The Girl Who Drank the Moon resolution

Every year the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest, in the hope that this sacrifice will keep their town safe. Little do they know that the witch, Xan, is a kind soul who rescues the children and finds them new homes with families on the other side of the forest. She feeds the babies on starlight to keep them nourished throughout their journey, but one year she accidently feeds a baby moonlight which fills the child with a powerful magic. Xan names the baby Luna and realises she must raise this magical child as her own, locking away her magical abilities until her thirteenth birthday. But as the day approaches where Luna's magic will emerge, she will have to learn to protect the safe and loving world she has always known.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is ripe with elements from the fairy tales of old. It all at once feels familiar and comforting as you read the story of an abandoned baby raised in the woods by a witch. It's complete with dragons and swamp monsters and a threatening underbelly of unrest bubbling beneath the surface. It's a fun story with an almost nostalgic feel to it, but it's also new and exciting. It has all the ingredients of a traditional fairy tale, but one that's been shaken up – a witch who is kind, a swamp creature who talks and loves poetry, and a dragon who is much smaller than his traditional counterparts. It's a fairy tale, but not as you know it.

The atmosphere throughout is amazing – it's gloomy and moody and feels more like a real world with elements of magical realism as opposed to a fantasy world. The story itself is split between Xan and Luna's lives in the forest and the sorrowful village where a young member of the Protectorate named Antain questions the traditions of their society. Parts of the story focus on deep ideas concerning society, the abuse of power in places of authority and such, but it's done in an accessible way. Plus, it's contrasted by the strong relationships between the characters, in particular Xan and Luna. Their mother-daughter relationship was so endearing and it was their first interaction which swept me in to the story.

However, it isn't without fault. Although marketed as a middle grade book, it did at times feel a little complicated for so young a target audience. It's emotional and heart-warming, but it comes across as occasionally a bit complex for a children's book. I think this comes down to the writing style and the multiple narrative points of view because I did get confused from time to time. It's a slow burner and I do think the book could have been cut by a hundred pages or so, but it was a pleasurable reading experience overall. A recommended read for anyone looking for a heartfelt story with magic at its core.

If this book sounds like it might interest you and you would like another story filled with magic then I'd recommend checking out Fire Spell by Laura Amy Schlitz.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon resolution

This is a magical and haunting novel that will stay with you with you long after you have closed the cover. It is an enchanting modern fairy tale that will draw you into its mysterious world of witches, a swamp monster and a magical girl named Luna.

However, this book is so much more than that, with its elegant prose, high emotion and characters that you can’t help but connect with and care about.

The people of the protectorate live under a cloud of sorrow. They carry on with their daily lives in the knowledge that each year, on the day of sacrifice, they must leave the town's youngest child in the forest for the witch. If they don’t, they are sure the witch will destroy them all.

Each year a good witch by the name of Xan comes to the clearing in the forest to rescue a baby abandoned by the people of the protectorate. She doesn’t question why they leave a baby there, but she knows she must save it. She delivers these ‘star children’ to the people of the free cities on the other side of the forest, where they are raised in loving families, never knowing they were abandoned.

Then one day, the witch rescues a baby girl. There is something about this baby. Something special. Xan is drawn to her, with her crescent moon birthmark on her forehead. She feeds the baby starlight, as she does all the babies, to keep them thriving until she can place them with a new family. But this baby she also feeds moonlight. She didn’t mean to. Or did she? With moonlight comes magic. Xan knows she must keep the baby now; teach her how to use the magic she has been given.

And so begins this thought provoking and mysterious story that delves into the deepest sorrows of the human heart yet is at the same time uplifting and beautiful.

Barnhill has created a fantasy world that will ignite your imagination and surround your thoughts and senses as you immerse yourself in this beautiful story. You will come to know the Bog monster, who is at once the poet, the world and the bog itself, and has been there as long as time. You will know the dark and sinister evil that has returned to the world and is prowling at night. And you will feel the light and the hope in the magic that is lying dormant in Luna, readying itself to come out.

This is also a tale of human spirit. It is about searching for belonging, finding your inner courage and understanding power. This is a remarkable middle grade novel that will be appreciated equally by teens and adults.


Title: The Girl who Drank the Moon
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Publisher: Picadilly Press, $16.99
Publication Date: 24 August 2017
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781848126473
For ages: 10+
Type: Middle Grade