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Reading as a Writer: When Women Were Dragons

As is growing more and more common, I picked up When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill on the recommendation of a writing group friend. I spotted it in the same Barnes and Noble sale as when I bought How High We Go in the Dark. 

This might be one of my favorite reads of 2023 so far. The book follows Alex Green from childhood to early adulthood in the 60s and 70s as she navigates family, friendship, love, and her place in the world. Plus dragons. 

This book perfectly captured the rage of the last few years, the way a family can hurt you while trying to love you, and provides a knowing wink at the way fighting against an ingrained culture can feel entirely futile. And on top of that, it is just so, so beautiful. 

One thing that I was really impressed by with this story was the choice to set it in the 60s. If I had tried to write this story, I would have set it now; however, I think by putting this just at the point in time that the modern tradwife movement seems to want to push us back to was an excellent way of showcasing just how dangerous some of those ideals are. I hope this book is eye-opening to someone who needs to read it, and cathartic to everyone else. 

Overall: I loved this book, I will definitely re-read it, and it made me immensely sad. Not because it had a sad ending, but because I wish I had written this book, and I don't know that I'll ever be able to write something as perfect. 

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