Name: Jeff's review of The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Item: The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Rating: 5
Author: Jeff

Kelly Barnhill

THE NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER 'This beautifully written, darkly funny coming-of-age story will enchant and entertain' Daily Mail Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is in fact a good witch who shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna's thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge - with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth's surface. And the woman with the Tiger's heart is on the prowl . . . The Newbery Medal winner from the author of the highly acclaimed novel The Witch's Boy.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Haley S

Jessica

Winner of the 2017 Newbery Award The New York Times Bestseller An Entertainment Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2016 A New York Public Library Best Book of 2016 A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2016 An Amazon Top 20 Best Book of 2016 A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016 A School Library Journal Best Book of 2016 Named to KirkusReviews’ Best Books of 2016 2017 Booklist Youth Editors’ Choice Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge—with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. And the woman with the Tiger’s heart is on the prowl . . .

The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal)

Jeff

Just finished reading this to my six–year-old; wonderfully realised, lyrical prose, exciting, and heartfelt. The girls would groan whenever we had to stop for the night, and I was right there with them!

Winner of the 2017 Newbery Award The New York Times Bestseller An Entertainment Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2016 A New York Public Library Best Book of 2016 A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2016 An Amazon Top 20 Best Book of 2016 A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016 A School Library Journal Best Book of 2016 Named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2016 2017 Booklist Youth Editors’ Choice Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge--with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. And the woman with the Tiger’s heart is on the prowl . . .

Janice Hopper

** spoiler alert **
           Sometimes there are witches in the forest. Sometimes babies have to be left to the witch so the town can go on.

Sometimes things aren't what they seem. Not all witches are baby-eating monsters. And not all monsters are... monsters.

This is a little story about magic. It's about loss and sadness, and about coming into your own, and about sacrifice. It's about "safety" that isn't really safe. It's about not questioning the assumptions you've grown up with, and how that can hurt.

I think there's some symbolism at the end, but I'm not sure, since I'm pretty symbolism-deaf.

There's a lot to like here. I thought while I was reading it that it would be a good story to read aloud. Fyrian the "Simply Enormous" dragon was sweet. Glerk the Bog Monster I found a little enigmatic. I was a little unsure about Luna's character arc. I guess one character waxing in strength requiring the other to wane in strength is sorta moon-related? 

Anyway, things come out all right in the ends. And there's some nice imagery along the way (thank you for the image of escaping from a tower window on the backs of a multitude of paper birds!) But the story as a whole doesn't sit really strongly in my imagination. Just bits and pieces do.

Kelly Regan Barnhill

A New York Times BestsellerWinner of the 2017 Newbery Medal2017 Booklist Youth Editors' ChoiceOn seven Best Book ListsEvery year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby for the witch in the forest to keep her from terrorizing their town. But Xan is kind. She nourishes the babies with starlight and delivers them to welcoming families. Until she accidentally feeds a baby moonlight, filling her with extraordinary magic that will emerge with dangerous consequences.

Hanna Garpmo

Wow! This was such an amazing read! The characters were amazing and the plot was poetic and beautiful and the language was so pretty and clever it felt like I could touch it. I wanted to jump into this world and live in it. I saw it all in my head like a movie from Laika (makers of Coroline etc) and now I can’t get that out of my head. Amazing. 

Martha Louisse F. Balaag

I love the beginning of this book and its plot. The author's style of writing gives a magical vibe and makes it more enjoyable to read. However, as the story continues it becomes quite boring and confusing because it has so many characters and sub-plots.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received a finished copy of the book. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Girl Who Drank The Moon

Author: Kelly Barnhill

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, fantasy, fairtales, witches

Publication Date: August 9, 2016

Genre: MG Fantasy

Recommended Age: 13+ (Sacrificing children, Sexism, Kidnapping, Gore, Violence, Abelism, Death, Animal death, Animal violence, Animal injury)

Explanation of CWs: Slight gore and violence are in this book. The book has the narrative of sacrificing babies to a witch and they abandon the babies in the process. There is some sexism talk and some abelistic words. Kidnapping is in this book. Death is discussed in detail. There are scenes of animal injury, violence, and brutal death.

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Pages: 386

Synopsis:  Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. 

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.

Review: For the most part I really liked this book. I really liked how it read like a fairytale and the concept behind it was fascinating to me. It was hard to put down because of the amazing characters and their development with each other. I also liked the world building and how well paced the book was.

However, the book had some confusing moments. It didn't fully explain the magic system and the book's plot was a bit confusing as it had 4 different plots going at once by the end of it when it originally started as 2. The book also had some confusing resolutions to it. There are also some elements that wouldn't be suitable for younger readers in the MG genre.

Verdict: I liked it!


annette 

Such a perfect, light-hearted and beautiful fantasy adventure - following the young witch Luna, her grandmother Xan, a tiny dragon who grows enormous called Fyrian, and a swamp monster Glerk. Dealt with themes of: growing up, order in society through fear, family, love, loss and sorrow. 5 stars :D

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is in fact a good witch who shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna's thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge - with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Age 9+

Megan Lapides

This was so cute! I loved the writing style and it was super fun listening to the audiobook of this. I felt like a little kid being read a story. My favorite parts of this book were with he little dragon and the swamp monster. They were so fun and brought life and great comic relief to the story.

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule -- but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her -- even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she's always known.

The Girl who Drank the Moon

Mina

A very sweet book about family, sorrow and overcoming generational trauma. Written like a children's book but in my opinion it's a bit too dark for kids. I think this will become one of my comfort books that I pick up again on a rainy day. I also absolutely loved the writing style which was very poetic. 

Sofia Pereira

I am sorry I am a minority but I hated this book!

I will do a Soph Says on this book in specific but ugh,

Josephine Lemonade 

i wanted to love this as much as everyone else seems to do, but mostly it has just shown me that i don't really enjoy reading middle grade. 

that being said, this story is filled with love and wonder and i would highly recommend it to anyone who does enjoy middle grade

Paulina R.

Such a beautiful, whimsical story! This one will be put on my wishlist 😉

Chau Nguyen

this is such a beloved middle grade book, and now I know why. The characters and the story is beautiful. I love the plot of the book, and the bond the characters share with one another. I was thrown for a twist when I'd thought the evil was one being but it ended up being another and i had no idea. My fave character was such a precious little thing, i want to cuddle him and put him in MY pocket. I loved this book alot, ill probably go back and revisit it later on to read passages that i loved from it. =D

Jeni Enjaian

When I reserved the book, I mistakenly thought that this book was on the SCASL list. I'm glad I read it anyway.
I loved this book. Barnhill injects this tale with whimsy even as the story opens and weaves in so many characters and fills in so many gaps. So many of the characters made me smile throughout. Even though the soft magic system seemed at first incredibly vague and malleable, Barnhill took that malleability and shaped it into a magic system that fit only this book. 
I need to make sure that I write these reviews in a more timely manner because all of the pretty words I crafted in my head about this book have flown the coop.

Flynn Commins

A darkness and whimsicality which, perfectly and impossibly, works.
It felt a little older than middle grade to be honest, and I slumped a little in the middle, but the last 40% is perfection.

Tania Joana da Silva Monteiro

I felt like I was eating a piece of my favorite cake everytime I picked up this book because I adored everything about it. It is so magical and sweet and witty and emotional. Some of the characters became my favorites of all time. And by the end I had to hold back tears. The only thing that bothered me was how they sometimes treated Fyrian. Besides that, I think this is an ode to love and hope and it almost got 5 *

Jessica &
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

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