Set in the mid-1950’s, the book follows Alex, the protagonist, as she manoeuvers around the difficulties of growing up as a girl in the 50s. The plot of When Women Were Dragons is pretty straightforward. But I’m glad I opened it, and gladder to have let it invite me in once I began reading.

Sometimes, it’s disconcertingly hard not to judge books by their covers.

Reborn.” on the front cover along with the title in a slightly tawdry font, all on a dark green-violet background, and an open dragon eye on the bottom left. I wasn’t entirely sure if it would be so when I first began. In other words, it’s a warm hug for struggling teenage girls and adult women alike. It has feminists, dragons, and fantasy world-building in a comforting font which envelops you in perfectly ordered chapters and beautifully adjusted paragraphs. If I’d been a sixth grader when I read Kelly Barnhill’s When Women Were Dragons, I would have hung up a poster of the cover in my room. What is the future of the museum? Romila Thapar on why the past needs to be understood in context.How colonial laws of censorship are still used by governments for moral policing.How accessible is the new Parliament complex for the disabled?.Watch: Mumbai hotel staff dances to welcome Backstreet Boys as they arrive in India for tour.Watch: Comedian Shraddha’s hilarious take on the performance appraisal of corporate employees.Rush Hour: Manipur is swept by deadly violence.A new book of short stories is based on eyewitness accounts of women’s lives in royal harems.Explained: What the collapse of Go First means for Indian aviation and for passengers.Manipur: Tribal group take out march to oppose inclusion of Meiteis among Scheduled Tribes.

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When women were dragons book