To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

 To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

Why did I wait so long to read this book???

I never heard of this book until the 2024 Hugo Award nominations came out, and it was nominated for (and later won!) the Lodestar Award (and the author was nominated for the Astounding Award). Based on the description it didn’t sound that exciting to me. It sounded like a big standard magical school/dragon riding book, and I’ve read so many of them over the years. But when the author won the Astounding Award in 2025, I decided I should probably give it a shot. 

And I’m so glad I did! This was not like every other underdog magical school outsider story I’ve read before. It was a delightfully nuanced tale of an indigenous girl going to the school in the white European/American coded society’s dragon training academy. The characters were interesting and well rounded (although the protagonist came off as a little too capable at times). The world building was excellent and I loved every minute of it! I’m very much looking forward to the sequel!