Normally, I focus on books about or starring animals as main characters, but this middle-grade novel was too brilliant to pass up! And, it has a couple of fantastical animals – a sweet little dragon named Fyrion, and an equally endearing huge swamp creature named Glerk. Both characters stole my heart, along with the humans, which are also a bit fantastical, since many possess some degree of magic.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill, very deservedly won the 2017 Newbery Medal for children’s writing. At the beginning the book reminded me of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” The townspeople – living in a place called The Protectorate – blindly believe that a witch demands they leave the first-born baby of the season for her consumption. Of course, whichever unlucky family must deliver their baby to her, by leaving it out in the forest, suffers unbelievable sorrow, some mothers never fully recovering. This is what happens to a woman who must leave her baby girl, later named Luna, the protagonist.
But who originated this story of the witch? Is she real? And what really happens to the babies left out in the forest? And what if someone begins to question conventional wisdom?
This book is amazing in the breadth of its themes: the power of myth, the ownership of a story, belief that is allowed to go unchallenged, truth, falseness, lies. Then, as the story goes on, the themes turn to love, forgiveness, and hope triumphing over despair. It’s a story for our times and it’s a beautiful one people’d by deeply endearing, enchanting characters and a twisting, turning plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat – whether you’re a kid or an adult!
