The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill by Marissa Posada

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Justification: I chose this title because it is a Newberry medal winner. Although this award goes to Children's books, this book is considered young adult. It interested me in that I wondered what I would consider the story, either children's or young adult after I read it. The main character grows up in the story, but some perspectives from adults are also included. Who makes that determination?

Evaluation: This book starts out with a couple of examples of drawing a line in the sand. The first example is the instance where the Protecterate sacrifices children. It is believed that the witch in the woods does something to them in exchange for sparring the village. It is said that none of the children are ever seen again. The main character is one of these infants and obviously she is seen again. Another example is Xan's wish that Luna will be a regular child. This is after she seals Luna's magic away for everyone's protection. Obviously Luna will not be a regular child after that.

This book also has examples of figurative language. A good example is the description of a swamp, "bubbly, sulfury, noxious,...restlessly sleeping volcano and covered in slick slime...from poison green to lightning blue, to blood red,..." This is very descriptive and really helps the reader feel like they are in the smelly swamp. Another example is when Antain is meeting with the mad woman years after taking her baby away. He tries to talk to her and she responds with laughter that makes him feel, "...as though someone was slowly pouring a tin of cold water down his back." This description will have the reader also shiver at how creepy her laugh was.

This book has examples of music in language. A lot of the examples deal with the mad woman's thoughts and dialogue. She repeats, "She is here," in what she thinks, writes, and says. She tends to talk in circles, which helps to establish how 'mad' she is. Another example deals with Glerk who likes to quote and write poetry. The majority of his poems have repeating sentences. It might also have some connection to the magic used in the story as well.

Response: This is a fantasy novel with witches, dragons, and magic; so just about everything I love in a book. It also handles some intense themes about sorrow and love. I agree with the author's view that love is infinite and that there are people who want to make everyone miserable. It was encouraging to see the power of love triumph over sorrow. I really enjoyed the text as entertainment. It had an example of unexpected insight that was very encouraging. May favorite part is when Fyrian is starting to grown disproportionately and Glerk says he would stay by his side, then Fyrian's butt enlarges, "No matter who indelicately."

Conclusion: This book had examples of drawing a line in the sand, figurative language, and music in language. This was a very interesting story with a great unexpected insight. I give this book four stars. I recommend this book to anyone dealing with grief or interested in a fantasy book.

APA Citation: Barnhill, K. (2016). The girl who drank the moon. New York: Algonquin Young Readers.