When Women Were Dragons

In a world where girls and women are taught to be quiet, the dragons inside them are about to be set free ...

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, set in 1950s America, Kelly Barnhill exposes a world that wants to keep girls and women small - and examines what happens when they rise up.

Alex Green is four years old when she first sees a dragon in her next-door neighbour's garden, in the spot where the old lady usually sits. The huge dragon, an astonished expression on its face, opens its wings and soars away across the rooftops.

And Alex doesn't see the little old lady after that. No one mentions her. It's as if she's never existed.

Then Alex's mother disappears, and reappears a week later, with no explanation as to where she has been. But she is a ghostly shadow of her former self, and with scars across her body - wide, deep burns, as though she had been attacked by a monster who breathed fire.

Alex, growing from young girl to fiercely independent teenager, is desperate for answers, but doesn't get any. Whether anyone likes it or not, the Mass Dragoning is coming. Everything is about to change, forever.

And when it does, this, too, will be unmentionable ...

Perfect for fans of THE HANDMAID'S TALE, VOX, and THE POWER.

Review

In this soaring coming-of-age novel, Alex brings up her younger cousin Beatrice, awakening to independence, feminism, and identity as she navigates Bea's urge to "dragon". Fans of modern feminist classics such as The Power will find much to admire here, for teenage readers and beyond. -- Fiona Noble ― The Observer

Completely fierce, unmistakably feminist, and subversively funny. When Women Were Dragons brings the heat to misogyny with glorious imagination and talon-sharp prose. Check the skies tonight - you might just see your mother. ― Bonnie Garmus, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

In lesser hands the dragon metaphor would feel simplistic and general, but Barnhill uses it to imagine different ways of living, loving, and caring for each other. The result is a complex, heartfelt story about following your heart and opening your mind to new possibilities. This novel's magic goes far beyond the dragons. ― Kirkus, starred review

Ferociously imagined and incandescent with feeling. This book is urgent and necessary, and as exhilarating as a ride on dragonback. ― Lev Grossman, author of THE MAGICIANS trilogy

[...] it tells a great story of transformation and women becoming who they truly are meant to be, and how it affects those around them. ― Web Times

The plot of the story is extremely addicting. I found myself not able to put the book down for hours on end. I just had to find out what happened after the next chapter and the next chapter. Overall, I would give this book 10 dragons out of 10. Would read again. -- Emily, Bristol Hospital Education Service ― Historical Association

About the Author

Kelly Barnhill lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children. She is the author of four novels, including The Girl Who Drank the Moon, winner of the Newbery Medal. The Witch's Boy received four starred reviews and was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Awards.