Her ingrained (thanks to her mother) aversion to speaking of dragons causes a lot of internal, and some external conflict, and I really enjoyed seeing her journey regarding that.īeatrice is also a wonderful character, with lots of personality. And while she pushes against convention in some ways, namely her desire for a college education in a time of rampant sexism, she also adheres to certain norms. She’s a stubborn, clever young woman, who’s forced to grow up too soon, and who has to grapple with society’s expectations. I really rooted for Alex throughout, especially in the wake of her father’s failure to support her and her sister/cousin Beatrice. The characters are well-rounded and complex, too.

The setting feels so real, and familiar-it’s suburban America, after all, during a time period we’ve either lived or know plenty about-but with a magical twist that makes it fascinating. It’s such excellent historical fiction and alternate history. There are passages from scientific papers studying what happens when someone dragons, which provides an intriguing angle to contrast with Alex’s own perception. While it’s certainly a fantastical event, the way it happens among the culture of the 1950s makes it grounded and tangible. The concept is really intriguing, and it’s executed brilliantly. However, I didn’t expect this book to be quite so thought-provoking and wonderful!

So you tell me dragons are involved, and I’m in. But the consequences of the Mass Dragoning are unavoidable, even if they aren’t spoken of, and Alex is forced to grapple with them, and with her cousin’s growing fascination with dragons. And so as time goes on and the world decides to forget dragons, Alex grows up. She also must refer to her dear little cousin as her sister now, and never to speak of dragons. But her mother remained, and forbade Alex from speaking of her aunt. There was fire and destruction and fear, and then those women were gone.

One ordinary day in 1955, hundreds of thousands of women abruptly transformed into dragons. In When Women Were Dragons, Alex is just a girl when the world is rocked to its core.

When women were dragons