Published by Algonquin Books in August 2016
2017 Newbery Medal
"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 deliver 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." - From Goodreads
Will you like it?
This book was so awesome! I loved the characters. They were so well thought out that even the ones with the smallest roles you felt you knew. How they also weaved together was also pure genius.
I also enjoyed the magical aspects of this story. At its roots, this story was about good versus evil. To defeat the evil, Luna and Xan did not have to use their magical powers. The townspeople were able to crack the witch's power by having hope. Luna in the end uses her magical powers for protection, not for injuring. Love that!
This is definitely a book that I'm going to recommend to a lot of people. This Newbery will translate well over ages and even over genres.
Disclosure: I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library.
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