Apr 25

Apr 25 When Women Were Dragons

Author: Kelly Barnhill
Publisher: Doubleday
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

Learn about the Mass Dragoning of 1955 in which 300,000 women spontaneously transform into dragons...and change the world.

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours. But this version of 1950's America is characterized by a significant event: The Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales and talons, left a trail of fiery destruction in their path, and took to the skies. Seemingly for good. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex's beloved Aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn't know. It's taboo to speak of, even more so than her crush on Sonja, her schoolmate.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of dragons: a mother more protective than ever; a father growing increasingly distant; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and a new "sister" obsessed with dragons far beyond propriety. Through loss, rage, and self-discovery, this story follows Alex's journey as she deals with the events leading up to and beyond the Mass Dragoning, and her connection with the phenomenon itself.

TL;DR Review

When Women Were Dragons is a fierce, heartfelt work of magical realism and historical fiction — one day in the 50s, thousands of angry women turned into dragons. Yeah, it’s awesome.

For you if: You’re here for women’s anger and like a little magic in your novels.

Full Review

First, thank you Doubleday for the advanced copy of this book! It comes out May 3. The moment I read the premise — one day in the 1950s, hundreds of thousands of women (and not just cis women) turned into dragons, and the world was never quite the same — I was IN. Also, it’s sapphic. YUP.

Even though this turned out to be not QUITE what I’d expected (slightly slower pacing, slightly more literary), I really, really liked it. The main character and narrator is a girl named Alex, who’s telling the story as an adult but starts all the way back when she was a young kid. Her mother didn’t turn into a dragon, but her aunt did, leaving behind a cousin who became Alex’s sister. What’s especially noteworthy is that the Mass Dragoning became such a taboo subject that people lost jobs or were criminally prosecuted for even mentioning it; it was also seen as a distinctly *feminine* topic, embarrassing and inappropriate, like menstruation.

I’d call this magical realism rather than fantasy because it’s very much set in the real world, just with an alternate history. (Remember, Doubleday published it, not Tor.) So if you’re looking for a fantasy novel with a typical fantasy adventure plot, this isn’t that, just FYI. I think it was that shift in expectations that made the beginning feel a little slow to me; but once I settled in, I zipped right through it. If you’re a litfic reader who also likes magic, this would be a great break between heavier litfic reads (especially now during award season).

Look, this book has so much feminine rage (and joy!). It has sapphic dragons who can fly to space. It has a main character determined to become a physicist. It has an elderly librarian who can fix anything. It explores sisterhood and the danger of suppressing information and vilifying science and discouraging questions. And Barnhill dedicated it to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Go get a copy!