*Starred Review* Every year, the elders of the Protectorate sacrifice a baby to appease an evil witch though, in truth, it's a facade to subdue the populace. Xan, the witch in question, actually rescues each baby and finds families for them. One time, however, Xan accidentally feeds moonlight to the baby, which fills her with magic. Xan thereupon adopts her, names her Luna, and raises her with the help of a swamp monster and a tiny dragon. Luna's magic grows exponentially and causes such havoc that Xan casts a spell to suppress it until Luna turns 13. But the spell misfires, clouding Luna's mind whenever magic is mentioned, making proper training impossible. As the fateful birthday approaches, Xan fears dying before she can teach Luna everything she needs to know. Meanwhile, in the Protectorate, a young couple dares to challenge the status quo, a madwoman trapped in a tower escapes by way of paper birds, and a truly evil witch is revealed. Barnhill's latest, told in omniscient point of view, is rich with multiple plotlines that culminate in a suspenseful climax, characters of inspiring integrity (as well as characters without any), 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.--Young, Michelle Copyright 2016 Booklist

MANY BOOKS WE read when we're young want to teach us lessons about life. True, the things we learn in them can stay with us forever. But lessons can be so dull. Luckily, Kelly Barnhill's wonderful fourth novel, "The Girl Who Drank the Moon," educates about oppression, blind allegiance and challenging the status quo while immersing the reader in an exhilarating story full of magical creatures and derring-do. The people of a dingy, fog-covered town, nicknamed the City of Sorrows, are convinced that every year they must sacrifice their youngest child to an evil witch or she will destroy them all. The town's pompous, prissy Elders perpetuate this lie. They don't believe in the witch, but they know the lie makes for "a frightened people, a subdued people, a compliant people." It is a governing style that deserves thinking about. The Elders don't know that the babies are collected by a good witch named Xan, who carries them to a happier city with waiting families. They are called Star Children because on the journey Xan feeds them starlight. Unlike the morose children in the town, the babies thrive and their eyes sparkle. It is an exquisite metaphor for the benefits of love and compassion. One mother rebels and refuses to give up her baby. A young Elder in Training, Antain, watches in horror as the mother is grabbed by a ruthless all-female military force, and locked away as a madwoman. The baby is left in the woods as always, and Xan falls in love with her "gaze that reached into the tight strings of the soul and plucked, like the strings of a harp." Because she is so enamored, Xan inadvertently feeds the baby not starlight but moonlight, and the baby becomes "enmagicked." Nothing for it, but Xan must bring the child up as her own. She names her Luna and for 13 years contains her magical abilities. Xan's family also includes a sentimental monster who writes poetry and a pocket-size dragon. They all have memories of an unhappy and violent past that must be kept locked away. Why must they hide their sadness? And why is it so important the town be kept sad? When we learn the answer, the entire story falls into place and becomes impossible to put down. IT IS ANTAIN, obsessed with the madwoman, who begins to suspect all is not what it seems. Barnhill excels at characters who don't fit in, like Antain, whose face is covered in scars. Ned, in her previous novel, "The Witch's Boy," doesn't speak; Jack in "The Mostly True Story of Jack" and Princess Violet in "Iron Hearted Violet" are both unusual and lonely outsiders. Barnhill looks past their oddness to their humanity, and we identify with them and root for their success. As Luna approaches 13, we feel her magical powers threatening to burst from her - right along with other less appealing signs of puberty. We feel the terror when it's disclosed that Antain's baby is next in line to be sacrificed and cheer when he and his wife come up with a plan. A chase, a quest, an arranged murder: The story is so well plotted the pages fly by. Barnhill's language is lyrical and reminiscent of traditional fairytales, but never childish or stereotypical. She writes impressively from a variety of points of view, not only those of Luna and Xan, but also of Sister Ignatia and the mother who has lost her mind. Magic abounds, both beautiful and dangerous. Origami birds fly, but their paper wings also slice and cut. Enchanted but enigmatic images appear on rocks, and there are seven-league boots so "black ... they seemed to bend the light." Almost every female character turns out to have some supernatural ability when needed, but maybe that is another hidden truth: We have the power to make things happen. Speak up. Ask questions. Trust your instincts. Valuable instructions for any reader. "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" is as exciting and layered as classics like "Peter Pan" or "The Wizard of Oz." It too is about what it means to grow up and find where we belong. The young reader who devours it now just for fun will remember its lessons for years to come. The town is convinced that every year it must sacrifice its youngest child to an evil witch. DIANA WAGMAN'S first novel for young adults, "Extraordinary October," will be published this month.

Every year, the people of the Protectorate steel themselves for the Day of Sacrifice, when the elders take the citys youngest baby and leave it in the woods to appease the witch -- a witch no one has seen, but whose reputation has become a means to control the populace. In fact, a witch does live in the forest, and she rescues and finds homes for the babies; she even adopts one, the particularly magical Luna, whom she brings home to live with her own family that already includes a beloved bog monster and a dragon. Meanwhile, the true and malevolent Witch of Sacrifice Day, hiding behind the identity of a respected person in the city, secretly feeds off the grief of the bereaved parents until, thanks to adolescent Lunas emerging magic, the sorrow-burdened Protectorate begins to rebel. Barnhills fantasy has a slightly ungainly plot, with backstory, coincidence, insight-dumps, and shifting points of view maneuvering its hinges of logic into place. But in theme and emotion, it is focused: love -- familial, maternal, filial, and friendly -- is its engine and moral, with Lunas connections with her adoptive grandmother and unknown birth mother a poignant force. With all story elements and characters interrelated through infinite love (the storys theology), theres plenty for readers to puzzle out here. deirdre f. baker (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 4-6-In a vividly created fantastical realm, a baby is left in the forest, according to an annual tradition of sacrifice. Discovered by a kind witch, who mistakenly feeds the child moonlight, the girl grows up with a potent power she must learn to control. This swiftly paced and highly imaginative title expertly weaves myriad threads into a memorable story that will easily enchant readers. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Xan, a kindhearted witch, lives in the woods with an erudite swamp monster, Glerk, and a lovable "Perfectly Tiny Dragon," Fyrian. Every year she finds a new home for a baby the sorrowful people of the Protectorate leave in the woods on the Day of Sacrifice. One year, she accidentally "enmagicks" a baby with moonlight, so the three decide to raise her as their own, their Luna. But Luna's magic is strong, and before her 13th birthday, events unfold that will change everything she has known. Barnhill (The Witch's Boy) crafts another captivating fantasy, this time in the vein of Into the Woods. Via intricately woven chapters that follow Luna, her unusual family, the devious Grand Elder of the Protectorate, his honorable nephew and niece, the mysterious Sister Ignatia, and a sympathetic "madwoman" in a tower, Barnhill delivers an escalating plot filled with foreshadowing, well-developed characters, and a fully realized setting, all highlighting her lyrical storytelling. As the characters search for family, protect secrets, and seek truth, they realize that anything can happen in the woods-when magic is involved. Ages 10-up. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.