The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

My next stop in The Book Junkie Trials is Draconic Isle, which requires me to read a book featuring dragons. I decided to go with The Girl Who Drank the Moon, as I've seen a lot of people reading this in the Booktube community lately, and there's a tiny dragon on the cover. I'm generally not too interested in middle grades fiction, but when I saw that this won the Newberry Medal in 2017, I decided to give it a go.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a fantasy story set in a town called the Protectorate. Once each year, the people of the town sacrifice their youngest child to the evil witch who lives in the woods. They believe this will prevent the witch from reigning terror down on their village, but having to lose a child each year has caused them to live under a heavy cloud of sorrow. What they don't know, however, is that the witch in the woods, whose name is Xan, isn't evil at all, and she doesn't know why people leave a baby there once a year. She has been taking the babies to other cities, and placing them with loving families this whole time.

One year though, Xan makes a mistake. While rescuing the latest sacrificed baby, she accidentally feeds her some moonlight, imbuing her with powerful magic. She decides to raise the child herself, so that she can teach her how to control her power. She takes her back to her home, which she shares with bog monster named Glerk and a tiny dragon named Fyrian. The unusual trio falls in love with the baby immediately. They name her Luna, and they do their best to teach her about her magic and the world they live in.

Trying to raise a small child with incredible powers is difficult, however. By the time Luna is five, she is out of control, wielding her magic at random with disastrous effects. In an effort to protect Luna (and everyone else) from her abilities, Xan casts a spell on her which will prevent her from using her magic until she is thirteen. She intends to teach her everything she needs to know about magic before then, so she will know how to use it responsibly. Unfortunately, the spell she uses has an unforeseen side effect; it makes Luna unable to learn or remember anything about magic at all until she comes of age. It's a heavy consequence to deal with, and Xan is wracked with guilt over what she has done to Luna's mind. As the years go by, Xan, Glerk, and Fyrian have to carry on as if magic doesn't exist, and wait to see what will happen once she turns thirteen.

At the same time, the situation in the Protectorate is starting to deteriorate. Political schemes and evil magic are taking their toll on the people and the volcano that the city is built near is becoming active once again. As the time draws near for Luna's powers to return, everything starts to fall apart. Once the magic hidden inside her begins to make itself known, she must remember what she is capable of and learn how to help the people she loves before disaster strikes.

This book was surprisingly excellent, and it definitely deserves the Newberry Medal that it won. Kelly Barnhill's writing is lyrical and feels like a fairy tale while still communicating deep and interesting themes. One of the main focuses of the story was the impact of lies, both those told out of malice and those told to protect others. Secrecy in this novel has a tremendous impact on the characters, and it was interesting to see the ripple effect that came from the many deceptions going on. The ability of the heart to love was also thoroughly explored, and the idea that love is beautiful and good and infinite was threaded all throughout the story. The way the characters loved each other and made decisions based on those relationships was utterly charming and heartwarming. Something about this story made me want to be better to those I love, and that's not a feeling I get too often when I read.

The characters in The Girl Who Drank the Moon are endearing and well-developed as well. Luna's growth is clearly illustrated across the text; the young woman that emerges at the end of the story is wiser and more thoughtful than the little girl at the beginning, and the reasons for these changes make sense within the plot. The minor characters grow and change over the course of the novel as well; no one is static here, and that is quite unusual to come across in middle grades fiction. You know you are reading something remarkable when a bog monster and a dragon both have meaningful personal revelations in a story.

This novel was a big surprise for me. I went into it with middle grades expectations, and was pleased to discover a story that a person of any age would find entertaining and meaningful. Barnhill did an excellent job creating a world that feels alive and enchanting, with magic lurking around every corner and a cast of characters to fall in love with. The story wasn't perfect; some elements were a bit confusing for me to untangle and I think younger readers might get lost trying to make all the connections between the characters. I thought there were a few pieces of backstory that needed more explanation. However, these issues didn't have much of an impact on my overall enjoyment. The Girl Who Drank the Moon is an absolute pleasure to read, and I know I'm going to be recommending this one to my students over and over again.


Challenge Tally
Book Junkie Trials (Draconic Isle - Read a book featuring dragons) 13/17
Finally in 2019: 33/6 Books Read - Complete!

Total Books Read in 2019: 51