The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Barnhill writes with delicate grace, using simple, fluid words to tell a very emotional and heartbreaking story. Characters are expertly crafted: heroes are imperfect, villains are humanized, and they are forgiven for actions they may or may not have intended. The swamp monster and dragon provide plenty of levity to the pathos, while the location is imbued with fairy tale characteristics, both magical and scary, and given a tragic backstory. Fans of Barnhill’s The Witch’s Boy and Iron Hearted Violet will recognize similar themes of love, loss, and identity in this novel.