Bookish Thursday - I Want to Be a Witchy Dragon!

It seems almost creepy that during the recent events which affect women and their bodies and what they can and can't do 'legally', I have finished two books that tackle the issue of empowering women. And both are real winners as far as I'm concerned.

The first one I read was When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. 

In 1955 there was a 'mass dragon-ing', an event which is being scrubbed from history and denied by governments world-wide. 

A quick synopsis - 

A rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are. The first adult novel by the Newbery award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.

I was born in 1957 and remember the 'accepted' idea of how women should and shouldn't behave. So this book hit several nerves for me. There have been times in my life I have felt the 'dragon' rising. Actually, if I was a dragon I think I would have a huge ruff which would stand up when enraged. And, per my daughters, I have probably breathed fire on more than one occasion. 

The second book is one which has been on my shelf to read for months now. And I decided to listen to it instead. Needless to say, every time I read something by Alix E. Harrow, I'm in love with her writing more and more. 

(I own a copy of this book since Slider chewed the corner off of it and I had to buy it from the library. That was a year ago. He is much, much better about books now.)

Set in the late 1800's, 3 sisters come back together to protect each other and other women. Once again, this book highlights the patriarchy and how women, who express any form of magical ability, are jailed and burned. 

A synopsis of the book...

In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in this powerful novel of magic, family, and the suffragette movement. 

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters - James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna - join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote - and perhaps not even to live - the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

An homage to the indomitable power and persistence of women, The Once and Future Witches reimagines stories of revolution, motherhood, and women's suffrage - the lost ways are calling.

Both of these books came into my hands at a very troubling time in our own time and felt very relevant to current events. And I can't recommend either one of them more highly. I think they should be a must-read for everyone - male and female.

In the meantime, I am going to practice my witchy ways while flying around and breathing fire!