Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - When Women Were Dragons

Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️

The magical realism within When We Were Dragons poses the question: what would happen if women could transform into something else and leave their mundane lives behind?

Alex Green is a young girl growing up in 1950s America. But in this version of history, women can turn into dragons. No one really knows how or why it happens, but there are times throughout history where there have been "mass dragonings"--times where multitudes of women hear some sort of call to become dragons. Alex lives through one of these times but is forced to remain silent as the topic of dragoning is taboo and not spoken of on the news, in schools, or even at home. Throughout the novel, we watch Alex as she goes through puberty, becomes a young woman, and begins to understand what it means to be a woman.

This novel focuses on the topics of feminism, queerness, womanhood, and feminine rage. My main critique is that though these topics are complex, the way they are presented is not. Yes, each woman is able to choose for themselves, but there the novel mainly focuses on housewives and homemakers. And the intersectionality is quite lacking as characters' race is not a focus of the story or even mentioned that I can remember.

However, all that to say, I still think this book is important. Its messages are ones that can stand up for years to come. I deeply felt for the women in the novel who were stuck in situations they didn't want to be in. In the 1950s, it was definitely much more difficult for women to escape, which is why dragoning in this novel was such an important yet unconventional situation. It involved the woman leaving everything they knew behind as society was not yet ready to accept the dragons.

Though it left me wanting just a little bit more, I think this is a novel I will contemplate for years to come and will want to reread eventually.

Content Warnings

ladydamonayde's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Not as strong as other feminist sci fi like The Power or Vox but still a great read and worthy addition to the lineup.

Content Warnings

alisonvh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love this book so much! I love the idea of women being magical and activating their power in magical ways. I love the focus on female relationships of all kinds and how they can morph and evolve over time. I love the idea of women forging the lives they want and leaving behind the tiny little men who force them into tiny little lives. I got this book from the library, but I think I might need to own a copy.

Content Warnings

thirdtimesacharm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

coolfijiwater's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i’m going to carry this book with me for the rest of my life, and i will continue to go back to it.

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