A review by pagingmrsvarnum
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

The Crane Husband is a brilliant retelling of the Crane Wife myth, but it’s so much more than that. It’s an insightful novella (or would it be considered a short novel at just over 100 pages?) that explores the metaphorical - and literal - transformative nature of love and art. The narrator is the teenage daughter of a very disturbed woman who is trying to make sense of the unhealthy relationship she sees playing out between her mother and, yes, an actual crane.

Kelly Barnhill’s Newberry-winning book, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, is possibly my favorite middle grade novel of all time, so I went into this with high expectations. This book is completely the opposite of her middle grade works - it’s dark and without true restoration at the end. And yet, I still adored it. Barnhill is a master at using language to set a ton and to paint a picture. With this being such a short book, not a sentence is wasted. Every word packed a punch, and the overall result was a powerful story that asks difficult questions about love, sacrifice, art, duty, and family. This is the kind of book I can easily imagine discussing in one of my undergrad English classes; in fact, I could see it discussed in high school English classes and libraries as well. In fact, I wish I could attend a discussion on this novella, because I would love to hear other perspectives and interpretations! 

This book is not for everyone, but if you love magical realism, subversive texts, retellings of myths and folktales, or just stories that make you really think, then I would definitely recommend it!  


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