Review: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Gosh. How do I even begin to talk about this book? I have so many thoughts. I liked it so much. The writing is gorgeous. That cover is beyond stunning. Just wishing I had the print copy, eee. Cannot wait to own the hardcover in August. Four stars for this precious book. I have so much to say about it, I think. Will try.

I have only read one book by Kelly before, The Witch's Boy. But I loved that book so much. And when I heard about this, I knew I had to read it. So glad I got accepted right away. I couldn't not read it right away too, hih. And I'm glad I did. Because this book was great. I loved it, but had a few small issues. Will explain.

When I read the summary, I was sure the book would be about a young girl, learning about magic and things like that. But then I started reading. And it was not. Because the girl was just a baby, for at least one hundred pages of the book. I was a bit sad at first, but then I started to really, really love the story, and I'm glad it was told this way. It is written in third person, I think it is called, and we get to see so many lovely characters. I loved reading about them all. Though, well, some of them were evil, and I did not like them. But the rest were so amazing. Like what I would say is the main character, Xan. She is a five hundred year old witch. And I loved her the most. She's kind and sweet and I simply adored reading about her and getting to know her.

A lot of this book focus around a small village in the forest. There are Elders in charge. And I could not stand them. Shudders. They knew the truth about the witch in the forest, that there were none, that they had made her up, and it just broke my heart. Because everyone else believes that they have to leave a small baby in the forest once a year, so that the witch will not ruin their village. And they do it. And they are all heartbroken about it. And I just. It was so sad. And I loved reading about it the most.

This is where we first meet Luna. She is one of the babies that are left in the forest. And her poor mother did not want to give her up. She went crazy with sorrow, and they locked her up for it. Shudders. Luna is left in the clearing. The Elders think all the babies get eaten by animals. But this is not true. Because every year the witch comes and takes them, and moves them to a new home, at a different town. Which I loved a lot. But those other poor families. Sigh. It was such a sad story to read about.

The witch, aka Xan, picks up Luna. She always feeds the babies with starlight, and she does the same with Luna. Except she starts caring for the baby. And then she feeds her moonlight too. And oh, this baby is now full of magic. And Xan decides to keep her. And just. I loved it lots. She was an awesome woman to read about. And I loved how she named and cared for Luna for so long. Most of the book is from her point of view, and I loved getting to see Luna grow up from her eyes. It was pretty awesome.

A lot of the book is about Luna growing older, and her magic being stuck inside her for years. An awful thing was done so that she would not hurt anyone with her magic, and it broke my heart a little. Yet it totally needed to happen too, and so I loved it. There are also some other amazing characters to get to know. Like the swamp monster, Glerk. He was so sweet and awesome and smart and I loved reading about him. And the tiny dragon with the biggest heart, Fyrian. He was so much fun. So full of life.

All of these characters were so well written. And I loved getting to know them all. In the beginning, Antain was a teenager. But as Luna grew, he grew as well, in the village. And was a man for most of the book. Gosh, how I loved reading his story. How his poor face got ruined. How his mother treated him. How he started to fall in love. It was all so beautiful. And I cared for this boy a lot. So many great stories in this book. Ack. Just wish it had been longer. Sigh. At least hope there might be a sequel.

This book is about magic. And witches. And dragons. And monsters. And evil humans. It has everything. But no boy for Luna to play with. Aw. That made me a bit sad. Which is why I want a sequel, lol. But this book was even so pretty amazing. And I liked it so, so much. So happy I read it. The magic is stunning to read about. And there is such an incredible story inside this book. I was surprised a lot. And shocked. And heartbroken. I loved getting to know all the secrets about the past. So very good and so interesting.

I don't think I have more to say about this book. Just. It wasn't like I thought it would be, but it ended up being just what I wanted in the end. The Girl Who Drank the Moon was beautiful. And I loved every word of it. The story was amazing, and all the characters were the best to read about. This story has life and heart and I loved it lots. The villain is the worst. Shudders. Loved it. You all really should read this book when it comes out in August. Thank you so much Algonquin Young Readers for Netgalley approval :)

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My review of The Witch's Boy