To Shape a Dragon's Breath

December 1, 2022

Set in an alternate 1840s New England, To Shape a Dragon's Breath features Indigenous teenager Anequs, honored by her people when she bonds with a newly hatched dragon but challenged by the repressive rules at her dragon school, run by Anglish conquerors; debuter Blackgoose is an enrolled member of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe. Disappointed in love and life, Harlow Estrada returns home to The Enchanted Hacienda, where the women in her family purvey a gift she lacks, creating magic from flowers--but who knows what kind of magic might come her way as she runs the house in their absence; an adult debut from best-selling YA/Middle School author Cervantes. In The Water Outlaws, Hugo Award winner Huang draws on the Chinese classic Water Margin to tell the story of Lin Chong, who is driven from her job training the emperor's soldiers and taken in by the Bandits of Liangshan--thieves and murderers who seek justice for the empire's downtrodden (30,000-copy first printing). Living in an isolated apartment outside London five years after a microplastic storm killed most of Earth's population, Katie and son Harry--born after the storm--learn they are Not Alone in ecologist Jackson's debut; a stranger barges in, unsettling their lives but inspiring Katie to seek out her fianc�. In British Fantasy winner/Bram Stoker finalist Khaw's The Salt Grows Heavy, a mermaid murders her husband, destroys his kingdom, and runs off with a mysterious doctor to the taiga, where they discover a village full of creepy children whose blood sport jeopardizes their visitors (125,000-copy first printing). It is foretold that Psyche will vanquish a monster that makes even the gods quake, and she dutifully trains for battle, but in debuter McNamara's retelling of the Psyche and Eros myth, her victim is the god of love himself, pricked by his own arrow (100,000-copy first printing). In the mega-best-selling Paolini's Fractal Noise, a huge pit clearly made by someone or something is spotted by the crew of the Adamura on the supposedly uninhabited planet of Talos, and a team is dispatched to investigate (400,000-copy first printing). Seeking a cure for her desperately ill mother, Nat Drozdova travels to a snow-shrouded Manhattan skyscraper, where she encounters a winter goddess who sends her on a dangerous mission in the New York Times best-selling Saintcrow's Russian fantasy-inspired Spring's Arcana (100,000-copy paperback and 10,000-copy hardcover first printing). In this new fantasy from Wells, winner of Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex honors for her New York Times best-selling "Murderbot Diaries" series, Witch King Kai-Enna has been confined to a complex water trap after being murdered and is struggling to understand why he was imprisoned and why the Rising World Coalition is getting stronger by the day (200,000-copy first printing).

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2023
The people on the island of Masquapaug haven't seen a native dragon since long before the Anglish arrived with dragoneers and gunpowder, colonizing their land. When Anequs, 15, bonds with a fresh hatchling named Kasaqua, she is forced to go to an Anglish dragoneer school and is thrown into a completely different, restricting culture that is suspicious of her and her people at every turn. If she can't prove that she can be a competent dragoneer despite her "nackie" upbringing and outspoken ways, they'll execute her dragon, and the already low tolerance of indigenous communities could turn into outright attacks. This is a classic fantasy at its finest, in which a young, underestimated outcast is introduced to a magical boarding school and all the friendships, drama, prejudice, and romance that immersion entails. The indigenous quest to maintain culture and identity within a paralyzingly restrictive imperialism determined to stamp out natives and their beliefs, and Anequs' stubborn will to remain herself, create a fresh take on this setup and make this a must-read high-fantasy series. Blackgoose's focus on how storytelling and myth influence our culture and worldviews is also compelling. The relationships are exciting, the queer and polyamorous representation appealing, and it's easy to fall hard for Anequs, her world, and her love for her dragon.

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February 1, 2023

DEBUT The great dying had decimated the Indigenous population, and the island of Masquapaug, while considered part of New Anglesland, still kept much of its traditional life. Lost in the years were the dragons, the Nampeshiwe, but when young teen Anequs finds a dragon egg and the hatchling bonds with her, she is celebrated as Nampeshiweisit, one of her people linked to a dragon. Dragons used to live among the people and help dance away the autumn storms and bring bounty to the island. The Anglish that have conquered their lands have their own rigid ideas of raising dragons, along with their bonded. If Anequs doesn't attend an Anglish dragon school, her dragon Kasaqua will be killed, so she agrees to go. In a strange land and school, surrounded by those who believe they are better than her, Anequs must not only prove that she and Kasaqua can learn what they need to control their power but also show they can do it as themselves. VERDICT Blackgoose blends Indigenous history with fantastical beasts, taking themes of inequality and social agency in new directions. An excellent crossover novel for adults and young adults alike.--Kristi Chadwick

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.