The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Every year, the people of the Protectorate sacrifice their youngest baby to the witch in the forest. Every year, a very confused witch wonders why neglectful parents keep leaving their children in her forest.
When we were in Louisiana for our cousin’s baptism in November, we stopped by Books-A-Million to kill a bit of time. Our newest plot to discover good children’s books is to scour the children’s section at Books-A-Million or Barnes & Noble, write down the names of books we think look interesting, then go home and look them up to check out the reviews and ratings. Then we buy them off Thriftbooks. Because I could buy ten books off Thriftbooks for the price of one book at BAM. And I am a poor high school student with no job and too many books. (Too many books? Did I really just say that?) I think we noticed The Girl Who Drank the Moon because of the lovely cover art, which is super cool and whimsical. We got it for our younger sister for Christmas, and she absolutely loved it. (We also got her The List by Patricia Forde, but apparently it was awful, so we won’t be reading that.) I absolutely love these short, sweet fantasy stories. It doesn’t have to be an epic saga. It doesn’t have to be 600 pages long with a glossary, pronunciation guide, and maps in the back. Sometimes it’s just nice to have a small glimpse into this magical world a writer has developed. That’s what The Girl Who Drank the Moon was: whimsical and poetic, magical and memorable. It’s always interesting to see how different authors handle basic elements like magic, dragons and witches. Kelly Barnhill fills her story with unique rules for magic and an array of quirky, unforgettable characters. Xan is a witch who lives in the middle of the forest with a poetic Swamp Monster named Glerk and a tiny dragon who is convinced that he is Simply Enormous. Every year, the neighboring village of the Protectorate are forced by their Elders to sacrifice the youngest child in the village. This is supposedly so that the evil witch living in the forest won’t curse or attack them, but Xan has no idea why the townspeople leave their children in the forest. While the Elders use this annual sacrifice as a means of controlling the people, Xan rescues the babies and journeys through the forest to other villages, where the babies are lovingly welcomed into families. Along the way, Xan feeds the babies starlight, which is magical. One year, however, Xan accidentally feeds a baby girl on the light of a full moon—which is actual magic. Suddenly, the witch is raising a little girl who is positively overflowing with magic. Concerned with everyone’s safety, Xan decides to lock the magic away in Luna’s head till the little girl is old enough to control it, with disastrous results. There were so many good things about this book, from the pro-life messages to the relationships to the overall whimsy. When our little sister finished the book and gave me the run-down, my first question was how the villagers treated the arrival of the babies Xan brought to them. They consider the day Xan arrives a celebration of life, and I felt like that was a good sign. As I read the book for myself, I found that the whole story was very family-oriented. Luna is taken from her mother when she is an infant. Her mother is driven mad by grief, and is imprisoned within the Protectorate’s Tower. Both Luna and her mother, however, have dreams and visions of one another as the years pass. Even though Luna loves Xan and considers the old woman to be her grandmother, she longs for something nameless and lost in her past. Also throughout the story, we witness the life of Antain as he grows from Elder-in-training to carpenter and loving husband and father. Antain was present the day Luna was taken from her mother. Now, with a son of his own, he is determined to stop the sacrifices and protect his family. Many a time, I pick up a Middle Grade novel only to be disappointed by the writing quality. While I enjoyed Greenglass House, Serafina and the Black Cloak and the Ranger’s Apprentice series (among others), the prose itself did not blow me away. Alright—so you’ve got some decent characters and a plot. But the writing needs to flow. Words are beautiful and tragic and terrifying, so help us feel that wonder. No one ever fell in love with stale or emotionless writing. But Kelly Barnhill’s prose is fantastic—almost poetic, at points. In her own words, she does not “pull any punches with the difficulty; I always expect my readers to come with their A game”. While the vocabulary is not overwhelmingly difficult, it forces readers to think, and I like that. Yes, Xan is a witch. No, she is not bad. Just like with Harry Potter wizards and witches, there’s no witchcraft or black magic or creepy voodoo stuff. Xan is simply an old woman who gets her magic from starlight. The only thing I had a small issue with was the length of the book. Like N.D. Wilson’s Boys of Blur, it felt like it could have gone on longer, or as if there were a part cut out of the middle somewhere. A lot of information, not a lot of book to spread it out over. Overall, I would totally recommend The Girl Who Drank the Moon. My first impression is that, as the protagonist is female, it’s probably better suited for girls. However, I know plenty of books under that description that my brother has enjoyed (Igraine the Brave, The Penderwicks, Inkheart). Very impressed, and I plan to read more of Kelly Barnhill’s books in the future.