Name: Chelsea Scott
Title: Youth program specialist for the Jackson County Public Library
What’s the name of the book and author you are recommending?
“The Girl Who Drank the Moon” by Kelly Barnhill (4.8 reading level/12 AR points)
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What made you want to pick up this book in the first place?
I was straightening shelves and the illustration on the front caught my eye. After reading the summary, I decided it sounded like an interesting read.
Once you got into the book, what made you want to keep reading it?
It was a magical tale that kept me guessing and had a good lesson behind it. I didn’t feel like it was overly predictable, and I got to experience the story from multiple points of view.
Once you finished the book, what did you like about it?
I love character development. It doesn’t matter if I am reading a book or watching a movie. So with this book, rather than getting to grow with a single character, I got to see into minds and grow with multiple people.
What is the book about?
The story follows many people but focuses on Luna, who is left as a sacrifice to the witch who lives in the woods of the Protectorate. The townspeople live in fear of the witch and sorrow for their children, while the witch lives in confusion as to why people are just dumping their babies. The day Luna is left in the clearing of the woods for the witch, her mother goes insane from sorrow and is locked in a tower to be observed. A young boy, who is learning to become part of the counsel, begins asking why things are the way they are and is troubled by the reaction of the mother and her treatment. The witch takes the child to deliver her across the woods to a family who will accept her with open arms. Along the way, the witch accidentally enmagics Luna and falls in love with the child. She takes Luna in and raises her. Throughout the book, we see a boy who grows into a man and finds answers to his questions, a mother and town who find hope, a witch who sacrifices so much for love and a girl who struggles to remember things about herself and find what she has lost: Her memory, her mother and her magic.
Why would you recommend this book to others?
It is a book that shows there is more than one side to every story and that what we see or are told is only a part of the bigger picture. Not only can a valuable lesson be learned from the pages, it takes you on a magical journey.