Kelly BarnhillRezensionen

I enjoyed--although that is too light a term--this when I read it, but it has also stuck with me. I appreciated the minimalist approach here, which befits a contemporary revision of a traditional (there are actually several versions) fairy tale. Barnhill really understands how fairy tales work and has resisted the temptation of many of her contemporaries to over-elaborate on them in their own retellings. The narrative feels claustrophobic, but at the same time leaves a lot of gaps and spaces for us to think our way into the story and its implications. Traditional fairy tales are often more deeply ambiguous than many believe, particularly if we are familiar only with the sanitized versions of the much darker originals collected by the Grimms, etc. In this case much of the ambiguity comes from a single question: why is such an old, familiar story--a woman whom submits to abuse and abandons herself and those around her--one that too many people inhabit anew, and as if for the first time, everyday? Her teenage protagonist provides one set of answers: we inhabit a world where people see and don't see what is right in front of them.

Much of the attention this book has garnered--and you can see it in many of the other reviews here so far on LT--focuses on gender issue. However Barnhill's interest in the gender dynamics is wrapped up in a broader examination of cultural shifts in technology, farming, commerce, and the art market. Many of those elements nag at the edges of consciousness while reading the book (the creepy agribusiness next door, the fawning online collectors for the mother's art); this is, fundamentally, a smart story about how private abuse is fostered by a broader culture that turns a blind eye to all kinds of abuse.

The book is gripping, challenging, emotionally satisfying and worth reading. But the reviewer is not wrong who notes that the dragons who return are... baking bread, organizing book clubs, knitting... doing all the things that they did before. Life has not changed for them.

What does this mean? "The good life is just like the old life, only without men"? "Internal change changes everything: before enlightenment cut wood and carry water, after enlightenment cut wood and carry water"? The message is mysterious and obscure.

Although, bakery dragons and alternative schooling dragons -- that is just the sort of thing that would happen in Madison. There's not a whole lot of evocative sense of place writing in this book. The author is better at writing people than places, and that's okay; it's certainly better for a book to have plot and character than geography, if you have to choose. But the dragon culture is pure 1970s Madison, after the riots were over and the Vietnam War ended. I recognized the milieu and the dragon spirit.

The dragons who flew off to the moons of Jupiter, though? They were awe-inspiring. I wish we heard more about them.

I feel this was one of the most adorable book I have read ever. Its a book for all ages it was just so great for me. I would read this over and over especially to the grand babies ❤

I read this novella as part of the Nebula finalist packet. The Crane Husband is a disturbing, gothic-tinged meditation on how women succumb to abuse. Though mythology forms a major undercurrent, it feels incredibly contemporary and relevant (which is a tragedy unto itself).

In general, there were good parts to the book, but it was repetetive, with some plot holes. The idea of this book is that women, throughout history, have had the ability to transform into dragons fueled by anger or other passions. There was a mass dragoning event in the 50's, when a large number of women transformed to dragons, left homes and families, leaving a certain amount of destruction.
So in general, a woman's empowerment story. I would probably give this one 3 or 3.5 stars; and I'd say that if you liked [Lessons in Chemistry] you might like this as some of the themes are similar.½

Enjoyed it , but felt the ending was a bit anti-climactic

Very interesting book. A very feminist tale. So many paralells with our world today.
I really enjoyed it. Definitely recommend it.

As a lover of old fairy tales, I adored this book - the storytelling felt familiar, with refreshingly modern meaning. The narration style won't be for everyone, it's very old-fashioned in some ways (ex, morals spoken as character dialogue), but I found it very charming and a good fit for the story being told. A parable about knowledge and kindness, with characters that stretched beyond the archetypes you might have anticipated. On the shortlist to add to my home library, so I can underline about a hundred key lines to take to heart - one of those stories whose world sticks with you long after the last page.½

This is a great collection for kids. With creepy looking illustrations, it describes each hoax, then gives facts to refute them. It explains how hoaxes came to be, and how they can be explained away. My favorite was the giant cat, Snowball, whose picture shows her to be the size of a big dog being held by his owner. It was a picture that his owner faked and sent to a few of his friends. He claimed the gigantic size was the result of radiation, but of course, he never thought anyone would believe him! But they did, and the picture went viral. This collection ends with this caveat: seeing isn’t always believing! This collection may be short, but it is quite entertaining, has clear and precise information, and includes a glossary and a listing of books as well as a safe way to search websites for further reading.

A delightful fairy tale about magic and monsters and love.

Thank you to my friend Diane for suggesting this. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It took me a little while to get into it, and there were even a few times I wasn't sure I liked it. But the writing was masterfully done, and by the end, the spell that Barnhill had woven with her words, her characters, and the shifting POVs rang out with such profound love and beauty, I will not soon forget it.

NOT just for kids (and NOT little kids) - but otherwise, I recommend this to all magickal people.

In this novel, women sometimes become dragons - sometimes in individual instances and others in mass. For all that this is a fantastical element, these dragons exist in a world that is very much our own. The Mass Dragoning of 1955 centers this novel, which is very much about one family and the impact of members leaving, staying, and returning. The process of becoming a dragon is something only addressed in whispers and discouraged by society even as it continues to happen. Metaphors abound in this novel and while one could certainly read this novel as a metaphor for many things, one could also simply enjoy it as a great story.

This book is rather obviously an allegory for women's rights, gay rights, civil rights, and an exploration of the anger of women. But it doesn't creak though it repeats, and repetition is part of the structure. It's is a bit impeded by wanting to tell more story than quite fits into a compact plot so there is some roughness in the flow when the thrust of the rather slow quiet action shifts.

The best fairytale I've read since I was a child. Totally blew me away. I'm only sad I didn't read this masterpiece sooner.

I am surprised by how much I disliked this. I heard that the author wrote it in reaction to the 2016 election (see her Kirkus interview here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/kelly-barnhill-ogress-a... and maybe that's why. I don't want the pain of the Trump presidency in a children's book. I don't want a Trump-esque villain. I don't want platitudes about neighborliness, even if they are well-meaning. It was difficult for me to finish this book and I was not happy at the end. There was no joy in this book for me -- even when it seemed to be pandering to librarians and many of the things we stand for.

But this is a super personal reaction. Professionally, this is a book I would still suggest to young readers and families who want a fantasy story about good vs. evil and right vs. wrong. The best thing I can say about this book is that I appreciate what it's trying to do.

I listened to the audiobook, which was very well done. I liked the narrator. I usually listen at regular speed, but I sped this up to 1.5x and then 2x because I just wanted it to be over.

This book has an amazing opening chapter. So gripping and intense. But ultimately I felt the book was too long and I got really tired of Barnhill italicizing individual words to show emphasis. If something matters, we should be able to tell it matters without you having to say it matters. If a writer does this sparingly, it's fine, but I think Barnhill overdid it, like it was a little bit of a crutch.

Honestly, this book frustrated me. In my mind, there's a limit to how long the author should keep the reader in suspense, and TMTSOJ mostly exceeded that limit. I was more than halfway through when I grew so frustrated I actually said, "Come on! Get on with it!" out loud. In a way that's a good thing. I cared enough about the characters and the plot to feel as confused and impatient as the character Jack himself probably did. On the other hand, I obviously disliked the overlong setup. So I'm not crazy about this book, but it did hold my interest.

Basically, the premise of the book is that there's something magical about a little town in Iowa, but what exactly is it? Our title character, Jack, is taken from his home in San Francisco to this little Iowa town and slowly realizes he is at the heart of some dangerous dealings. Children disappear, houses shimmer and move as if alive, and it's clear there are people out to get Jack. But Jack is happy in Iowa because, for the first time in his life, people actually see him. For as long as he can remember, he's been mostly invisible to everyone around him, even his family, even when he's standing right in front of them.

The ending left room for a sequel, but I never completely bought into the world Barnhill created, so I'm not too excited about it. Still, this may appeal to kids who like dark fantasy/fairy tale stuff.

Beautiful book. Everything well-described, great characters who are distinct and varied. Great story.

This was such a fun read. I really liked the world building of this story and this great a such a modern fairy tale. I also liked the this book focused on the element of found family and also magic. I thought the writing style had a good balance between lyrical and just engaging writing. I also loved how many life lessons were packed into this read. It made me smile and I had hard time putting it down.

This was such a fun read. I really liked the world building of this story and this great a such a modern fairy tale. I also liked the this book focused on the element of found family and also magic. I thought the writing style had a good balance between lyrical and just engaging writing. I also loved how many life lessons were packed into this read. It made me smile and I had hard time putting it down.

This is a great book - gently told, with an interesting character, and interesting location. Its also a fairy tale turned sideways, with a witch, a dragon, and a monster raising a small girl. Its aimed at the younger crowd, but it has enough substance that it will keep an adults attention.

Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon (the recipient of the 2017 Newbery Award) is a book I've been meaning to read since I'd received an arc (advance readers copy) in 2016. I've started and stopped reading it a few different times but alas, I've finally read it. I can report that it is an artistically written yet flawed fairy tale like fantasy that will best appeal to lovers of children and young adult fantasy.

So what's the story? The Girl Who Drank the Moon is about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her. Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she's always known.

For many, The Girl Who Drank The Moon is a modern classic and I can see why - it has a lovely moral, beautifully written passages, and it is full of whimsy and the fantastical. However, it is a flawed story. Sadly, for how beautiful the writing often is (especially the first half of the book), the story drags (particularly in the middle) to a very predictable, (although -I must admit-touching) conclusion. I guess my biggest complaint is that the flow of the story felt off. Some passages were quite wonderful to read and quite lyrical while others felt so redundant. I really felt this book could have been further edited to make a more cohesive story.

That being said: I didn't hate this book. It had a warmth to it that appealed to me. And I applaud its message regarding familial love and use of knowledge and power certainly. The ending, although predictable, was quite touching (I might have even got a little teary eyed). And if I ever have kids, I'd be glad to read this to them/with them, for there are many lessons to be learned from this tale (however, I wonder if this story would be traumatic for an adopted child)?

I just think it might have been a tad bit over-hyped for this reader. And that's okay.

For fans of: J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman.

Independent Reading Level - 3rd & 5th grade
Awards-Newbery Medal Winner

Really good. I think I would have liked it better when I was younger, when my rage was always boiling. I'm not thrilled with the ending: it felt like the most fairy-tale part in a story that has a lot of dragons.

I would still recommend this to my dragon loving friends. I'd talk about it with a feminist book club. It just doesn't quite align with me.

The audiobook is marvelously narrated. This story is different and wonderful that it is beyond description. A slow but wonderful burn.pissibly my favorite audiobook of 2023.