Casting spells, cursing, hand-held divination or taroting is the domain of the diviners, who earn their living in a similar way. However, let him throw a stone at one who has not gone through the thought that magic really exists. Many of us believe in the existence of supernatural forces; many of us have more sensitive senses to do things that are impossible – to feel that something wrong is going to happen. The magic assumes that what is within us is the key to freeing ourselves from the shackles of limitations.
For years, the inhabitants of the Protectorate have been living in the trap of fear of a witch living in a nearby forest. They think that her anger is so powerful that it can destroy the whole city. To avoid terror, citizens sacrifice the youngest child of the Protectorate every year, leaving it in the forest.
However, they do not know that appearances like to be mistaken, and very much so…
Xan, for he is a good witch who saves abandoned children from a certain death. The witch feeds infants with the brilliance of stars as she traverses distant places, and when she reaches the other side of the forest, she takes her children to new families. One day, because of his distraction, Xan feeds one child with the moonlight. There would be nothing wrong with it if it were not for the fact that the moon has a peculiar power – it magnifies. The witch decides to take care of the baby, raise it, and learn how to use magic.
Even if you don’t see something, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist yet. Many of the greatest wonders of this world remain invisible to the eye. By trusting invisible things, you make them even more powerful and wonderful.
Kelly Barnhill’s story is based on a well-known pattern of confronting good and evil. The author, however, with impeccable finesse, has shown that even if tracks are broken, they can carry something extraordinary. The way in which the writer builds the elements gives the novels their colour and fairy-tale sound. With her seemingly infantile novel, Kelly Barnhill touches on important issues in a moving and captivating way, and the uniqueness of this story is closed in the beauty and wisdom that flows from it.
The very idea of an original universe attracts attention. On one side of the barricade there is the gloomy, stuffy and gloomy land, where there is no room for joy and carelessness. Here sadness and suffering lead the way, and the rays of happiness quickly obscure the dark clouds. The other side belongs to the enigmatic forest, which under the cover of darkness hides magic, and this can be seen everywhere – in every detail.
The action of the piece develops slowly, yet it intrigues from the very beginning. One might think that presenting different narrative tracks in a book dedicated to younger readers would be a daunting task, but Kelly Barnhill did an excellent job. The ideal balance between lyrical language, free style, sometimes dark and dreamy atmosphere, additionally stimulates the imagination, and simplicity and the transmission of text are the decisive values of the novel.
A solid pillar, without which all the fictional foundations would have been laid in the games, are the characters – colorful, characteristic, artistic. Each character struggles with their own stigma; each character has their own story which, taken together, fascinates.
The American writer wins a well-known melody, but reworks it in her own way, creating a unique work from which it is impossible to break away. The author is not afraid to manipulate appearances, she pushes her imagination onto unknown, unconventional tracks, and fuels curiosity. “The “Girl who Drank the Moon” is a novel about crossing bumpy paths in search of her own “I”; it is a story about a rich and complex tissue of truth; it is a story that explores the edges of a lie and all its legs; and finally, it is a story about sacrifice, the power of love and magic.
A Warm, Colorful Novel, in which the evil is not entirely black and the good is crystal clear. Factory 7
Language 7
The creation of the characters 7
Emotions 6
General impressions 7 6.8 Final assessment Final assessment
Title: Girl who has drunk the moon
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Translation: Marta Kisiel-Małecka
Published by: Wydawnictwo Literackie
Year of issue: 2018
Number of pages: 336