I tend to avoid fiction that is directly marketed as YA, but sometimes, I see a premise that is too cool to resist. To Shape A Dragon’s Breathe (Nampeshiweisit #1), by Moniquill Blackgoose, is a colonial fantasy set in the States during a period when the English (Anglish) still controlled their colonies. The book is a mash of a magical dragon school story with big anti-colonial themes, and I found that it consistently delivered good storytelling, memorable characters, and themes/execution that would be great for any number of young readers.
The book tells the story of Anequs, a young indigenous girl trying to enjoy her life with her tribe/family on an increasingly shrinking native land. When a lone native dragon (thought extinct) is spotted laying an egg near the tribe, the egg is brought in and looked after as dictated by their traditional ways. The egg hatches a small dragon, as eggs do, and it chooses Anequs as its partner. Now Aneques has a problem. Dragons are weapons of extreme power and the Anglish keep a very tight leash on who is allowed to have them. Thus Anequs finds herself submitted to an Anglish dragon school where she must learn to control her dragon to their satisfaction or have it, and herself, put down for the good of society.
As a man of British descent who thinks the history of Britain is a long list of bad, greedy choices, I felt that this book did a great job of simplifying the evils of colonialism and making them pretty digestible for young readers. This book is essentially a series of scenes where Anequs tries to live her life in a good way, and the Anglish is terrible in a myriad of different ways. It dives into culture clash, the insidious nature of the slow erosion of the culture of the conquered, the powers of social norms, and the incredibly difficult decisions that natives had to make to survive in a colonial world. To Shape A Dragon’s Breathe can definitely be heavy-handed, but I don’t actually think that is a bad thing here, given the intended audience and the importance of the message. Blackgoose does a great job, in particular, diving into the ways that kindhearted subjugators can actually hurt the natives in their blindsided attempts to help them.
The cast of the book is also fabulous. Anequs is a little odd despite being a very powerful character. She is supposed to be in her mid-teens, and she is the least believable teenager I have ever read. Anequs talks like a sixty-year-old stateswoman who has had a long career of successful leadership, but only after she was a professor of sociology and anthropology for many years. This juxtaposition is further thrown off by the other characters being believable teens, which can often make her feel largely out of sync. Yet, I actually really liked her character throughout the story despite her tonal mismatch. She is supported by a great cast of characters, including a native who was raised among the Anglish, a rich Anglish girl whose heart is in the right place, and a neurodivergent and socially shunned Anglish boy. Together, they made a very well-rounded crew that had great chemistry. Their vibrant personalities made the book fly by, even when the plot slowed down.
The world-building is also very interesting. Blackgoose’s dragons have the ability to essentially do alchemy with their breath instead of just breathing fire, which led to tons of interesting lore around the uses of dragons. I do feel like the dragons themselves were underrepresented as characters, especially given how much the book emphasizes that they are sentient beings with thoughts and feelings as a major theme. But every moment I got with the dragons was a lot of fun, and I really like the design of Anequs’ dragon.
Overall, To Shape A Dragon’s Breathe is a very solid young adult debut that feels distinct from its competitors while also making use of popular tropes as storytelling tools. It is never too young to learn about how shitty the English were historically, and this book does a great job of diving into anti-colonial themes in interesting and accessible ways. I definitely recommend this book, especially if you are a burgeoning fantasy reader.
Rating: To Shape A Dragon’s Breath – 8.5/10
-Andrew
