The Girl Who Drank the Moon

A fairytale with a difference, this is about finding your power and what is means to belong, captured in a richly textured prose in a beautifully realised fantasy world. * The Bookseller * Impossible to put down . . . The Girl Who Drank the Moon is as exciting and layered as classics like Peter Pan or The Wizard of Oz * The New York Times * A gorgeously written fantasy about a girl who becomes "enmagicked" after the witch who saves her from death feeds her moonlight. * People * [Barnhill's] next middle grade sensation...With compelling, beautiful prose, Kelly Barnhill spins the enchanting tale of a kindly witch who accidentally gives a normal baby magic powers, then decides to raise her as her own. * EW.com * Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick . . . Replete with traditional motifs, this nontraditional fairy tale boasts sinister and endearing characters, magical elements, strong storytelling, and unleashed forces. * Kirkus * Rich with multiple plotlines that culminate in a suspenseful climax, characters of inspiring integrity, a world with elements of both whimsy and treachery, and prose that melds into poetry. A sure bet for anyone who enjoys a truly fantastic story. * Booklist * An expertly woven and enchanting offering. * School Library Journal * Barnhill crafts another captivating fantasy, this time in the vein of Into the Woods . . . Barnhill delivers an escalating plot filled with foreshadowing, well-developed characters, and a fully realized setting, all highlighting her lyrical storytelling. * Publishers Weekly * Barnhill writes with gentle elegance, conveying a deeply emotional and heartrending tale with accessible, fluid prose. Characters are skillfully developed: the heroes are flawed, the villains are humanized, and they are forgiven for sins they may or may have not intended. The swamp monster and dragon provide plenty of moments of humor to leaven the pathos, while the setting is infused with fairy tale elements, both magical and menacing, and given a tragic history. Fans of Barnhill's The Witch's Boy and Iron Hearted Violet will find similar intersections of love, loss, and identity here. * Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books * The Girl Who Drank the Moon takes a probing look at social complexity and the high cost of secrets and lies, weaving multiple perspectives, past and present, into one cleverly unfolding fairy tale. Barnhill crafts wonderfully imperfect characters with poetic prose, warmth and wit. The resiliency of the heroes may be partly because of magic, but also because of critical thinking, empathy, deep love and the strength of family in all its unconventional manifestations. Thoughtful and utterly spellbinding. * Shelf Awareness for Readers * Heart-stopping and heart-rending . . . Good and evil square off in this highly original fantasy that satisfies in time-honored ways . . . Poetic turns of phrase, intriguing subplots and fast pacing yield a rich mix of suspense, surprise and social commentary, splendidly exploring 'memory, hope, love, and the weight of human emotion.'...Magic, witches, moonlight, starlight, a baby dragon and baby sacrifice swirl together in this spell-binding high fantasy. * San Francisco Chronicle * If your kids have already read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and they can't get enough of Neil Gaiman, they're going to love Kelly Barnhill's new fantasy, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. * St Paul Pioneer Press * The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a story of love, curiosity and the magic of the everyday world . . . this is a novel about the journey, not the destination -- one filled with wisdom and heart. * Minneapolis Star Tribune * Magic, witch-lore, an evil Council of Elders, a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, twists and turns and an utterly fantastical world--this book keeps you hooked! -- Kim Childress * Girls' Life * An involving--and often wondrously strange--adventure. Though aimed at middle grade readers, th

Kelly Barnhill lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children. She is the author of four novels, including The Girl Who Drank the Moon, winner of the Newbery Medal. The Witch's Boy received four starred reviews and was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Awards.