The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby in the forest as a sacrifice to the witch who lives there, believing it keeps her from destroying the village. The witch, Xan, is actually a kind old woman who has spent decades rescuing the abandoned babies and carrying them to loving families in the Free Cities on the other side of the forest. One year Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight and the girl, Luna, grows up enmagicked. The book braids together Luna's coming-of-age, Xan's aging, the real witch behind the village's sorrow, and the bog monster Glerk, who is older than the world.
Where The Girl Who Drank the Moon keeps showing up
Two of our editors' lists feature this novel.