The Girl Who Drank the Moon
by Kelly Barnhill
Age Range: 8+
A girl is accidentally “enmagicked” as a baby and grows up
to join an unforgettable cast of characters to thwart an evil witch who has
cast a gloom on a village.
Luna spends her childhood in a forest with her grandmother,
a bog monster, and a perfectly tiny dragon named Fyrian. Little does she know
that her grandmother is, in fact, a helpful witch named Xan who saved her (and
countless others) from certain death when she was an infant. During the rescue,
however, Xan accidentally feeds Luna moonlight, giving the girl magical powers
that start to appear when Luna approaches her 13th birthday. Meanwhile, the
land of Luna’s birth, the Protectorate, is under the spell of an evil witch who
the townspeople mistakenly believe to be Xan. But the real witch lurks in the
Protectorate and - with the help of the evil Council of Elders - lives off the
suffering of the townspeople. Things come to a head when Luna’s birthmother and
a young couple in the Protectorate figure out the truth and fight back. They
join forces with Luna and her compatriots to end the evil witch’s reign. It’s
an enchanting story about the power of love, the harm of sorrow, and the power
of forgiveness. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. And when it’s over you’ll want to
read it all over again. I haven’t been so captivated by a book since the last Harry
Potter title. Barnhill doesn’t waste a word and the gorgeous prose begs to be
read out loud. Luna’s non-traditional forest family is so expertly crafted that
you’ll wish you had a kindly witch for a grandmother, a bog monster who recites
poetry, and a perfectly tiny dragon to curl up in your pocket, too.
Professional tone although "I" was included a few times, it was still an overall solid review. Full points.
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