To Shape a Dragon's Breath
Ratings22
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings22
Average rating3.8
A young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy—and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things—in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series.
The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.
Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.
For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.
Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.
Featured Series
1 primary bookNampeshiweisit is a 1-book series first released in 2023 with contributions by Moniquill Blackgoose.
Reviews with the most likes.
Love love love love love this book. I CANNOT wait to see what Blackgoose writes next.
What to say about this book. It's beloved but didn't hit for me.
I loved the start (though I wished it would hurry along a tad. Took too many pages to get to the school) and I ADORE the neurodivergent rep in this. The characters leapt from the page but that's where my enjoyed of this ended.
There is a tension that is missing throughout the narrative if this book. A threat of the MC loosing her dragon if she fails and yet it's mentioned once with no tension after or fear. Things happened in this book but they failed to connect in a cohesive plot. Little to no character development. It was boring.
I wanted more from the book. More exploration on the school and frankly more dragons. For a dragon book there is very little dragons in it.
Seeing the life native Americans lived through the lense of the MC was a lovely insight. I enjoyed the culture and their ways immensely.
It's a shame this book failed for me I started off loving it.
TWs: Discrimination
“What's wrong with living the way our ancestors have always lived?
3.5 rounded down.. or is it a 4?? I don't know!! I really enjoyed the aspects and the topics of indigenous people, their traditions/cultures, and being placed into a colonized, modern world. A topic and question still important to our current modern world as many cultures shift into modernization and integration of technology.
The con for me was also the pacing, repetition, and the odd romance (I say odd because I personally did not expect it lol). Much of the action happens at the very end of the book, so the pacing confused me quite a bit throughout the book. The writing was not my cup of tea, perhaps it is because it's a YA book.
