Audible Book Review: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

This is a wonderfully entertaining story that champions Hope!!

The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Written by: Kelly Barnhill
Narrated by: Christina Moore

Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
Release date: 08-09-16
Publisher: Recorded Books
Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Middle Grade
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.

Publisher's Summary
A young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon must unlock the dangerous magic buried deep inside her in this epic coming-of-age fairy tale from the highly acclaimed author of The Witch's Boy.
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 girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. When Luna approaches her 13th 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.
The acclaimed author of The Witch's Boy has created another epic coming-of-age fairy tale destined to become a modern classic.
©2016 Kelly Barnhill (P)2016 Recorded Books

Review:
The people in the town of the Protectorate are under a dark sorrow as each year they leave a baby as an offering to the witch in the forest. They’ve been told by the elders and the sisters that this sacrifice keeps the witch from destroying the town and keep it safe from the nearby volcano. No one ever dares watch what happens to the infant so they don’t know that there really is a witch, Xan, who ‘rescues’ the children and takes them to safe, welcoming families in other cities.

One year, Antain, an boy serving as an elder-in-training, accompanies his uncle, The Grand Elder, to pick up the child from the parents. The mother is clearly unhinged at the thought of giving up her baby and the Elders have to take the child by force. The mother is then locked away in the tower of the sisterhood. The event of witnessing the distress of the mother and the abandonment of the infant traumatizes Antain who can’t forget the mother or the child.

Xan retrieves the baby, but on the way to another town she accidentally enmagics the child with moonlight instead of just starlight. Xan decides to raise the girl, Luna, at the broken-down castle, with the help of Glerk, the gentle swamp monster (bog giant), and Fyrian, the tiniest dragon who fits in pockets.

The over-magicked toddler is inadvertently dangerous to herself and others, and Xan takes drastic steps to control the flaring magic. Years pass for Antain and Luna, but they are on a path to meet. As Luna’s 13th birthday nears, her magic begins to emerge on its own. Luna doesn’t realize what is happening as an ailing Xan has gone off on her own to rescue another baby. Concerned for Xan, Luna sets off after her with Glerk and Fyrian in close pursuit. Antain is on the way from the other direction thinking to save his town by killing the witch. He is oblivious to the evil presence hunting him and an unexpected ally that follows too. All of these characters are on a collision course that will change the lives of everyone.

This is whimsically magical and entertaining (and there are paper birds in the story). The characters are unique and delightful, and the story is woven from sorrow to hope. The story format is interesting with chapter titles following the form of “Chapter 1 In Which a Story is Told”. It took just a short time for me to get pulled into the story. I did enjoy the prose although I was a little disappointed with some predictability. Overall though, I found this to be a delightful fairy tale I recommend to tweens and adults.

Audio Notes: Christina Moore does a beautiful job with the narration. The characters have distinct voices, including deep voiced poetry from Glerk and high-pitched excitement from exuberant Fyrian. The audio experience was completely entertaining.

Source: February 2017 Audible Credit. This qualifies for 2022TBR, 2022Audiobook, and 2022Alphabet goals.

Audible Book Review: Saving Grace by Lee Smith

This is an unusual, unhappy character portrayal.

Saving Grace

By: Lee Smith

Narrated by: Christina Moore

Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Release date: 04-08-04

Language: English

Publisher: Recorded Books

Genre: Family Drama, Fiction

My Rating: 2.5 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary

Having justly earned her reputation as a master storyteller, Lee Smith's name evokes images of authentic country folk struggling through some of life's most arduous tests. Saving Grace adds a stunning spiritual dimension. The daughter of a snake-handling preacher who ignores the needs of his destitute family, Florida Grace doesn't think much of Jesus. He's the reason she's lived in squalor most of her life. He certainly doesn't keep her womanizing zealot of a father on the straight and narrow. In fact, Jesus hasn't been there for her through her failed marriage, or the death of her son. But in one shining moment everything changes when He calls out to her, and she returns to her roots to heed His call.

Narrator Christina Moore gives perfect voice to the vulnerability and wisdom of a young woman on a turbulent spiritual journey.

©1995 Lee Smith; (P)2003 Recorded Books

Review:
Florida Grace is the eleventh child of a snake handling, revival preacher. Her mother, (her father’s third wife) has a loving spirit while her father is a bit too busy to pay much attention to the young’uns. Grace feels out of step for most of her young life. While her parents are busy ministering she is partially raised by a warm, neighbor family.

While Grace is a young teen, an older teen boy shows up claiming a connection with her father. He wrangles a spot in the household and uses his charm to twist his relationship with Grace and others. When Grace’s mother dies, her father takes Grace and sets out on the road to continue his preaching. After a time Grace is abandoned and ends up taken in by the church’s strict pastor. The pastor lives with an equally strict and dour sister who isn’t thrilled to have Grace become part of the family.

Live brings some moments of joy to Grace but more times of trouble, confusion and heartache. Some of the further troubles are brought about by Grace’s own actions which ultimately bring her full circle to her childhood home where she must face herself and the God who has long pursued her.

The story setting is bleak, although the history is eccentrically fascinating. I was glad that Grace is a strong character, at times even vibrant through her struggles. I felt sorrow at the failings in her childhood and in her adult life. I could understand her anger and bitterness and resistance to a God whose truths were so twisted by her father and others close to him.

The major tone of the story is hopelessness. I am not a fan of depressing, family dramas. The blurb gave me hope that there was a revelation in Grace’s story. I trudged through the sadness looking and hoping for the light. The revelation doesn’t come until the very end and I was disappointed by what I found to be a very weak concluding scene.

This is well written with a wonderful depth of description and emotion. Still, I can’t say that I enjoyed the story. It is not really a Christian novel but more an expose of a sad, twisted history of a small religious sect. Readers who like drama, history and in depth character portrayal might find this an interesting read or listen.

Audio Notes: Christina Moore does a good job with the narration which gives extra to my rating. She conveys the appropriate tone of Grace’s emotions throughout the story. I am glad (I think) I listened to this in audio as I am pretty sure I would have skipped to the end if I had a print/ebook version.

This is another Audible TBR from 2010 which qualified for my 2017 Audiobook Challenge.