5 Star Review: When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Last year I only had one five star book all year, so I'm pretty happy that I have already discovered by third 5 star book of the year - When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill.  I don’t know if I can find the words to describe how much I loved this book!  It’s set in the 1950s and 60s in a world just like our own - except that some women have been spontaneously transforming into dragons.  No one talks about it and the government tries to cover it up, but our protagonist, Alex, first saw it happen when she was just 4 years old.  The book is told as the older Alex reminiscing about her childhood and how it was affected by the dragonning, interspersed with bits of news articles and scholarly writing about it. 

I know some people will hear dragons and think “nope, I’m not a fantasy reader, this book is not for me,” but I implore you to give it a chance!  We’re not talking about a book where fae and elves are romping in magical woods (not that there’s anything wrong with that; I like those books too.) Rather, it is very much grounded in reality and with powerful emotions and messages - think of the dragons as metaphors. 

It’s a book about rage and joy, about love and fear, about sexism and feminism, about truth and lies, about trauma and healing, about being different and belonging, and above all, about family.  And it is truly a masterpiece and one which will sit with me for a long, long time.  

I teared up multiple times while reading it, not necessarily because of sad moments but just because I would be struck profoundly by something that was being said or happened.  And of course, what 5 star review of mine would be complete without my comment that I finished it crying?  Indeed, I stayed up late last night to finish it, and then I couldn't fall asleep because I was still thinking about.

Sometimes I wager about whether a book should be 4.5 or 5 stars which usually puts it back to 4.5 stars; with this book I had not a moment of doubt. 

By the way,  I have already read 96 books this year, so three 5 star books is still really, really rare - I am super-selective with my five star ratings and try to save them only for the most special of books.  And if you were wondering, the other two so far this year are Notes On an Execution and This Time Tomorrow.