The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a rich, gorgeous story that I’m sure you’ve seen around–especially since it landed a Newbery! I’ve been wanting to read it ever since I first laid eyes on it, so snatched it up in a Bookbub sale a month or two back. Once I got the chance to dig in, it did not disappoint!

Anytime a book gets this much attention, it’s easy to read it with a few preconceived notions. And I confess, I thought the story was going to have a little more action, or more adventuring. However, the first lines of the novel settled me into the style of story, and swept me along without a care for those earlier notions.

This is the story of darling little girl named Luna, who is being raised by a witch. A terrible witch, who steals babies from their teary-eyed parents and whisks them away to parts unknown. Except, she’s not.

Xan is a witch and she does take babies, but only because the poor dears have been abandoned to the beasts of the forest, at the insistence of the town councilmen. And she whisks them away, but feeds them on starshine as they travel, then carefully places them with loving families where they grow up Star Children, and are loved every day of their lives.

And thus begins the first of many reversals which give this story a topsy-turvy twisty path, while at the same time enhancing the feeling that one is reading a true fairy tale, with all the steeped wisdom that implies. Add to this the rich images–such as someone lifting up a hand to catch snag star light, or a baby slurping down moonlight–and the incredibly fun cast of characters, and then tell it all with smooth, glorious prose, and it’s easy to see why this book has taken the literary world by storm. Indeed, I think it’s impossible to read it and not fall in love, not only with the characters–who truly will burrow into your heart–but also with the world itself. Which is funny, since at least the Protectorate is so retchedly miserable that it’s no wonder no one visits.

I highly recommend it! However…in the spirit of fully disclosure, I will admit there were two aspects of the ending which did not leave me wholly satisfied. One is the handling of the antagonist. It didn’t go quite far enough in any direction for my taste, instead taking a middle road that felt a bit flavorless. And at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling that the wrap up of the story for some of our favorite characters lacked a certain something. Not a bad ending, mind. Just lacking the oomph I would have enjoyed.

Which is perhaps not at all helpful, and unfortunately rather muddy since I don’t want to give away spoilers! In any case, it is the story itself that will stay with you, and everyone knows that the best fairy tales don’t end. They live happily ever after!

Now, let’s see what Apricot-kitty has to say:

“I rather liked Xan. She was a proper witch, with a canny way of living. I liked the swamp monster, Glerk, too. And young Luna. In fact, I would give this book my whole-hearted approval if only it had more cats!”

Well, there’s no pleasing everyone, and since Apricot believes every book not written from a cat’s pov could use more cats, that’s still pretty high approval!

Tell me in the comments which books you’re reading, and be sure to hop around the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday round up to see more spotlights, interviews, reviews and giveaways. And many thanks to Greg Pattridge, for hosting us!

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