Am I going mad?
It might be the only explanation as to why 'The Girl Who Drank the Moon' has such high ratings. That or I've somehow picked up a different book than what everyone else has read. Because not only did I end up not liking 'The Girl Who Drank the Moon', but I was baffled by it. Dazed and confused. It reads as very amateurish to me, like a first draft. It starts out strong and well written, but then it loses me completely about eighty pages in.
So many fundamental flaws, and storytelling rules that 'The Girl Who Drank the Moon' breaks, and not in a good way:
No one is the main protagonist - certainly not the girl Luna, as the reader is promised; and if she is the protagonist, we barely see her in between all the other nonsense, and she is given no agency of her own, no mind and choice of her own (hell, she's barely conscious throughout a story that supposedly revolves around her and her specialness);
Constant telling and no showing in the writing, which results in a disconnect between the reader and the characters and the "relationships" they have with one another;
Too many subplots and characters who, as time went on, I couldn't care less about (except the mini dragon Fyrian, he's precious, and possibly Glerk the swamp monster) - seriously, if they all died as the volcano Macguffin erupted and evil was released or whatever, I wouldn't have blinked;
A weak "twist" villain who didn't need to be a twist villain, or a villain at all, actually;
An out-of-nowhere romance and marriage and baby for a side character that comes in a ridiculously short amount of time, practically happening off-page;
Almost nothing is developed, least of all the characters;
Plot details - as little a plot as this book has - that appear out of thin air, as if the author was making stuff up as she went on - such as a rather weak "sorrow" illness that is affecting everyone and everything;
Speaking of, there are random, drawn-from-a-hat fantasy elements from the kitchen sink - like a crow who talks solely to Luna, as if she doesn't have enough animal and magical sidekicks, and the witch who raised her, Xan, suddenly turns into different birds halfway through the novel, with no explanation or buildup, and then suddenly there's a tiger villain who isn't actually a tiger but is described like one but it's not clear if it's a literal prowling tiger or what...;
Convenient moments of character unconsciousness and memory loss;
Random powers for Luna, and for other characters who aren't supposed to be magical...I think;
An abrupt, anticlimactic ending.
Etc, etc.
'The Girl Who Drank the Moon' is the book equivalent of a person with ADD. There is so much randomness - including in how the narrative is told - and a lack of focus on each varied point. It keeps jumping from one character and their situation to another, almost forgetting about who should matter the most - the titular girl who drank the moon's magic.
When I say that Luna is given no agency of her own, I mean it. She is manipulated, oppressed and repressed by others, even by the good guys who are supposed to love her, and by some ill-defined, magical destiny. When she was little, her magic was too powerful. It was brought to her by Xan, her adoptive witch grandmother, who accidentally fed her the moon's magic instead of starlight when she was a foundling baby. So Xan basically put a cork on the little girl's powers, to be freed only when she is old enough to know about responsibility and consequences, and how to control herself. All of this was done to Luna while she was magically rendered unconscious and without her expressed consent, but she was five at the time, and too much power is dangerous for one so young.
But the worst part is that this spell leaves Luna as literally an empty shell every time magic is even mentioned in her presence: the very concept of magic is filtered through her. Now she can't know of magic's existence at all, otherwise she's brain dead. (A little odd since she still knows about dragons and swamp creatures who are as old as the world).
Despite this side effect being accidental on old Xan's part, it is kind of horrifying. Principally what this means is that the book's supposed heroine is a blank slate, an unwitting slave to a spell put on her by her "beloved" guardian at a very young age. Even when Luna finds out her gift of drawing maps and places she's never been to, it requires trance work, and she never remembers what she did afterwards. Books about magic are left on shelves in her house (a wee bit careless there, Xan, don't you think?), and reading the titles on the spines is enough to give Luna blackouts, where she doesn't regain her senses until hours later. Foggy memories define her entire life.
It doesn't matter how many times the reader is told about Luna's naughtiness, stubbornness and daring - she has no will of her own. She isn't allowed to have free will; to have control over her own sense of self. Furthering the reader's disconnect with the characters, from the beginning we are told who Luna is (including who her birth mother is), and what she's capable of, and how she might "save the world", as it were - and meanwhile she's completely, forcefully oblivious to who she is, via brainwashing.
Luna is an abused child; she's never free, never herself, and there is no way for her to even know it.
(The audience knowing what a character doesn't throughout their journey is another exasperating storytelling device. Worse when that character's stupidity is forced and isn't their fault.)
I am just so sick of the fantasy and sci fi genres carelessly trampling all over characters' free will, and treating any kind of violation and boundaries of consent so flippantly, even casually, as no big deal. There are too many examples of this mind control trope and it needs to die. If for no other reason than it shows how little the writers actually care about their characters, and it downplays issues, such as abuse and trauma, to nonexistence. With 'The Girl Who Drank the Moon', featuring a female character who's very powerful, but is forced to become a prisoner in her own mind in order to "protect" her and others from her potential - breaking her will and personhood "for her own good" - the closest comparison is to the terrible film adaptations of X-Men's 'Dark Phoenix' saga. Not a good accolade.
For if the writers don't care about certain characters, why should the audience?
While Xan does feel guilty for interfering with Luna's free will at the beginning - she keeps putting the child to sleep - this is forgotten about quickly. The witch would enforce magic on Luna without her consent whenever she is an inconvenience - this is abuse, and Xan is meant to be a good, kind witch! No one in the book faces any consequences for their actions over others, either, even when Luna is made the wiser.
There is no real relationship between Luna and her grandmother, by the way. We are told that they love and care for one another, but we see almost no evidence of this. Because of the huge secret keeping, and Xan being a witch means that magic encompasses her whole life, their dialogue exchanges are short, vague, and stilted, filled with ominous warnings and non-answers to questions. What a healthy family dynamic! Secretive parents and guardians in YA is another cliche I hate.
Xan and Luna's bond seems to be trying to be the heart of the "story", but they don't seem to like each other much. It's frustrating. They lie to each other constantly, and they know this, but nothing comes of it. They're both rude, inconsiderate and irritating people, and I don't care for them as main players.
And do NOT do a drinking game for every time the word "sorrow" is mentioned in this book. In this context, it is an evil, lurking darkness and sadness, and it is one metaphor that is overdone and childish - a child's view of depression - and it's not developed beyond the cardboard basics. No drinking game for every time Luna says "Hush", too, particularly to her random crow friend.
I also don't like how one main character is referred to only as "the madwoman". It's really uncomfortable to read about: there's subtext to consider, and what the reader already knows of the woman and how she has been treated for years. Why does her name have to be unknown until the very end? No reason: for we've always known who she is in relation to other characters. It's for the sake of a mystery plot to this idiot plot. The woman conveniently forgets her own name in her "madness" and captivity, and that's that. What tosh.
I had hoped for feminist themes in 'The Girl Who Drank the Moon' as well. But it seems arbitrary, as underdeveloped female side characters, like a housewife and mother, are turned into strong leaders, giving orders left and right, out of nowhere and with no buildup. Not a lot comes of this, unsurprisingly. It's yet another contrivance. Xan is hardly a positive influence - her incompetence can be excused by her old age, so that's not exactly a problem; it's her personality, and unremarked hypocrisy and how she treats Luna that I don't like. And Luna is an annoying blank slate and pawn with no will of her own. So yeah, disappointing.
Oh crap, I just realised: If Luna wasn't a brainwashed shell of a young girl, she would easily be considered a Mary Sue. Everybody she meets loves and adores her, she is described as a very bright and intelligent kid (despite evidence to the contrary), she achieves everything she sets out to do, like carpentry (another superfluous feature in the book that can be cut out and absolutely nothing would be affected), she has an unusual eye colour, and an unusual birthmark, her dark hair is described as like a starry night, she has "amber skin", she is super special and no one else has powers like her, and her personality flip-flops from boring to annoying.
*sigh*
Nitpick: In chapter 19 there is someone who is only referred to as "the widow woman". Are you serious? That is the most redundant name ever to have gotten past an editor. A widow is already a woman, the male equivalent being widower, so why "the widow woman" and not just "the widow"?
In conclusion: It's a shame, because I'd been looking forward to reading 'The Girl Who Drank the Moon'. The fantasy premise sounded great - an Asian-inspired setting, witches, the moon being magic, a strong, powerful young heroine named Luna, fighting oppression and the patriarchy, the importance of kindness and caring, especially of children, and the promise of no love story. It partly reminded me of 'Sailor Moon' - Luna and her mother even have crescent moon-shaped birthmarks on their foreheads! I should have loved it. Sadly, I can't overlook poor planning and character development, a weak story, the lack of focus on anything, the ADD structure and aimless plot points, and the broken show-don't-tell rule.
What is the point? What is 'The Girl Who Drank the Moon' about? Does the book itself have a clue?
Like with 'I, Coriander', this is an instance of a fantasy tale for children being treated with no care for planning, consistency, attention to detail, or logic. Fantasy is no excuse for making things up on the fly and doing whatever you want regardless of if it makes sense and fits with the story; respect the genre you are writing about.
I know I am in the minority - and I hate to be, despite my not understanding why the book is so popular - but I think that 'The Girl Who Drank the Moon' is overall a boring, confusing, forgettable read. It's as forgettable as the characters are forgetful, and not worth much of anyone's time. There are better, more coherent fantasy novels out there, starring stronger, smarter, and more solid, developed, and genuinely daring female leads worth caring about, who are given freedom and agency in their story.
Final Score: 0.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment