#61 in Children’s books
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
- 400
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Newbery Medal
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Our view
“The Girl Who Drank the Moon” is a warm children’s fantasy about a girl raised by a witch, told in lyrical, whimsical prose. Some readers love the forest creatures of the opening chapters and the way the separate storylines come together. For others the book loses its grip after a jump forward in time, and some find the descriptions repetitive and the characters flat. Some read it aloud to children as young as six.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a 2016 children's book by Kelly Barnhill. The book focuses on Luna, who after being raised by a witch named Xan, must figure out how to handle the magical powers she was accidentally given before it is too late. The book received the 2017 Newbery Medal.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.1 across 186 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 56% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Children’s books average of 7.9. That is how 8.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.7 | 40 | 22% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 146 | 79% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Girl Who Drank the Moon for?
The Girl Who Drank the Moon sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 400 pages — longer than 93% of the ranked books in Children’s books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Children’s books — with scores between 8.0 and 8.1, closest to this book.
