Review: WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS

Title: When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Beginning quote: 

I was four years old when I first met a dragon. I never told my mother. I didn't think she'd understand.

Page 56 55 quote: 

Despite my mother's aversion to hard conversations, the nation went through a short, and only somewhat thorough, reckoning of what had occurred. This was difficult, given the assumed femininity of dragons, and the Mass Dragoning's accepted connection to something as private as motherhood.

Summary: In 1955 thousands of American women spontaneously transformed into dragons. This event destroyed everyone's notion of women and their place in the world. The government couldn't explain how or why it happened so instead of studying the large-scale dragoning they made it a forbidden topic that couldn't be mentioned in school let alone studied.

When Alex's Aunt Marla dragonned, her daughter, Beatrice, became her sister. When Alex's mom died from cancer, she was put in charge of Beatrice's care. But from a young age, Beatrice wanted to become a dragon herself. Alex feared she'd be left alone in a world she didn't understand.

Review: My daughter was the person who recommended this book to me. She knew I would love it and she was right. I adored this book with a look at feminism from a different angle. If you are thinking you don't like to read "fantasy" books, don't worry, this book is really a human story about all the indignities women have had to put up with over the ages. And it shows what happens when women rise up (literally) and the value is felt by everyone is society. I laughed, I cringed, I cried. This book really, really spoke to my heart and hey, the hero of the book is a librarian. What's not to love?

I love this book so much I bought a copy for my mother who is turning 95 later this month. In a lot of ways my mom has been a real dragon in my life and has done so much good for her community. I also hope my book club will consider this for a future meeting. Now I am recommending it to you.

(Source: Kirkus Reviews)

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