I picked this up at a bookstore in Denver while I was out there for a conference. I mostly liked that it was about dragons, and vaguely because it was about feminism. I think this was a lefty dream of a book though, the dragons are fierce and communal and hardworking, and one of the main heroes is a librarian!
The book follows Alex who as a young girl stumbles across a dragon. We then find out that in the 50s there’s a Mass Dragoning event, where many women across the country all simultaneously shed their skin and become dragons. No one knows why, and it quickly becomes taboo to speak of it so no one learns why or how. Alex’s aunt is one of the women who turn into a dragon, leaving her mother to basically adopt Alex’s cousin Beatrice. Alex’s mom eventually dies of cancer though, and her dad dumps both her and Beatrice at a different apartment to keep them away from his new family. Alex is determined to go to college and study math like her mom, but doesn’t know how. The local librarian comes to her rescue, and even gets her in touch with a former doctor who studied dragons and knew her aunt.
Then her aunt comes back. Alex is mad, but dragons all over are returning to their homes en masse. There are more people being accepting of dragons, and slowly things are changing. Alex moves into a giant farm not far from college with her sister (who is popping in and out of being a dragon), and her aunt and her aunt’s three other dragon friends. The dragons all get to work raising Beatrice and Alex can focus on being a student. Alex has a relationship with another girl at school, but that ends when she transforms into a dragon and Alex decides not to. Alex ends up accepting that Beatrice will turn into a dragon, and Beatrice even ends up going back and forth for a while. The book ends with Alex aging and being cared for by her younger sister as a dragon.
I really loved this book and I think I’ll be pondering it for a while. I was concerned that it would be stuck in 50s feminism, but there are trans women mentioned and even men are mentioned as turning into dragons. The dragons are also not all peace loving creatures, many of them eat their husbands before flying off. It’s seen as people’s prejudices leading them to be violent rather than them starting anything.
The lack of labels is also very nice. Alex has this relationship with her friend, but never calls herself gay. Same with her aunt and the dragon polycule, they never label it as anything. They just let everyone be who they are and don’t worry about it. The main label is dragon or human. Which is the most defining one of the book.
I love that Alex never dragons. I love that she comes to peace with her mom not dragooning, I love that it isn’t seen as a lesser option to stay in her human form. I think as I was reading I was worried that those that dragooned would be more enlightened or woke or something, but the book makes it very clear that it’s about thinking about what kind of life you want for yourself. Whether you answer that call or not. And it isn’t a moral failing. Her mom had this power with knots, which opposes the magic of being a dragon. It keeps you a human and grounded, and that is the power that Alex ends up taking on.
The men are also practically inexistent throughout the story. Alex’s dad is useless, the boy she goes with to prom is forgettable, and the librarian guy is also about to blend into the background. The only man that does anything is the doctor studying dragons, and it is made clear that he is a bit of a windbag. I love it.
Anyways this was such a fun book, it was infuriating reading
about the things Alex’s dad puts her through, but there is so much beauty and
glory in it as well. It really shows how beautiful and incredible women can be,
and that there is so much power in being a woman.
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