The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Girl Who Drank the Moon
by Kelly Barnhill
388 pages, published Aug. 9, 2016 by Algonquin Young Readers
ISBN 1616205679 

Synopsis (From Goodreads):

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.



I started reading this book a little after I watched Kubo and the Two Strings in theatres. It could be why I liked it this book so much because the book had the same kind of vibe to me.

First off, before I say anything, I absolutely love how Barnhill writes characters. I loved all of them, even the ones that were supposed to be unlikeable . Most of them had character growth throughout the book which is another thing I'll dote on.

I love Luna, as a baby and other stages of her life, and the family she finds with Glerk, Fyrian, and Xan. Glerk was especially wonderful to me. In my head, I imagined this book as an animated Hayao Miyazaki movie with colorful landscapes and scenery. 

While the book touched on the subject of magic, it also touched on a lot of deeper subjects too: the relationship between mother and daughter, good and evil, and the power of memories. There were times the book was a bit slow in some parts, but the prose was powerful enough to keep me reading.

This was a lovely book; one that would be great for midgrade readers, but also potentially younger and older as well.I would definitely direct this one to fans of Miyazaki movies and children who enjoyed Kubo and the Two Strings.