When Women Were Dragons
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Our view
Kelly Barnhill’s “When Women Were Dragons” turns women’s anger into a striking fantasy image, and that image stays with readers. The opening, assembled from news items, speeches and testimonies, is the part they single out. Some readers find the metaphor spelled out too plainly, and others feel the idea would have suited a short story better than a full novel. Thoughtful and hopeful in tone, it is fantasy with an openly feminist purpose.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
When Women Were Dragons is a 2022 fantasy novel by Kelly Barnhill. Kirkus Reviews named When Women Were Dragons one of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2022.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.6 across 153 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 51% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 7.6 | 153 | 100% |
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 7.8, the closest to this book.
