caoxtina's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Grief, and Death
eclipsestorm4's review against another edition
DNF'd at 37%
I feel like the side story with Antain progressed but the main plot with Luna went almost nowhere even though the Kindle app said I was at 107 pages. Also, the writing is kind of too flowery for me, it became tiring to get through.
Here is a review that says it better:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1901925731
I feel like the side story with Antain progressed but the main plot with Luna went almost nowhere even though the Kindle app said I was at 107 pages. Also, the writing is kind of too flowery for me, it became tiring to get through.
Here is a review that says it better:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1901925731
mah_am's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
catanami's review against another edition
2.0
"lluvia de ideas" pero hecho un libro. Si un signo de interrogación fuera un libro sería este
milkshakevoid's review against another edition
4.0
The Girl Who Drank The Moon is part fairytale part adventure. Luna is a girl who was stolen from her mother as a baby and abandoned as a sacrifice. Xan is a witch who plucks an abandoned infant from the forest every year to save it from the wild. A mother goes mad and is locked away in a tower until she becomes magic in her madness. Antain is a boy then a man who dislikes the sacrifice and the town who carries out under the orders of his uncle. Sister Ignatia is a woman who controls everything and locks away broken women in her tower.
There are at least 3 other narrators in this book and every one of them is interesting and complex. Their problems and the way their lives unfold is sometimes difficult to understand because there is so much going on and it’s impossible to say anything else without giving away too much.
I’m confused by this book. I enjoyed the last 1/4 of it immensely, and I enjoyed most of the first 1/4… and then I enjoyed some bits in between. For awhile I thought I’d rate it 4 stars then 3 then in a particular slump I didn’t think I’d finish it let alone rate it. But then I came put the other side thinking “wow this is a 5 star book”.
Due to this rollercoaster of emotions I’m going to settle on a 4 because it made me happy and I liked the ending. Realistically perhaps a 3. All that said it’ll probably be a 5 if I ever choose to reread it.
That’s the problem I suppose. This book keeps all of it’s secrets close to its chest for a very long time. It keeps you spinning as to who’s who and what’s what until it’s difficult to care because who knows what’s going on anyway. But then things start to turn around. Not all at once but as the secrets are revealed I couldn’t help but love how thoroughly they’d been tucked away. How brilliant it was and enchanting. The characters in this book are vivid. The magic wild and endearing. It has the makings of a fairytale and I think it’s best appreciated in rereads. Upon rereading I imagine you would enjoy the clever nods here and there to the truth of it all.
All said and done this had a satisfying and lovely conclusion and I understand why it’s well loved. It’s clever and bright and I want to hand it over to clever, bright children to read and enjoy.
There are at least 3 other narrators in this book and every one of them is interesting and complex. Their problems and the way their lives unfold is sometimes difficult to understand because there is so much going on and it’s impossible to say anything else without giving away too much.
I’m confused by this book. I enjoyed the last 1/4 of it immensely, and I enjoyed most of the first 1/4… and then I enjoyed some bits in between. For awhile I thought I’d rate it 4 stars then 3 then in a particular slump I didn’t think I’d finish it let alone rate it. But then I came put the other side thinking “wow this is a 5 star book”.
Due to this rollercoaster of emotions I’m going to settle on a 4 because it made me happy and I liked the ending. Realistically perhaps a 3. All that said it’ll probably be a 5 if I ever choose to reread it.
That’s the problem I suppose. This book keeps all of it’s secrets close to its chest for a very long time. It keeps you spinning as to who’s who and what’s what until it’s difficult to care because who knows what’s going on anyway. But then things start to turn around. Not all at once but as the secrets are revealed I couldn’t help but love how thoroughly they’d been tucked away. How brilliant it was and enchanting. The characters in this book are vivid. The magic wild and endearing. It has the makings of a fairytale and I think it’s best appreciated in rereads. Upon rereading I imagine you would enjoy the clever nods here and there to the truth of it all.
All said and done this had a satisfying and lovely conclusion and I understand why it’s well loved. It’s clever and bright and I want to hand it over to clever, bright children to read and enjoy.
katreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
A truly excellent story! I already can't wait to reread it.
sheritolley's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It is the story of a town terrorized by an evil witch to whom the village sacrifices one child a year. Then there's a good which and her odd assortment of friends or should we say family that she dwells with.
Luna is one of these children that she saves and she accidentally gives her some moon to drink which infuses her with magic.
This story is about love, family and discovering who you are.
It would be a great read for a teenager that loves books with magic, dragons and heroes.
Luna is one of these children that she saves and she accidentally gives her some moon to drink which infuses her with magic.
This story is about love, family and discovering who you are.
It would be a great read for a teenager that loves books with magic, dragons and heroes.
micaelamariem's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
Around my birthday a couple months ago, I went to a used bookstore and picked up a few gems, including this one, which seemed perfect to read around Halloween.
The Girl Who Drank the Moonby Kelly Barnhill is a middle grade fantasy novel about a town that sacrifices a baby each year to the witch in the woods under the belief that she would curse them elsewise. The witch doesn't know why the town is abandoning their babies, but she tries to save them and give them each a loved home. Until one day, she accidentally enmagiks a baby by feeding her moonlight and decides to raise her as her own. Over the novel there are secrets that lead to the discovery of why the town must sacrifice babies and how the story began. The novel actually won a Newberry award!
The author, Kelly Barnhill, is a teacher turned author who loves promoting the arts for children.
I really enjoyed this story for a middle grade novel. There were a few themes that really struck out to me: the danger of sorrow vs hope, the fragility of memory, as well as some motifs of paper and birds and magic.
The worldbuilding of the novel is great, showing a vast landscape for readers to escape into, complete with its own laws and myths and origin stories.
The writing style was a little confusing and a lot whimsical. Half the time I wasn't quite sure what was going on but I enjoyed the ride, reminding me kind of like the show I just watched called Over the Garden Wall.
I loved the characters as well, each one combatting their own fears and sorrows. My favorite character was the Simply Enormous dragon Fyrian who was always childlike and naive, but had blocked out his own trauma which perhaps kept him this way.
Perhaps the main idea of the book is the hope and sacrifices we make for whom we love can combat sorrow. The witch and the girl formed a tightly-bound relationship like a mother and daughter and held hope for each other. The swamp monster and the dragon seemed to also care about each other. The boy from the town found his own love and hope, ready to change the world, as did the madwoman.
I would highly recommend this book to middle grade readers who like whimsical quirky things with deep messages and meanings or who like to make their own inferences in stories.
Overall, this was a four star read for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Violence, Confinement, and Abandonment
natcommon's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. It would have been a solid 4 because it was cute story, but the author had the climax happen but then fast forward to 3 weeks later after the conflict. She didn’t explain much of anything of how they defeated the final boss (as one can say). But overall very cute.