What It Is About: There is a magical village in which tradition has them "sacrifice" the youngest member of their village to the witch of the forest. This yearly ritual is in place in order for the witch to leave the rest of the people alone. Little do they know that this particular witch is actually kind and saves these babies and delivers them to the people on the other side of the forest. She feeds these babies with "starlight" on her journey to bring them to their new families. The witch lives with a swamp monster and a dragon. During one of these "transactions" the which accidentally feeds a new baby "moonlight" instead of "starlight". This moonlight gives the baby some extraordinary magical power. The witch names the baby Luna and decides to raise her as her own. When Luna reaches older ages the magical powers she has begin to have consequences. At the same time there is a man from the village that sets out to find the witch in order to protect the people of his village. The path of all these characters move in a direction that will have consequences for all that are involved.
What I Thought Of It: To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of fantasy. I prefer realistic fiction. Because of all the positive comments from readers I respect, I was excited to read this book. I really liked it right from the start. When I read fantasy I find I have to read more slowly than when I read realistic fiction. When I get going to fast, I get confused by what is going on in the story and the characters. I kept telling myself to slow down and take in the story to truly appreciate it. This was a unique and special story. The writing was unbelievable and so beautiful. The plot was intricate, detailed, and one of a kind. There were many magical elements sprinkled throughout the pages that drew the reader in and made them feel like they were in this magical world. This is going to be a special novel when it is released into the world.
Who Should Read It: The novel is going to be enjoyed by many teachers, librarians, and educators. It is the perfect novel for adults that enjoy middle-grade fiction. I'm thinking this could make for a beautiful and excellent read aloud in grades five and six. This is a longer novel with quite sophisticated vocabulary. Because of this I would say an individual readers would be in grade six or above. Readers of fantasy will eat this story up. I can't wait to see if I have advance readers in my fourth grade class than enjoy fantasy because this will definitely be a book I will share with them. Happy Reading!
Rating: 5 STARS out of 5 Stars
