Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Girl Who Drank the Moon

My co-worker handed this to me and told me to read it, and I'm so glad she did! What a lovely little book; this was such a great read. I was surprised to find myself almost tearing up at the end.

I was really interested in how all the different stories would come together at the end, and Barnhill did such a satisfying job of doing so. I really loved Antain and Ethyne, and I like that Luna and Adara ended up staying with them--I was hoping Luna and Antain would form some sort of familial bond. Fyrian absolutely stole my heart, was a kind dragon. Xan going into the bog with Glerk really had me at the end, and so did Luna releasing the poem into the world.

I think if anything, I wish we had gotten a little more about Fyrian's mother and the witch who stopped the volcano all those years ago. I know there's another short-story set in this universe, so maybe it goes into more of that aspect of the story. There was also a point where, when everything was getting revealed, that Antain kind of repeated everything that had already been said, and I didn't really understand why we got that information twice in such rapid succession. That happened another time too, with Luna re-explaining something, both times which I didn't really think were necessary. We also never really get into the more detailed history between Sister Ignatia ad Glerk, which I was VERY interested in.

But I loved these characters! I was really interested in seeing how Luna, our titular character, was going to end up being the center of everything happening. I loved all the little families we got to see, and even the side characters we only saw a few glimpses of. Ethyne was incredible, I'm so glad we got those scenes of her and the Grand Elder.

Some quotes I liked:
"Yes, child. This is a true story. What other kinds of stories are there?" (p. 58)

"'Death is always sudden... even when it isn't.'" (p. 80)

"'Curiosity is the curse of the Clever. Or perhaps cleverness is the curse of the Curious. In any case, I'm never lacking for either, I'm afraid, which does keep me rather busy.'" (p. 122).

"Anger buzzed through Luna's body, from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet. This is how a tree must feel, she thought, as it is hit by lightning." (p. 231).

"The material is less consequential than the intention." (p. 372).

"And she drifted away, loving everything." (p. 379).

"The heart is built of starlight/ And time./ A pinprick of longing lost in the dark./ An unbroken chord linking the Infinite to the Infinite./ My heart wishes upon your heart and the wish is granted./ Meanwhile the world spins./ Meanwhile the universe expands./ Meanwhile the mystery of love reveals itself,/ again and again, in the mystery of you./ I have gone./ I will return." (p. 383).

"She belongs to us, but one day her magic will fade and she will wander back into the Bog and we won't have a witch anymore. Only stories. Perhaps she will find the Beast. Or become the Beast. Or become the Bog. Or become a Poem. Or become the world. They are all the same thing, you know." (p. 386).

Really great read from Barnhill! I will definitely be finding time for the sequel/prequel.

Content Warnings

captainoliimar's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

cookiecat73's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

jayisreading's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

2.75

Admittedly, I wasn’t really in the mood to read this book and, thus, it didn’t have my full attention. However, I think there were a few other reasons why I wasn’t as invested in the book as I could have been. The plot sounded promising, suggesting that there would be lunar magic, witches, tiny dragons, and the likes. Barnhill did give all of this, yes, but she also delivered a not insignificant amount of instances of depressed adults having crises, which... I definitely did not sign up for. The writing style felt appropriate for middle grade readers—and Barnhill writes so lyrically—but the content... not so much. Beautiful writing can only do so much, too, because maybe a quarter into the book, it dawned on me that this book might end up being a slog. And I hated that I was right. It didn’t help that there were a lot of redundant lines and situations (which, if these were all cut out, would have made the whole book tighter and better, perhaps). I want to say what got me through this book was Glerk and Fyrian, who were by far the most memorable characters. As charming as they were, though, this wasn’t enough to win me over.

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