Paperback, 419 pages
Spanish language
Published Oct. 19, 2018 by Santillana USA - Loqueleo.
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 -- …
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.
Cada año, las personas del Protectorado dejan un bebé como ofrenda a la bruja que vive en el bosque. Esperan que este sacrificio evite que aterrorice a su pueblo. Pero la bruja en el bosque, Xan, es amable y gentil. Ella comparte su hogar con un sabio Monstruo del pantano llamado Glerk y un Dragón Perfectamente Diminuto, Fyrian. Xan rescata a los niños abandonados y los entrega a familias de acogida al otro lado del bosque, alimentando a los bebés con la luz de las estrellas en el viaje. Un año, Xan alimenta accidentalmente a un bebé con luz de luna en lugar de luz de estrellas, llenando al niño común con una magia extraordinaria. Xan decide que debe criar a esta chica magullada, a quien llama Luna, como propia. Para mantener a la joven Luna a salvo de su propio poder inmanejable, Xan encierra su magia en su interior. Cuando Luna se acerca a su decimotercer cumpleaños, su magia comienza a surgir a tiempo, pero Xan está muy lejos. Mientras tanto, un joven del Protectorado está decidido a liberar a su pueblo matando a la bruja. Pronto, depende de Luna proteger a quienes la han protegido, incluso si eso significa el fin del mundo amoroso y seguro que siempre ha conocido.
Magical story for kids - I assume. Was wonderful for me as a grown up, too.
I actually would like more stories like this for grown-ups. Or just more stories like this, tbh.
A child is left for dead in the forest, a witch rescues and mistakenly enmagicks her.
A book of sorrows and hope, loss and love, endings and beginnings.
It's good.
brilliant and lovely.
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.
Kinda disappointed by this one. Mostly just okay. Didn't do it for me.
This book in my opinion wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I thought it would be about this huge quest that Luna would have to go on to find herself, but it wasn't that at all. There was a lot of conversation in this book, and not a lot of action.
Yes, the little dragon was pretty cute, I'll give it that, but this book just fell flat for me.
My only complaint about this book is that it hasn't won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
My heart is so full after reading this beautiful story of love, magic, what a family means/ is/ can be, grief, sorrow, separation, and growth and I can't wait to recommend it to all of my friends.
Really sweet story.
