#13: To Shape a Dragon's Breath
The shapeless medicine of a dragon's breath is change.
To Shape a Dragon's Breath
Moniquill Blackgoose
Year Published: 2023
Pages: 511
Genres: Fantasy, alternate history, academia, steampunk
Topics: Colonization, racism, LGBTQ identity, dragons
Recognition
Summary
Fifteen-year-old Anequs never thought she was anything special. She always assumed she would grow up to take care of her family household, according to the tradition of the indigenous people of the island of Masquapaug. But when she discovers a dragon egg and forms a powerful bond with its hatchling—the first dragon born on the island in generations—she realizes her life will have to change.
Because her people have forgotten how to live with dragons and control their powerful breath, Anequs travels with her dragon to the only place she knows where she can learn these skills: a dragon academy on the mainland run by the colonizing Anglish. There, she studies geometry, history, science, and "skiltacraft," the discipline that allows dragoneers to harness the magic in their dragons' breath to transmute elements and create powerful effects.
But Anequs has absolutely no interest in conforming to the expectations of Anglish society. Baffled and frustrated by its pointless restrictions and intolerance, she plans to return home after she graduates and use her dragon's magical abilities to improve life for her people. But she discovers that some very important figures in Anglish society are not at all happy to see native people with the power of dragons.
To Shape a Dragon's Breath and Me
Science fiction and fantasy were my earliest favorite genres, and although I don't read as much of them these days, I was interested in seeing what was happening in YA sci-fi and fantasy. I saw that To Shape a Dragon's Breath had won both Hugo and Nebula awards (the two premier awards for the genres in the U.S.) in the YA category in recent years, and I was interested to check it out.
I really enjoyed the world that Blackgoose builds for her characters. It's a mixture of alternate history (the book takes place in an alternate 1840s Massachusetts Bay area), fantasy, and steampunk, and it features a complex magic system based on real chemistry. To Shape a Dragon's Breath, though, is the first book in an upcoming series, so we don't get to see too much of this world: mostly, we're relegated to the dragon academy or the island of Masquapaug. And, despite being over 500 pages long, there's not much real conflict in the story until the last 50-75 pages or so. I wish we could have arrived at that larger conflict much sooner and foregone some of the long descriptions of school life and social events.
Still, I was interested enough in the world of the novel that I want to read the second book, which is scheduled to come out in 2025.
Teaching Considerations
Young Adult: To Shape a Dragon's Breath wasn't actually marketed as a YA novel or published under a YA imprint, but it reads pretty unmistakably as YA (teen protagonist, school setting, young romance, etc.). I understand that this kind of YA fantasy tends to do well with all ages, but I think the sweet spot for this book might be 8th-10th grade (13-16 years old).
Small Group or Independent Read: To Shape a Dragon's Breath has some elements that would make me want to teach it as a whole-class read, especially its themes of colonization and relations between indigenous and colonizing people. But it's just a little too long and slow for that task, and teaching selections would be difficult because the story relies so heavily on world building. I think a small group or independent read would be most appropriate.
Alternate History Exploration: Because Blackgoose creates an alternate version of American history, the novel could serve as a basis to explore related events in actual American history at the same time and/or place (e.g., the history of Native peoples in the Massachusetts Bay area, New England in the 1840s, the history of Native boarding schools, etc.).
Sensitive Content: To Shape a Dragon's Breath contains discussions of race massacres and 19th-century-style scientific racism against indigenous people. There are a couple of deaths, a few kisses, and hints at a polyamorous relationship.
Read-Aloud Passages
- I was gathering mussels on Slipstone Island when I saw the dragon. ... Eastward, into the darkness of twilight. (pp.1-2)
- Anequs unexpectedly stumbles across a dragon, which looks at her sadly and flies away into the distance. This is the opening of the novel, and I think it's one of its better written descriptive passages. It also drops us right into the novel's world of dragons and will likely hook readers already interested in the topic.
- One day, about a week into July, the egg hatched. ... Kasaqua only flicked an ear at the roar of triumph that rose in the meetinghouse. (pp. 18-20)
- The egg hatches, and the baby dragon immediately bonds with Anequs. The passage introduces Anequs's dragon Kasaqua and sets up Anequs's role as "belonging" to the dragon. It's an important part of her character, and the scene's mood is a mixture of cute, exciting, and moving.
Liked To Shape a Dragon's Breath? Try These:
- Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (2020)
- The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence (2023)
- Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang (2023)
Comments
Post a Comment