Filed under: art, writing | Tags: coming out story, dragon book, dragon child, dragons, literature, play by play, When Women Were Dragons
If you’ve been playing along, I’ve been reading this book due to its weird commonality with both my dragon blog and my audio drama. You can read Part One and/or Part Two. I will spoil this book for you so if you want to be surprised by anything that happens, skip this one. Not that that would be a big deal, actually.
NOV 8
I’m back in the game with When Women Were Dragons. I had apparently read 78% before it was returned to the library. So we’re back on the horse (or dragon) with 22% left to read.
Having been away from this book for a while, I found it challenging to drop back in. My attention kept sliding around as I read the account of the protagonist’s prom where a bunch of girls turned dragon. The real drama seemed to be that a lot of girls were nice to her for a change and that she found them very beautiful and then they were naked and then they were dragons? Primary image – green glitter.
But our protagonist doesn’t turn dragon, presumably because of those knots her mother tied. So I guess the drama is NOT turning dragon while all the other girls transform.
Then school gets canceled and the librarians tutor dragons and then there’s an “academic” talk about how this is the next dragoning.
I guess, given how beautiful the protagonist found one of the naked girls before she dragoned, this might all be an elaborate coming out story? Which would actually be cool – but the dedication and introduction led me to believe this might have something to do with Christine Blasey Ford?
We’ll see, I guess.
NOV 9
I might re-title this book A Series of Not Particularly Exciting Events with Dragons. It’s just, like, ok, she graduated from high school, started college and moved in with her aunties who happen to be dragons but it doesn’t really matter. They still cook and clean and brush the little girl’s hair.
Also, at her aunt’s suggestion, the protagonist finally opens the box her mother left her to look for the secret bank accounts she left behind. And they’re there! How fortunate! What a surprise! Too bad she didn’t bother to open that box when she first received it! And speaking of boxes she hasn’t opened, as far as I know, she still hasn’t read the stuff her aunt left behind but now she doesn’t need to because her aunt is there and could tell her anything she wants to know. But apparently the protagonist doesn’t want to know anything and just pouts about all the help she’s getting from dragons.
Best part of this book? The kid who has little dragon outbursts where she suddenly grows talons and ruins her shoes before returning to regular feet. I suggest this author scrap this whole book and re-write it from this dragon kid’s perspective. She’s the most interesting character of any of them.
NOV 10
Guess who’s back? The protagonist (her name’s Alex, I don’t know why I can never remember that when I’m writing these) is reunited with her friend that her dad went into the homophobic panic about. And it seems like he had a “good” reason for the panic because these two are besotted with each other but completely unable to acknowledge it yet. It takes a conversation with a dragon scientist to clarify that a) her aunt is a lesbian and b) Alex is probably in love with her friend, too.
Also her aunt is in a dragon quadruple? Four dragon ladies who are all in love with each other? I mean, okay, cool. I guess this book is just an elaborate coming out story after all. And I guess that’s cool but I’m not sure I love what it seems to be implying. Like, since all the dragons are mostly just super helpful aunties and church ladies and knitters and what not, it seems to be suggesting that lesbians are all just nice ladies who want to cook and clean for you. And in my experience? Lesbians have a lot more to offer than being nice wives to other ladies. There are no radicals in this book just overly helpful ladies who want to brush your hair.
And then there’s this scene with the nice dragon scientist doctor guy who just wants to come over and observe all these ladies and see the baby dragon transform for the first time, a process we have been led to believe involves some nakedness and he seems really genuinely interested for science but also…it’s somehow creepy?
This book is so weird, you guys. So weird.
NOV 11
This book keeps feeling like it’s ending and then doesn’t. They finally let the kid become the dragon she wants to be and then everyone becomes dragon activists for her. I thought that might be the end because this book has been headed there ever since this character could talk.
But wait, there’s more!
The protagonist’s girlfriend (and yes, now they are out as girlfriends) turns dragon and tries to convince the protagonist (Alex) to join her. But she doesn’t.
I thought it might end there but wait, there’s more!
I don’t know what actually the end is yet but it’s clear there are more chapters after this. I’d had enough by the time we got to the girlfriend dragoning up. But I think we’re ALMOST there.
Fingers crossed someone will actually read the hidden materials from the beginning – but I somehow think everyone has forgotten those, including the author.
THE FINAL CHAPTERS are coming soon. They’re a whole other post because it turns out I have a LOT to say about this whole experience.
To continue on to THE FINAL CHAPTERS, click here.
Photo by Taylor Kopel on Unsplash
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