I Can’t Wait For…To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

Posted 31st August 2022 by Sia in Can't-Wait Wednesday / 0 Comments

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose!

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Indigenous MC
Published on: 9th May 2023
Goodreads

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.

I don’t usually feature books with teenage MCs – I read them less and less often – but I LIT UP when I discovered To Shape a Dragon’s Breath! And can you blame me?! Look at that description!!!

I’ve wracked my brains, but I can’t come up with another dragon book that takes on colonialism and racism (if you know of any, please share, because I’d love to read them!), or a dragon book with an Indigenous MC. (Again, if you know some, drop me a comment!) So that immediately has my attention!

And mega points to whoever wrote the blurb, because this story already has me by the throat. The flash of pure outrage I felt at the idea of Anequs having to struggle through a damned coloniser school – and her dragon’s life is on the line?! l instantly wanted to burn the school to the ground, and drive the Anglish into the sea to drown.

Hi, I’m already extremely invested, is what I’m saying here.

On another note, I’m very interested in seeing Blackgoose’s dragons, because between the style of the cover art and the mention in the blurb of dragons driving storms away, it sounds like these dragons are not based on the typical fire-breathing, Western European dragons we usually see in fantasy. (Or maybe there are different kinds?) I’m a myth-nerd, okay, I’m excited for dragons inspired by other mythologies – or even if they’re not inspired by any mythology in particular, and ‘just’ invented by the author.

Basically, there is nothing I don’t love about this – I need this book yesterday!!!

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