Book Review: "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
This past week I started and finished The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. As the 2017 Newberry Award Winner and a New York Times Bestseller, it might be a bit of a strange choice as my first book review on this blog.
(This review is based on personal opinion.)
Summary
The Protectorate is bound to sacrifice a child to the Witch in the forest every year. Unbeknownst to them, the Witch is actually kind. She rescues the babies, feeds them starlight and gives them to loving families on the other side of the forest. One year however, she feeds a baby Moonlight by accident and decides to raise her as her own. Meanwhile, a young man raised under the prejudiced and cunning eye of the Protectorate Elders is determined to kill the witch.
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Ages: 12+ (reading level)
Characters
This book came with an amazing cast of characters: a scarred man who only wants to help, a madwoman with a crescent moon birthmark, an ancient witch with a tiger's heart, a poetic bog monster, an energetic little girl and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon--just to name a few.
The characters were all portrayed very well and I got a clear impression of them. I got a kick out of their little quirks, and every one of them was interesting.
-The main character, Luna, had a pretty good character arc. She goes from being a mysterious baby to an energetic five-year-old to a questioning and skeptical young girl before finally discovering the truth about herself and her power at the climax.
-The Villain. Ergh!! This was such a good villain! I want to tell you everything about them, but it's a plot twist so I can't spoil it! Usually villains aren't quite intimidating to me, but oh my gosh, this one was creepy! (They even go so far as to crush a hatch of nestlings in their fists). This one is the exact opposite and parallel to the Good Witch of the story. They were actually threatening and I found them well done.
Narrative
The narrative was poetic and descriptive. Very fitting to the type of story the author was trying to portray. There were some lines I found very beautiful. The scenes and setting were all done very well--an all-over great description.
For instance:
"There is magic in starlight, of course.
Moonlight, however; that is a different story.
Moonlight is magic. Ask anyone you like."
Theme
There were a lot of different themes going on in this book. They all inter lapped and intertwined, but very artistically. The author really draws them all together into one great climax at the end.
-Honesty. This is shown multiple times in the book. How Honesty helps and Lying creates a false life. Through the book, lots of people are telling lies. The whole Protectorate lives in fear because of a lie, the villain is disguised under a lie. Multiple characters are breaking away lies about their identity too (like Fyrian, the Perfectly Tiny Dragon who believes he is Simply Enormous).
-Sorrow and Hope. In this book, the villain feeds (literally) off sorrow and several times, different characters say 'Sorrow is dangerous.' When everything begins to turn right is when they learn how to hope again. It was cool to see someone write about this theme, because I haven't read many books that really focused on this relationship.
Criticism
Now, I had A LOT of second thoughts in having ANY criticism at all against a Newberry Award book. But when it REALLY comes down to it, the criticisms are nitpicky, few and far between.
-First off, I found several typos in the book (which I was actually surprised about). Just very small, editing typos like putting some words in double and omitting letters (once in a great while). Ex: "stock" became "sock." But, they were far between and they didn't make the book any less enjoyable.
-Second, I found one description/phrase to be a little overused. "Light behind the eyes." Used to explain a headache when found, there is nothing inherently wrong with the description. But it seemed a little like a fall-back phrase.
In Conclusion...
It was an amazing book! I was a little worried reviewing a Newberry Book, and I was unsure of my expectations, but I was quite satisfied.
Publishers Weekly called it "Captivating." I couldn't find a word to describe it better.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely!
I'd hope to conclude with my favorite quote in the whole book:
"There's that rabble-rouser. Out there. Rousing the rabble." -Elder Raspin
Let's Chat!
1. Have you ever read The Girl Who Drank the Moon? If so, what did you think? Please let me know!
2. What books would you recommend? What books would you like to see a review done on?
3. What did you think of this first book review? Should I continue to do them or no?
Summary
The Protectorate is bound to sacrifice a child to the Witch in the forest every year. Unbeknownst to them, the Witch is actually kind. She rescues the babies, feeds them starlight and gives them to loving families on the other side of the forest. One year however, she feeds a baby Moonlight by accident and decides to raise her as her own. Meanwhile, a young man raised under the prejudiced and cunning eye of the Protectorate Elders is determined to kill the witch.
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Ages: 12+ (reading level)
Characters
This book came with an amazing cast of characters: a scarred man who only wants to help, a madwoman with a crescent moon birthmark, an ancient witch with a tiger's heart, a poetic bog monster, an energetic little girl and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon--just to name a few.
The characters were all portrayed very well and I got a clear impression of them. I got a kick out of their little quirks, and every one of them was interesting.
-The main character, Luna, had a pretty good character arc. She goes from being a mysterious baby to an energetic five-year-old to a questioning and skeptical young girl before finally discovering the truth about herself and her power at the climax.
-The Villain. Ergh!! This was such a good villain! I want to tell you everything about them, but it's a plot twist so I can't spoil it! Usually villains aren't quite intimidating to me, but oh my gosh, this one was creepy! (They even go so far as to crush a hatch of nestlings in their fists). This one is the exact opposite and parallel to the Good Witch of the story. They were actually threatening and I found them well done.
Narrative
The narrative was poetic and descriptive. Very fitting to the type of story the author was trying to portray. There were some lines I found very beautiful. The scenes and setting were all done very well--an all-over great description.
For instance:
"There is magic in starlight, of course.
Moonlight, however; that is a different story.
Moonlight is magic. Ask anyone you like."
There were a lot of different themes going on in this book. They all inter lapped and intertwined, but very artistically. The author really draws them all together into one great climax at the end.
-Honesty. This is shown multiple times in the book. How Honesty helps and Lying creates a false life. Through the book, lots of people are telling lies. The whole Protectorate lives in fear because of a lie, the villain is disguised under a lie. Multiple characters are breaking away lies about their identity too (like Fyrian, the Perfectly Tiny Dragon who believes he is Simply Enormous).
-Sorrow and Hope. In this book, the villain feeds (literally) off sorrow and several times, different characters say 'Sorrow is dangerous.' When everything begins to turn right is when they learn how to hope again. It was cool to see someone write about this theme, because I haven't read many books that really focused on this relationship.
Criticism
Now, I had A LOT of second thoughts in having ANY criticism at all against a Newberry Award book. But when it REALLY comes down to it, the criticisms are nitpicky, few and far between.
-First off, I found several typos in the book (which I was actually surprised about). Just very small, editing typos like putting some words in double and omitting letters (once in a great while). Ex: "stock" became "sock." But, they were far between and they didn't make the book any less enjoyable.
-Second, I found one description/phrase to be a little overused. "Light behind the eyes." Used to explain a headache when found, there is nothing inherently wrong with the description. But it seemed a little like a fall-back phrase.
In Conclusion...
It was an amazing book! I was a little worried reviewing a Newberry Book, and I was unsure of my expectations, but I was quite satisfied.
Publishers Weekly called it "Captivating." I couldn't find a word to describe it better.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely!
I'd hope to conclude with my favorite quote in the whole book:
"There's that rabble-rouser. Out there. Rousing the rabble." -Elder Raspin
Let's Chat!
1. Have you ever read The Girl Who Drank the Moon? If so, what did you think? Please let me know!
2. What books would you recommend? What books would you like to see a review done on?
3. What did you think of this first book review? Should I continue to do them or no?
1. Have you ever read The Girl Who Drank the Moon? If so, what did you think? Please let me know!
ReplyDeleteI have not read it, but I definitely will now!
2. What books would you recommend? What books would you like to see a review done on?
I recommend "The Moonstone". Its an old mystery novel that I read last summer and I enjoyed a lot! Highly recommend it, but it did take me a while to get through.
3. What did you think of this first book review? Should I continue to do them or no?
YES PLEASE! I thought it was very good and perfect for summer when we all need good books to read ;)
"The Moonstone" ? Cool! Who's it by? Sounds awesome! I'll look into it next time I go to the library! :D
DeleteIts by Wilkie Collins. Its one of my favorites!
DeleteI will definitely check that out! It sounds amazing. ;) Thanks!
DeleteI just finished The Girl Who Drank the Moon!!!! It was SO good :D Thanks for the recommendation, I really enjoyed it.
DeleteI'm so happy you enjoyed it!! Do you have a favorite part?
DeleteI like all of the book, I'm not sure if I can name a favorite part...
Delete1. Have you ever read The Girl Who Drank the Moon? If so, what did you think? Please let me know!
ReplyDeleteI haven't but I am definitely going to now!
2. What books would you recommend? What books would you like to see a review done on?
I would recommend the first series of "39 Clues." It is written by several different authors and it will amaze you how well each author knew about these characters. The first book is "Maze of Bones," written by Rick Riordon(before he became a crowd pleaser writer). It is more of a middle school/late elementary series, but it is fabulous and as well are the characters. There are a lot of books but they are short and getting through one book shouldn't take much time.
3. What did you think of this first book review? Should I continue to do them or no?
I LOVED your book review! I can't wait to read about which book you choose next!