Were Dragons. She tells us about how she was in a car with her teenage daughter listening to Christine Blasey Ford testifying to the United States Senate. How at the same age as her daughter she remembers seeing another woman, Anita Hill, take the same stand. As a non-American I had to look up Anita Hill, and just the knowledge that two women decades apart had to do the same thing makes me feel so emotions. I can only imagine how it must feel to be a woman in the US and bear witness to both events knowing nothing has changed. Barnhill’s introduction is beautifully written, and just as When Women Were Dragons was released the news about abortion laws was leaked. This may be a work of fiction, an alternative world where dragons exist in the flesh, but in truth those dragons exist in all of us. The world of When Women Were Dragons exists, and women are fighting constantly to be seen and heard.

Unfortunately we can’t turn into physical dragons and use our physical size and fire-breathing powers to make people take notice as the dragons do in When Women Were Dragons. It would be so much easier if we could. When Women Were Dragons doesn’t offer us an idea that isn’t possible, it reminds us that every single one of us can be a dragon, and as Barnhill points out in her introduction; our actions may not always work, but they do matter.

When Women Were Dragons is a magnificent novel, and one that I originally gave a full five stars to until I realised it has one flaw which can be quite a big one depending on how cynical you want to be. I think that this may be an error on the author’s part rather than subliminal messaging. All the dragons that return are good people. Barnhill talks about what they do to help the humans they left behind, how they make amends and all their contributions to society (some of them are very entertaining). It didn’t benefit the dragons to appear dangerous, and they must have been aware that despite their considerable advantages they needed the approval of the patriarchy to stay. That being said, it seems highly unlikely that every single dragon behaved perfectly, none of them had an altercation or came back with a more destructive idea in mind. The dragons did do bad things when the mass dragoning happened; they caused a lot of destruction, and they ate or wounded people, however, it is heavily implied that these actions were extremely justified.

One of the topics interrogated in When Women Were Dragons is the purity of women, that they must remain good and be well-behaved. Alex attends a catholic school and her interest in academics is constantly coming to the attention of the headteacher who believes that women do not and should not follow that path. There is also Alex’s aunt Marla who works as a mechanic, wears trousers and does not conform to societies ideas about women. On the one hand When Women Were Dragons is telling us that these notions of women being good and conforming are wrong, and then at the same time it seems that only good women become dragons, or at least only the good dragons return home. Perhaps it is just a case of something just wasn’t included, maybe it got cut out during a draft, or I’m thinking a little too much about this. It just occurred to me that in a way When Women Were Dragons is subverting itself by only having (or telling stories about) good, helpful dragons. It smacks a little too much of the feminist concept of sisterhood, of how all women think and act the same for my liking.

Between each chapter there are segments of dragon research collected by the foremost researcher of the subject. These range from articles, letters, sections from books and transcripts from court proceedings where the scientist appeals to the Government to allow scientists to research dragons and dragonings. Some of these segments were a bit scattered at times, especially at the start of the novel. As the story progressed they began to make more sense, and they added to the overall story of When Women Were Dragons, adding context and providing a much wider scope alongside the much smaller world of Alex’s life. By alternating between this outside and inside perspective Barnhill has created a brilliant novel that couldn’t be more significant right now.

“This is what we know: On April  25, 1955, between the hours of 11:45  a.m. and 2:30  p.m. central time, 642,987 American women—wives and mothers, all—became dragons. All at once. A mass dragoning. The largest in history. My mother was not among the women who dragoned on April, 25, 1955. But my aunt Marla was.”

My thanks to Bonnier Books/Hot Key Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘When Women Were Dragons’ by Kelly Barnhill in exchange for an honest review. I subsequently bought the Forbidden Planet exclusive hardback edition.

Kelly Barnhill is a Newbery Medal-winning children's author. She has dedicated her first novel for older readers to Christine Blasey Ford, whose powerful testimony at the confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh unleashed the rage of many women. In her opening Letter to Readers she writes of the anger she experienced over the hearings and so wrote this feminist coming-of-age fantasy as an act of catharsis.

Alexandra (Alex), the novel’s protagonist and narrator, is a science nerd living in Wisconsin. It’s been years since the Mass Dragoning. When her aunt Marla transformed she left behind her young daughter, Beatrice. From then on Alex’s mother did not acknowledge her sister’s existence and Beatrice was no longer referred to as Alex’s cousin but her sister. Following their mother’s death some years later their father becomes the ultimate neglectful father and Alex essentially raises Beatrice.

Most of the novel follows Alex and Beatrice as they grow from children to women. The transformed dragons do feature later in the novel and throughout there are other dragonings.

While I certainly enjoyed the novel (she had me at women turning into dragons), I felt that it did read a little young, which came as a surprise as it was listed as SF/F without a Teen/YA qualifier. So there were elements that jarred a bit such as the dragons behaving like dragon-shaped humans. Perhaps this was meant as light relief but for me tended to somewhat dilate the drama.

Still, I felt that Kelly Barnhill storytelling was compelling as she addressed these complex historical issues linked to the feminist movement in the United States during the latter half of the 20th century.

Overall, It provided me with much food for thought about the women’s liberation movement, its antecedents, as well as the current state of women’s rights. Plus, of course, it has many, many dragons!

Additional praise to the designers for their stunning cover artwork.

In the reality of this book's 1950s America, there was a mass dragoning where thousands of wives & mothers spontaneously turned into dragons, caused havoc and disappeared. A young girl named Alex lost her aunt, but everyone is acting like she didn't exist! Her cousin is now her 'sister'. We see Alex's life journey leading to the event, the aftermath and how she inevitably is meant to deal with dragons again.

Presenting a solemn lyricism to the writing, we view the world through Alex's eyes shaped by innocence and speculativeness, but still grounded and positively endearing. Foundations of the world and her place as a woman. What it is and what it should be. Showing us the underlying misogyny in society that we might not always realize is there. At times absolutely gut-wrenching and peppered with outrageous unfairness, I so wanted to scream at the book.

The characters are written quite well, three-dimensional in their characteristics, emotion and perspectives. We see their beauty, and we see their 'warts'. The book has the feel of historical fiction and a journal at the same time. I was content in the philosophizing of life through Alex's thoughts and queries.

There are inserts of 'historical' or 'scientific' documents about dragoning which make it quite interesting and give a flair of grandeur. Many times though those documents are long-winded and may irritate a little.

The dragons are a metaphor for rage against injustices and how society makes monsters of what they don't understand. Their flying away symbolizes getting away from situations you are trapped in. The pretending it didn't happen, how people like to hide behind their hands, then face the enormity of unmanageable, according to them, situations.

Such a thought-provoking novel, it reminds us that change is scary and there are those who will fight against it with everything they've got. But change will happen no matter what. This book is dedicated to feminine power, to breaking the mold and reaching as far as you want to go.

I very much enjoyed the concept of this book- it reminded me of the Disney Pixar movie Turning Red. I liked that there was LGBT+ representation but was very confused why there wasn’t much apparent homophobia for the era.

Since stumbling across this book on Twitter, it stayed on my mind - I just knew that I would love it from the title, the cover, the synopsis... And I was right! There was not one thing I didn't love about this novel - it examined gender politics in such a unique and beautiful way, the family relationships featured throughout were so beautifully convoluted, and (something I didn't expect from the marketing) it's ~ sapphic ~

Absolutely recommend this book! Immediately after finishing, I went out of my way to get a physical copy to re-read soon!

Loved this book. One of my favourites of the year! Great story and really enjoyed the characters. Would 100% recommend this to anyone looking for a enjoyable read!

🐉🐉🐉🐉

"There is no room for sorrow in a heart full of fire."

Publication day for @insufferable_blabbermouth coincided with leaked documents indicating SCOTUS is set on overturning Roe v Wade. I'm pretty sure we were dragons that day.

"It was too, well, feminine. Words stumbled and cheeks went red and the subject became impolite. And so the world looked the other way. It was, for almost everyone, like any other taboo subject— cancer, or miscarriages, or menstruation—spoken of in tight whispers and vague innuendos before changing the subject."

Women are incredible. We bleed every month because in the last 28 ish days, we didn't have sex & find ourselves pregnant. Women survive pregnancy, & all the changes & challenges that entails only to continue bleeding. If men could do what women can, the female of the species would be extinct. Am I exaggerating? Probably only a little bit.

"I am here to point you to the fact that once upon a time, humanity worshipped the Divine Feminine, and that in that time all of humanity was in the thrall of her power and strength, both procreative and destructive, both fecund and barren, both joy and terror, all at once."

Barnhill delivers a story of unceasing relevance. No matter what happens in this world, there will be some old man, & quite a few women who've swallowed the patriarchy pill of garbage, ready to deny us bodily autonomy. Alex, our protagonist should be recognisable as parts of ourselves. She's a strong young woman, who grows into her power.

One thing is certain. Women will not go quietly into some minor subset simply because we are inconvenient. Woman. Women. Know the word & hear us because we're not going to shut up.

I was offered this book as an ARC via NetGalley and was intrigued by the premise. I liked the way that the book was written almost as a diary or scrapbook of events and articles. I also liked that the assumptions that the reader was given early on in the novel were later contested or changed as the "scientific evidence" changed, much as it is in the real world. Whilst this was a good quick read, I can't help feeling that it could have benefitted from another draft. Some of the messaging was a little on the nose and there were times where the narrator's interrupting of themselves verged on the sense of the author intruding when too many extra notes were added in brackets. I am someone who probably uses far too many brackets themselves so it may be that I was particularly aware of their presence and it would occasionally knock me out of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a fantasy reimagining of feminist issues, akin to Naomi Alderman's The Power. However, instead of developing the ability to kill people via lightning, in Barnhill's book women transform into dragons when they feel 'the call'. Women who are oppressed or otherwise prevented from living their fullest lives (by circumstances such as misogynistic husbands or a need to suppress their sexuality) tend to hear that call more than others, though there is a suggestion that there is an element of joy to the transformation. Through the character of Alex, whose aunt transformed in the Mass Dragoning of 1955, Barnhill explores the issue of women's liberation and whether society can ever really come to terms with a truly free female population. It took me a little while to get into this book but it was a fascinating and engaging read, and I would recommend it.

This is the book I've been looking for to fill the hole 'The Power' and 'VOX' left behind. It is so beautifully written and the most original book I have picked up in a long time. A tale of frustration, repression and the fight for freedoms.

It took me a long time to get into this book, but when I did, it had me by the clutches of its talons. It's definitely not a lighthearted read, but instead captures the painful reality of a society and time that refuses to acknowledge or discuss that the truth doesn't conform to expectations or institutionalised misogyny. The main narrative is interspaced with excerpts of fictional texts about the history and theory of dragoning, which aids the world-building while the main character, Alex, refuses to acknowledge dragons and tries to push on with her life where it's safer to pretend that dragons don't exist.
A part of me is disappointed that Alex's happy ending is relegated to exposition in the final chapter, though I also think this would also detract from the main purpose of the story. I probably wouldn't reread this book, but I did enjoy it. There is some beautiful prose and the characters are complex and likeable. I would definitely read something by this author again!

Sublime. Thought provoking and just plain genius.

When Women Were Dragons shines a spotlight on misogyny and the rage, shame and pain it causes women and girls. Highlighting the ‘little Girls should be seen and not heard’ culture of previous decades.

After a mass dragoning in 1955 one little girl’s life and family are changed forever. We follow her through the silence and grief of a life in a place where a clever girl is treated as shameful. Her journey is beautiful and scary and wonderful. encompassing the truths of motherhood, female relationships and tender LGBTQ+ love.

Told using beautiful prose, this book has challenged the way I view the world. And made me cry and rage and smile.

The setting is perfectly drawn and the characters add depth to the emotional struggle against the lies society is built upon. Exquisitely bringing to life the quiet understated misery endured by so many women and girls, it’s a must read.

I also adored the Mrs Gyzinska, a librarian who is part of a secret group of scientists and thinkers who are willing to set aside society’s norms and conventions in pursuit of the truth.

I chose this book because I was intrigued by the cover and the blurb - who wouldn't want to read a book about women turning into dragons?!!

Alex's mother (Bertha) has been ill so her Aunt Marla has been looking after both her and the home - Alex's father considers housework and childcare a woman's responsibility. Marla is a strong independent woman who flew planes and now works as a mechanic, Bertha had the potential to be a world class mathematician but gave it all up to be a wife and mother. When Bertha returns from hospital and gradually regains her strength, she clashes with Marla over the way Alex is being brought up and suggests Marla marries and has a child of her own - which she does. But strong women can only be kept down for so long. A short time later, hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprout wings, scales and talons, leaving a trail of fiery destruction in their path - and several charred husbands. You'd think this would be headline news but instead the world prefers to pretend that it never happened...

When Women Were Dragons is a coming-of-age story set in the 1950s/60s in an alternative reality. We follow Alex as she grows to adulthood, being put down at school so that the male pupils can shine, told to forget about studying for a degree - such a waste for someone destined to become a wife and mother - and forbidden to see her dearest friend Sonja again because their relationship is 'inappropriate'.

When Women Were Dragons is brilliantly written and an extremely clever idea - I'd love to see it filmed! I loved the characters of Marla and Beatrice, both chaffing at being told what they love is wrong (but going ahead and doing it anyway!) and I felt the frustrations of Alex as she is denied every opportunity just because she's a woman. I particularly enjoyed the author's notes on her inspiration for the story. The only problem I had was with the pace. The story took a while to get past all the references to the 'Mass Dragoning' (which we didn't actually see) and into new territory, but I adored the ending.

Recommended for anyone looking to read something a little bit different!


Thank you to Kelly Barnhill and Hot Key Books (Bonnier Books) for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

“Dragons were a subject avoided in any context. One would sooner arrive at church in one’s underpants or discuss menstruation with the mailman or chat about sex on the radio. It simply wasn’t done.”

CW: Death of parent/parental figure, cancer, child abandonment, misogyny

When Women Were Dragons was a really fun twist on a serious subject. By using dragons in place of subjects best not to be discussed (ie. menstruation), the reader could see the ridiculousness of ignoring something that was (literally) a huge part of society. It completely neglected women’s lives because men were a little uncomfortable.
I loved that Alex was so interested in mathematics and science, whilst still being a family figure. Her relationship with Beatrice was heartfelt and I could really see her desperately trying to keep them together - I loved their bond of best friends, sisters, and more.
I think, given Alex’s interest in science, I was a little surprised there was less science to the book. The story is told as a combination of narrative and research papers, but the research is still very narrative. There was scope for scientific explanations and diagrams, but we didn’t get it. I understand that, as a society, they did not know everything about dragons yet, but I still feel like the opportunity was there and it wasn’t taken.
There was a really interesting point that transgender women could become dragons too, so it wasn’t just a biological phenomenon. It would have been really interesting to have explored this more.
Although I enjoyed this story and the moral I tried to share, I don’t think the story was particularly riveting. Nothing much happened to move the pace along.

Considering this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I am sorely disappointed.

The book is written in the style of a historical memoir; our MC Alex recalls her life from childhood, interspersed with newspaper articles, court case records, scientific journals, etc. Unfortunately, there was no differentiation in writing style to separate the personal memoir and the historical pieces.

I was not expecting a concept so brilliant as “oppressed often gay housewives in the 1950s get so angry they transform into dragons and eat their oppressive husbands before flying off” to be boring. I wanted to DNF at 20%, and 30%, and 40%; and at 65% was still not enjoying the book but just determined to see it through to the end in the hopes of a spectacular ending to redeem it.

As the narrator is young and confused, for at least 3/4 of the book, we unfortunately don't get to experience dragoning in a way that is satisfying. Every potentially powerful moment is shown to us so passively that this book loses any hope of igniting the spark this concept promised.

At every moment we are told exactly what to feel, "show not tell" is not considered in this novel. There is a lot of repetition early on in particular that becomes tedious to read, especially when Alex is trying to convince herself of her mother and father's lies. While I believe it was attempting to convey the level of indoctrination of society's refusal to admit dragons exist, the assertions felt out of place. Similarly, the links to real life (segregation, silencing of climate scientists, homophobic and transphobic laws) are so blunt that Barnhill is really hitting us over the head to make sure we don't miss them. A little more nuance and subtlety with the ideas would have improved the reading experience greatly.

I wanted the feminism; I wanted the female rage. Instead, I got oppressed 1950's women and a confused child, with not enough angry dragons to redeem it.

Where did the dragons go? I want to see the ones that visited the stars, that were protecting the great whales, or living in the mountains; not just the ones who longed to be mothers again. If we're going with the feminism is the freedom to choose message, then please also show us the women who chose something else for themselves, too.

Additionally, there was no inclusion of Black women, WOC, or trans women. To not be intersectional in a self-proclaimed feminist novel in 2022 is unacceptable.

Overall, a brilliant concept that failed to perform. I cannot express how much I desperately wanted to like this book.

TWs: sexism, homophobia, death, parent death.

How bizarre!!! I found this book so strange to read, honestly, it's like nothing I have read before. At first, it reads like a documentary or a non fiction - not the biggest fan of that. But it alternates between that and an actual story.

It is what it says, a book about a time when women became dragons. Actual dragons. It was super interesting once the story got going.

I started to get invested in the characters and wonder what was going to happen. Life seemed very unfair for our main character but as the book goes on, things start to make sense!

I love the cover as well, SOOO STUNNING

I so wanted to love this, and I just couldn’t. The synopsis makes it out that there’s going to be some big dramatic storyline and there’s really not. What it describes is basically all that happens, you just get a bit more information on what the dragon situation is! There were also some things brought up that had no relevance to anything and weren’t mentioned again, or there were plot lines left open and not even in an intriguing way, it was as if they were forgotten about.

That being said, there was a lot I liked! The feminist side to it was great (but I don’t think it was as brilliant as it’s been made out to be) and I loved how so many of the dragoning events tied in with real historic ones. I loved the descriptions of women and beauty and I found the mc, Alex very likeable and a very appropriate character to tell the story.

A weird one, definitely one to try, but won’t be for everyone!

Incredible. Empowering. Emotional. Wow.

As soon as I heard about this book – and the female empowerment inherent within it – I knew that it was something I HAD to read (thank you to Hot Key Books YA/Bonnier Books UK for allowing me to experience this before the world has a chance to marvel at it!)
I loved this book and will be asking all of my female friends, family, and strangers to experience the wonder, power, and hope within it. Barnhill has written something that I didn't know that I needed to read, until I did. It is truly gripping, heart-felt, emotional, and straight-up powerful!

Thank you to NetGalley & Hot Key Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year - the premise sounded right up my alley and I honestly couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I think that's a huge part of why I was left feeling so disappointed when I struggled to get into it - perhaps with lower expectations I wouldn't have been so frustrated about it, but in reality I think this book's just not for me.

I definitely felt for our MC, Alex, as we experience the struggles of her upbringing and I think the family dynamic was the most engaging part of the story. I honestly found the execution of the 'dragonings' quite boring and was tempted to DNF the book at several stages.

While it picked up between the 45%-75% mark, I also found myself finding the ending quite lack lustre and just unsatisfactory.

This was such a different book and soon had me hooked. I loved how cleverly it was put together, the linking of femininity to dragons. I couldn't wait to keep reading on and find out how it was going to end.