The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Book review by Jan Carr, Common Sense Media
The Girl Who Drank the Moon Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 10+

Entrancing fantasy spun with magic stresses power of love.

Kelly Barnhill Fantasy 2016
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Parents say

age 10+

Based on 15 reviews

Kids say

age 9+

Based on 41 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

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What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (The Witch's Boy) is an expertly crafted fantasy with spiritual undertones, and it won the 2017 Newbery Medal. It has a strong female protagonist, Luna, described as having curly black hair and amber skin. Luna's taken from her family and saved by a kindhearted witch who lovingly raises her but accidentally imbues her with magical powers. Other members of Luna's adopted family are a frisky young dragon and a wise, poetry-loving bog monster. Multiple storylines come together in a dramatic climax espousing the power of love and nonviolence. A great choice for middle-grade fantasy lovers.

Community Reviews

amdilbeck
amdilbeck Adult
May 29, 2021
age 10+

Wonderful fantasy that will need parental explanation for independent readers

EXCELLENT fantasy with wonderful life lessons. There is some violence but mostly there is the threat of violence, so it may feel more violent to some readers than to others. The author paints pictures with her words, which read like poetry. The structure of the book reminds me of reading As I Lay Dying in college, which confused me because the point of view or narrator changes with each chapter. If your child is going to read this book independently, have a discussion about this in advance and they will enjoy it EVER so much more. The ending of the book made me feel the way I did at the very end of The Chronicles of Narnia. WONDERFUL!!!

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
Jeanne W.
Jeanne W. Adult
May 16, 2021
age 10+

Rich story with hopeful and dark themes

I really liked this book and so did my 10-11 year old fantasy reader. It has some pretty dark themes - a town run by controlling people who feed off other people's despair and are willing to keep the population miserable through deprivation and child sacrifice. But it also has the counterpoint of a do-gooding, self-sacrificing witch and "monsters" that act to counter balance the darker practices. I think the dark themes are more disturbing to me as an adult than they would have been to me as a child, where they would have read as basic fairy-tale evil. I like how the protagonist characters work to improve the community and fight the wrongs they see as they come to understand more. THere is no sex or swearing, some emotional and physical violence - a magical attack leaves a character physically scarred, a character goes insane at the loss of her child, a characters bullies and terrifies subordinates.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON is the story of Luna, taken as a baby from her family in the Protectorate as part of a cruel ritual designed to keep the populace fearful and compliant. Though the Elders circulate a story that an evil witch demands the annual sacrifice, they don't realize there's actually a good witch who saves and protects the babies. When Xan rescues Luna, she accidentally feeds her moonbeams that "enmagic" her, so she decides to adopt and raise Luna in a family that includes a dragon and a wise bog monster. Luna's magical powers prove to be unpredictable and unruly, so Xan casts a spell that cocoons the magic until her 13th birthday. Will Luna harness her magic successfully? This story is interwoven with stories from the Protectorate about an antagonist who feeds on the sorrow of others, Luna's mother who yearns for her lost daughter, and a brave couple who challenge the status quo.

Is It Any Good?

This fantasy, a brisk-paced mix of magic and witches set in an enchanted land shadowed by a rumbling volcano, has high stakes and multiple threads that bind together in a spiritually resonant climax. Luna, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, is a young girl "enmagicked" by moonlight and raised by a loving witch she knows as Grandmama. There are multiple characters -- one unexpectedly evil -- in this seamless story, and the values are solidly peace-loving and open-hearted. Where other fantasies might culminate in an extended, blood-soaked battle, this one has a satisfyingly thoughtful resolution.

Author Kelly Barnhill is a crisp writer with a lyrical flourish. She sprinkles in sophisticated language, inviting readers to stretch their vocabularies with words such as "undulating" and "murmuration." Her similes are strikingly fresh -- roads unwind "like great spools of yarn" -- and her verb choices vivid -- "The Grand Elder steepled his fingers together." It's an original fairy tale with the feel of a classic.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the fate of the evil characters in The Girl Who Drank the Moon. How does what happens to them compare with what happens to evildoers in other books you've read? Do you agree or disagree with the book's take on revenge?

  • What do the likable characters value? How about the unlikable ones? How can you tell by their choices or actions what they value?

  • Though the story is a fantasy with magic and witches, are there elements that correspond to your life? How can you relate it to your own circumstances or experiences?

Book Details

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