BOOK REVIEW: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

You know those books that start off so strong, and you're excited to read the book the entire way through?

This was not such a book.

In fact, this book took me 2 1/2 months to read, which is highly unusual.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon started off strong, and I loved learning about Xan, Luna, Glerk, and Fyrian and their world, even though the world in the Protectorate, with their yearly child sacrifice saddened me.

However, the overly descriptive paragraphs began to distract me, and I found myself staring off into space, or thinking about something else while my eyes glided across the words.

The ending also irritated me. It was fast, and seemed to unravel more questions than tie up any ends.

WHAT I LIKED: Let me make this clear, though, I LIKE the idea behind the book--the ancient witch, Xan, saving the life of one of the sacrificed children every year, but accidentally en-magicking one in the process. Their life together is chronicled, along with their friends, the bog monster, Glerk, and dragon, Fyrian. The idea of Xan having to find out about her past was a great story line.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: First, Antain (a character from the Protectorate) annoyed the crap out of me as a boy, and as an adult. Second, while I love imagery, I get annoyed with overly descriptive narration in every single line. I know there are a lot of people who love it, but me, I wanted to get to the heart of the story. Yes, sometimes it is needed to paint the picture in the head of a reader, but not every single line, because it makes the book move too slow.

In fact, I read a few paragraphs aloud to my husband, and his comment was that the passage was overwritten. I wholeheartedly agree.

RATED: 2 Stars

I love the story idea, but the writing style was not for me.

NOTE: I bought and paid for the book on my own, and did not receive any compensation for this review.