Kelly Barnhill: The Girl Who Drank the Moon

I got this book as a gift from our annual English teacher Christmas book exchange (sounds perfectly English-teachery, right?). I didn't have much else to do one day, and picked it up to read, and loved it.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon describes life in the Protectorate, a small village on the edge of the swamp, and some of its members. Each year, to keep the wicked swamp witch away from the village, the elders select the youngest baby in the village and take it into the forest for the witch to eat. Xan, the perfectly kind swamp witch, collects the baby each year and takes them to other villages on the other side of the forest, to be raised by loving families, feeding each child by starlight on the way. One year, she picks up a baby girl, and instead of giving her starlight, gives her moonlight, infusing the baby with magic. Unable to leave the child with a different family, Xan decides to raise the girl on her own.

I loved this book. I loved the fairy-tale quality of the writing style, and the beautiful descriptions throughout the novel. I enjoyed the characters immensely, and the intrigue of the council of elders. While this book is meant to be a middle-grade read, I wasn't bored like I am with other middle-grades. It didn't feel too simplistic, and the plot was actually rather sophisticated with complicated characters and conflicts. Overall, I really had very little that I didn't like about this book.

I rated this book: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

G - there's some violence in the book, and the real witch is a little scary once she's revealed, but there's no foul language and no adult scenes.

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