Audiobook Review – The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, Narrated by Christina Moore (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 9 hours and 37 minutes (400 pages)
Publisher: Recorded Books
Release Date: August 9, 2016
ASIN: B01JSHI3PY
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars
“A young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon must unlock the dangerous magic buried deep inside her in this epic coming-of-age fairy tale from the highly acclaimed author of The Witch’s Boy.
Every year the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.
One year Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. When Luna approaches her 13th birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule – but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her – even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.”
I have had this book on my TBR pile for quite some time and was excited to finally be able to read it. This was an amazing read and just a very beautifully done folk story/fairy tale of sorts. I have also read Iron-Hearted Violet by Barnhill, but I didn’t like that book as much as this one.
I listened to this on audiobook and Moore did an amazing job of narrating it. The characters’ personalities were captured perfectly and it was a joy to listen to. I would definitely recommend listening to on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.
This is one of those books that really focuses on the concept of a good story and does it beautifully. The story is fantastically crafted and just absolutely magical.
There is a lot of discussion about sorrow and love; along with dragons, witches, magic, and volcanoes. It was an amazing read that kids and adults alike will enjoy.
Overall this was just an amazingly well crafted story with a very classic folk tale feel to it; something that you don’t see a lot of these days. I would highly recommend to those who enjoy books that are excellently crafted classic feeling folk tales or fairy tales.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge