I have loved The Girl Who Drank the Moon since I first read it when my daughter picked it up for a contest back when she was in fifth grade. So, several years, now.
Like all the best fantasies, this one immerses me in a world that feels both familiar and wonderfully different from the world where I live.
And the characters! Kelly Barnhill, the author, has created so many fascinating people in this book. I love Luna, especially for her exuberance. And the swamp monster. I love the Simply Enormous dragon (who fits in Luna’s pocket). And so many more…
What I love most might be that in this story, even good people make problems worse. They do this even when they’re trying to do right. In a messed up system, treating symptoms may be necessary, but it won’t touch the heart of the issue. Systemic evil must be dismantled before lives can improve.
And this book helps me to see that in a story that I would have no qualms about reading with an eight-year-old. It’s that kind of good.
Anyway, if you like fantasy at all–or middle grade–or just fabulously good writing–and you haven’t yet read The Girl Who Drank the Moon, you absolutely should.
