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The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic
A bewitching journal filled with prompts and quotations from the imagination of worldwide #1 bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.
"We learn to wring magic from the ordinary.”
Find the magic in your life with this year-long journal. On every page you will find an introspective question to respond to, or an evocative quotation from the novels of the Grishaverse—a magical world created by bestselling author Leigh Bardugo. Open your windows to the moon, write down what each prompt or quote conjures in your mind, and let this journal guide you through 365 days of magical self reflection.
This gorgeously designed journal includes foil accents and a ribbon bookmark.
"We learn to wring magic from the ordinary.”
Find the magic in your life with this year-long journal. On every page you will find an introspective question to respond to, or an evocative quotation from the novels of the Grishaverse—a magical world created by bestselling author Leigh Bardugo. Open your windows to the moon, write down what each prompt or quote conjures in your mind, and let this journal guide you through 365 days of magical self reflection.
This gorgeously designed journal includes foil accents and a ribbon bookmark.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 29, 2019
31 people are currently reading
9123 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Bardugo
90 books186k followersLeigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University. For information on new releases and appearances, sign up for her newsletter.
She would be delighted if you visited her at LeighBardugo.com and fairly giddy if you liked her selfies on Instagram.
She would be delighted if you visited her at LeighBardugo.com and fairly giddy if you liked her selfies on Instagram.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Want to read
March 14, 2019At this point, I'd buy Leigh Bardugo's grocery list full price in hardcover and give it 5 stars so there's that. I NEED THIS.
February 2, 2019
OMG! This came today and it’s the cutest little book!! And it has a gold ribbon marker inside
Here it is in all its glory next to some bigger books 😊
Here are a few inside pages with the writing prompts.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Here it is in all its glory next to some bigger books 😊
Here are a few inside pages with the writing prompts.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Want to read
January 28, 2019If Leigh writes:
A note.
A memo.
A scribble on a receipt.
A grocery list.
A 50-page research paper on grass.
A 10-page novella.
A single sentence on a piece of paper.
I'll read them all.
A note.
A memo.
A scribble on a receipt.
A grocery list.
A 50-page research paper on grass.
A 10-page novella.
A single sentence on a piece of paper.
I'll read them all.
Want to read
August 16, 2018"Blah blah blah by Leigh Bardugo"
*auto-buy book detected*
*auto-buy book detected*
Read
December 25, 2019I am not rating this because there is nothing to rate about it!
I am using my copy to write short summaries for books I read and want a quick refresher in the future.
I am using my copy to write short summaries for books I read and want a quick refresher in the future.
tbr-good-authors
August 16, 2018Uh... My journal entries are typically profane rants about people I hate, but am I gonna stan the hell out of this magical self-reflection journal? By LEIGH BARDUGO? OBVIOUSLY YES.
Want to read
August 16, 2018OH MY GOD I WANT THIS SO MUCH!!!!! this is just... perfect.
Want to read
February 26, 2019"Leigh Bardugo has a new book, it's about - "
Me:
Me:
January 29, 2019
I got this from my mom, as a surprise gift. So sweet! Apparently this only got out today.
It's a journal and I've never used one of those for more than two days, but this one looks different. First of all, it's so pretty. It looks very regal, both on the inside and outside. The gold, purple and black is beautiful and the illustrations are gorgeous. The quotes and questions on each page are also really something else. They're not your standard journal questions of 'where do you want to be in 10 years' or 'how was your day', but more thought provoking. Though not pretentious or too difficult to answer either, just the right amount of interesting and magical. Two that I like:
'There are many stories of human beings trapped in the shapes of beasts. What do you think it means ''to become a beast''?'
'Describe a time when you mistook something else for love.'
I think it will be a lot of fun to pick a new quote or question each day - you don't have to start at page 1 and end at 365, you can skip ahead and go back. The book feels like a rich, dark box of chocolates, with hidden surprises and new things to discover.
It's a journal and I've never used one of those for more than two days, but this one looks different. First of all, it's so pretty. It looks very regal, both on the inside and outside. The gold, purple and black is beautiful and the illustrations are gorgeous. The quotes and questions on each page are also really something else. They're not your standard journal questions of 'where do you want to be in 10 years' or 'how was your day', but more thought provoking. Though not pretentious or too difficult to answer either, just the right amount of interesting and magical. Two that I like:
'There are many stories of human beings trapped in the shapes of beasts. What do you think it means ''to become a beast''?'
'Describe a time when you mistook something else for love.'
I think it will be a lot of fun to pick a new quote or question each day - you don't have to start at page 1 and end at 365, you can skip ahead and go back. The book feels like a rich, dark box of chocolates, with hidden surprises and new things to discover.
Want to read
August 16, 2018Um, I want someone to get me this for my birthday plz. I will be the happiest person on earth.
December 31, 2025
First of all, I thought this was a book containing someone's journal notes, not an actual journal. Second of all, I was not expecting my own commitment to write in a journal every day for a full year. And last but not least, I went through 6 pens while writing. (Never knew how long a pen would last until I wrote one page each day)
I had so much fun getting inspired, writing short stories, stuff that was stuck in my mind, and pouring my emotions onto a page. From angry scribbles, to heartfelt notes, to my own insecurities put into words, and letting my imagination run wild. The daily prompts/questions/quotes invited me to think, feel, and be creative. Highly recommend this journal if you want to keep a diary but don't just want to write about your day, or want some way to put those creative writing lessons to use. 😉
What a way to start and end a year!
I had so much fun getting inspired, writing short stories, stuff that was stuck in my mind, and pouring my emotions onto a page. From angry scribbles, to heartfelt notes, to my own insecurities put into words, and letting my imagination run wild. The daily prompts/questions/quotes invited me to think, feel, and be creative. Highly recommend this journal if you want to keep a diary but don't just want to write about your day, or want some way to put those creative writing lessons to use. 😉
What a way to start and end a year!
March 10, 2019
"She dreamed she stood at the center of the hedge maze wearing a mantle of fire, paralyzed, unable to do anything but burn."
Journals were never my thing and they probably won’t ever be. But when Imprint sent me this, I wasn’t going to turn it away because it is gorgeous. The cover, the artwork, and the pages inside are absolutely stunning.
At the top of every page is a quote or a prompt for you to respond to. Write what comes to mind when you read it or release something deep inside of you.
The Severed Moon is a fantastic addition to any Bardugo collection. I won’t write in mine but it’s something beautiful to brighten your day.
Journals were never my thing and they probably won’t ever be. But when Imprint sent me this, I wasn’t going to turn it away because it is gorgeous. The cover, the artwork, and the pages inside are absolutely stunning.
At the top of every page is a quote or a prompt for you to respond to. Write what comes to mind when you read it or release something deep inside of you.
The Severed Moon is a fantastic addition to any Bardugo collection. I won’t write in mine but it’s something beautiful to brighten your day.
February 2, 2019
This is the cutest little journal! I love it!
March 4, 2019
Leigh Bardugo’s THE SEVERED MOON is not really a book, but an insightful journal. In this book, Leigh Bardugo returns to give you help on your writing projects that you are never really sure what to do with. THE SEVERED MOON is quite literally a year-long journal that gives you a different writing prompt for every day of the year. The prompts range from serious to outlandish and to just about anything in-between.
Personally, I really liked the idea of a writing journal that gave you something for every day of the year. This makes THE SEVERED MOON not only an exceptionally beautiful book, but one that encourages writing consistently every day. I think this is wonderful because even if you do not write every day, you can use it for writing prompts when you are in a writing slump. It is pretty cool that although most of the writing prompts could be seen as an echo to Leigh Bardugo’s book series, like The Grisha Trilogy, Six of Crows, or KING OF SCARS, but they don’t have to be if you don’t want them to be. Bardugo gives you the freedom to choose what you want but also provides a boost if necessary by allowing you to perhaps relate her characters to the prompts. The most important thing established here is that you keep writing because you will get better. Because of the unusual format, I believe I can best show you what the book will be like by answering one or two of the prompts.
Writing Prompt: Describe a garment you would like to wear that would give you power.
My garment would be some type of underclothes because if people cannot see it, then it is less likely they will suspect paranormal forces to be at play. It would probably not be anything you wear on your midsection because more often than not, it will probably be a target for others. After all, the midsection holds all of your most valuable organs and your head makes you quite vulnerable if attacked. Legs are used as a power play for most enemies because they hold symbolic meaning to be crippled before your enemy or brought to your knees by a well-placed knife. However, it also depends on the ability that the garment grants me, and if the garment would also apply itself. For instance, if the ability was invisibility, would the garment also disappear with me or would it always be visible, so I must hide it? Another route you could go would be the big and flashy approach, a menacing crown or a regal cloak, as it would inspire more visible fear. However, that would be also a more visible target for others to easily locate and attack. Jewelry would be smaller and easily hidden with other jewelry, but would also be easier to lose sight of or fall off. It would be quite awkward if you could not use your abilities because you misplaced a ring the night before.
Writing Prompt: What kind of power do you associate with the night sky? How could it work for you?
I would associate the night sky with healing powers. Night is where everything is okay. The breeze is cool, and the sky is bright and endless. I find comfort in the quiet and peace in the stretched sky. This healing power could work for me by incorporating healing later in my series. Since some powers were originally there in my series, but others were created or acquired with time, I could make healing either an acquired ability by elderly water controllers, or a completely different category by making one of the created abilities the ability to heal with a specific element or even heal with anything in the other categories. This healing ability could even be twisted into a way of mental torture for war prisoners because often for those with PTSD, they would heal much quicker if they weren’t afraid of the calmness and stability that has been missing from their life. If these people have mental trauma, they are afraid of who they will be when they are healthy again. Furthermore, “healthy” is relative and some people who do bad things do them for a good reason. “Healing” would depend entirely on the person who wields the ability and who she is surrounded by. If she thinks it would be better for you to forget your whole life because of specific events, her ability would have to allow her to do it. Also, if she was kept in captivity a long amount of time, was manipulated mentally by the evil people and couldn’t heal herself, then she could hypothetically kill people because she could be told it would help them and believe it.
Personally, I really liked the idea of a writing journal that gave you something for every day of the year. This makes THE SEVERED MOON not only an exceptionally beautiful book, but one that encourages writing consistently every day. I think this is wonderful because even if you do not write every day, you can use it for writing prompts when you are in a writing slump. It is pretty cool that although most of the writing prompts could be seen as an echo to Leigh Bardugo’s book series, like The Grisha Trilogy, Six of Crows, or KING OF SCARS, but they don’t have to be if you don’t want them to be. Bardugo gives you the freedom to choose what you want but also provides a boost if necessary by allowing you to perhaps relate her characters to the prompts. The most important thing established here is that you keep writing because you will get better. Because of the unusual format, I believe I can best show you what the book will be like by answering one or two of the prompts.
Writing Prompt: Describe a garment you would like to wear that would give you power.
My garment would be some type of underclothes because if people cannot see it, then it is less likely they will suspect paranormal forces to be at play. It would probably not be anything you wear on your midsection because more often than not, it will probably be a target for others. After all, the midsection holds all of your most valuable organs and your head makes you quite vulnerable if attacked. Legs are used as a power play for most enemies because they hold symbolic meaning to be crippled before your enemy or brought to your knees by a well-placed knife. However, it also depends on the ability that the garment grants me, and if the garment would also apply itself. For instance, if the ability was invisibility, would the garment also disappear with me or would it always be visible, so I must hide it? Another route you could go would be the big and flashy approach, a menacing crown or a regal cloak, as it would inspire more visible fear. However, that would be also a more visible target for others to easily locate and attack. Jewelry would be smaller and easily hidden with other jewelry, but would also be easier to lose sight of or fall off. It would be quite awkward if you could not use your abilities because you misplaced a ring the night before.
Writing Prompt: What kind of power do you associate with the night sky? How could it work for you?
I would associate the night sky with healing powers. Night is where everything is okay. The breeze is cool, and the sky is bright and endless. I find comfort in the quiet and peace in the stretched sky. This healing power could work for me by incorporating healing later in my series. Since some powers were originally there in my series, but others were created or acquired with time, I could make healing either an acquired ability by elderly water controllers, or a completely different category by making one of the created abilities the ability to heal with a specific element or even heal with anything in the other categories. This healing ability could even be twisted into a way of mental torture for war prisoners because often for those with PTSD, they would heal much quicker if they weren’t afraid of the calmness and stability that has been missing from their life. If these people have mental trauma, they are afraid of who they will be when they are healthy again. Furthermore, “healthy” is relative and some people who do bad things do them for a good reason. “Healing” would depend entirely on the person who wields the ability and who she is surrounded by. If she thinks it would be better for you to forget your whole life because of specific events, her ability would have to allow her to do it. Also, if she was kept in captivity a long amount of time, was manipulated mentally by the evil people and couldn’t heal herself, then she could hypothetically kill people because she could be told it would help them and believe it.
December 27, 2022
When I first saw this book I thought it was like a journal from one of the characters perspective, but once I got it then I realized that it was like a journal that you write in, I only read the prompts but they were amazing! They really got you thinking deeply about yourself and the world around you!
May 12, 2020
When I got this book I thought it would be a write-your-own-adventure or finish-the-story or continue-the-story type of thing; that you'd get a small story premise every day of the year and just fill it out and continue it. I thought that would be amazing. But while I got that, I also got (and even more of this) introspective, feminine, new age, philosophical questions that I couldn't care less about. These questions are by no means wrong if you like that kind of thing, but they couldn't be further from who I am. I wrote in this in January, and then I didn't pick it up again until March. Now it's May and every time I look at it I just mentally wince. So I'll DNF this.
February 7, 2023
Got this today, and it's lovely. The prompt are varied. The writing space is small, especially with all the page embellishing, but I think that makes this work all the more. I've never done a guided journal before, despite Journaling for years. I can't wait to add a daily prompt to my Journaling time.
December 31, 2020
Fue mi compañero por todo 2020 y me encantó. Con una pregunta, cita o idea diarias, fue una guía creativa para escribir un poco cada día.
El diario está inspirado en el Grishaverse de Leigh Bardugo pero realmente puede ser para cualquiera. No tiene fecha, así que se puede usar sin importar el año (estoy pensando seriamente comprarlo otra vez para años futuros porque fue una experiencia tan agradable, aunque quizá después de un iempo para olvidar un poco las preguntas y citas de este año).
Me gustan mucho los diarios guiados, pero me había costado encontrar una temática que me gustara. Suelen ser demasiado místicos, espirituales o de autoayuda para mi gusto. En este caso hay una ligera tendencia a la magia, pero de una manera fantasiosa y más creativa que seria.
El diseño es muy bello, el color me encantó y hay espacio justo para escribir algo breve diariamente. Definitivamente uno de los libros que más disfruté en 2020, porque fué un entretenimiento diario a lo largo de todo el año y es un recuerdo interesante para mi yo del futuro.
El diario está inspirado en el Grishaverse de Leigh Bardugo pero realmente puede ser para cualquiera. No tiene fecha, así que se puede usar sin importar el año (estoy pensando seriamente comprarlo otra vez para años futuros porque fue una experiencia tan agradable, aunque quizá después de un iempo para olvidar un poco las preguntas y citas de este año).
Me gustan mucho los diarios guiados, pero me había costado encontrar una temática que me gustara. Suelen ser demasiado místicos, espirituales o de autoayuda para mi gusto. En este caso hay una ligera tendencia a la magia, pero de una manera fantasiosa y más creativa que seria.
El diseño es muy bello, el color me encantó y hay espacio justo para escribir algo breve diariamente. Definitivamente uno de los libros que más disfruté en 2020, porque fué un entretenimiento diario a lo largo de todo el año y es un recuerdo interesante para mi yo del futuro.
November 29, 2019
I will start this review off by saying I've never read a Leigh Bardugo book. I do love journals though!
First impressions - This journal is gorgeous both outside and in. The outside colors are very vibrant. The pages on the inside are no different. There's even a gold colored ribbon to save your place.
There are questions and quotes to make you think. You write about what comes to mind. There's not a lot of space to write your answer though unless you write extremely small. If you only write a few sentences, you should be fine though.
I believe this journal would make an excellent gift for a tween or teen who is creative and/or loves to write or wants to learn more about themselves.
---
I won this journal in a Goodreads giveaway. I was not required to write a review.
First impressions - This journal is gorgeous both outside and in. The outside colors are very vibrant. The pages on the inside are no different. There's even a gold colored ribbon to save your place.
There are questions and quotes to make you think. You write about what comes to mind. There's not a lot of space to write your answer though unless you write extremely small. If you only write a few sentences, you should be fine though.
I believe this journal would make an excellent gift for a tween or teen who is creative and/or loves to write or wants to learn more about themselves.
---
I won this journal in a Goodreads giveaway. I was not required to write a review.
February 28, 2020
I probably don't use this journal the way I'm supposed to, but I'll open the book to a random page and write my response to the question/prompt on the page. I don't even write in it regularly, so this journal is sure to last me many years. The artwork repeats and is very much inspired by Leigh's books and occult symbolism. Some pages even contain quotes from her library of works. I love it! The journal lives in my bedside nightstand along with my favorite set of fine-line pens.
December 13, 2023
Leigh Bardugo could write a to do list on a cafe napkin and I'd read it.
And we got one whole year of memos.
I purchased this book in 2019 and have to confess that I am not in the habit of daily journals in this format. Daily prompts aren't my favorite, but when it served me I picked this little book up and let my thoughts flow.
Thank you for this (4) year long journal.
And we got one whole year of memos.
I purchased this book in 2019 and have to confess that I am not in the habit of daily journals in this format. Daily prompts aren't my favorite, but when it served me I picked this little book up and let my thoughts flow.
Thank you for this (4) year long journal.
February 7, 2019
In love with this! I’ve been in a creative slump for a while now, and the prompts here have been a really helpful source of inspiration. Highly recommend.
October 16, 2023
I got this a few days back, and I haven't written in it, but I've skipped the pages, read some of the prompts, and don't see why I shouldn't rate it right now.
Cover:
I think it's really pretty, but at the same time just a little too shiny. Like the black patterns are reflecting the light, making them shine sometimes brighter than even the gold, and it's just not really it for me. Still really nice to look at, but I would have loved for only the gold to be bright and shiny, and everything else being a little more dull, so the gold would pop even more, so it's making me a little sad, that the black is shiny, too. (Also, it's a little too smooth as well, in my opinion. I would have loved something like The Lives of Saints, with that kind of a little more rough texture, because I feel like for the kind of fantasy-stuff Bardugo writes, this sleek cover is just a little too modern to fit in.)
Prompts:
The ones I've read so far, seem really nice, and inspirational, and I think that's exactly what this book is for. Short little thoughts and questions and ideas, and I think that's lovely. I personally could do without the questions, because questions always take me out of a story, and I mostly use note books and journals and stuff to write stories, so "How do you personally define beauty?" (for example) isn't really a question for me, I'd rather have the line of a story or something like that, but at the same time I feel like one could still do a lot with these questions, and I could let myself get inspired, so it's not like I dislike them, I just don't really need them either.
Pages:
Not a lot to say here, but way too small/few. For some prompts there's only 4 or 5 lines to answer them, which is not going to work at all.
Conclusion:
I like it, but I collect note books, journals and inspirations anyway, so that's not very surprising. I'll probably use the book mostly to read the inspirations and then answer those somewhere outside of the book, because the space for writing is just not going to work for me. I often lack ideas, so I think it'll be great for that, and it will also look really pretty next to the rest of Bardugo's books, but it does have it's weaknesses, and also it's not really a story, so I'd say maybe 3.5 stars, but not quite 4, and also not less than 3, so this is the rating for this book.
Cover:
I think it's really pretty, but at the same time just a little too shiny. Like the black patterns are reflecting the light, making them shine sometimes brighter than even the gold, and it's just not really it for me. Still really nice to look at, but I would have loved for only the gold to be bright and shiny, and everything else being a little more dull, so the gold would pop even more, so it's making me a little sad, that the black is shiny, too. (Also, it's a little too smooth as well, in my opinion. I would have loved something like The Lives of Saints, with that kind of a little more rough texture, because I feel like for the kind of fantasy-stuff Bardugo writes, this sleek cover is just a little too modern to fit in.)
Prompts:
The ones I've read so far, seem really nice, and inspirational, and I think that's exactly what this book is for. Short little thoughts and questions and ideas, and I think that's lovely. I personally could do without the questions, because questions always take me out of a story, and I mostly use note books and journals and stuff to write stories, so "How do you personally define beauty?" (for example) isn't really a question for me, I'd rather have the line of a story or something like that, but at the same time I feel like one could still do a lot with these questions, and I could let myself get inspired, so it's not like I dislike them, I just don't really need them either.
Pages:
Not a lot to say here, but way too small/few. For some prompts there's only 4 or 5 lines to answer them, which is not going to work at all.
Conclusion:
I like it, but I collect note books, journals and inspirations anyway, so that's not very surprising. I'll probably use the book mostly to read the inspirations and then answer those somewhere outside of the book, because the space for writing is just not going to work for me. I often lack ideas, so I think it'll be great for that, and it will also look really pretty next to the rest of Bardugo's books, but it does have it's weaknesses, and also it's not really a story, so I'd say maybe 3.5 stars, but not quite 4, and also not less than 3, so this is the rating for this book.
December 27, 2018
Leigh had started a #BAYMTGO and in 2018 it was my goal to keep writing, no matter what form (journal, story writing, letters...). In 2019, my #BAYMTGO is still writing (plus learning another language, cleaning, budgeting) so to start off the year with a grisha journal that fits my new year's resolution is P E R F E C T~ Cannot wait to get my hands on it~
March 20, 2019
Wonderful little daily writing prompts. I read a head of time to be able to refer back to sections when I was feeling particular emotions and it's really helped me grow as a writer in a short amount of time. I've also been using it to experiment with different writing styles and helps when you're feeling blocked or unmotivated. It's beautifully designed inside and out, thank you for this Leigh!
April 9, 2019
this little book is so gorgeous i can't wait to start using it ♥
like i've been wanting to start journaling regularly for quite some time so hopefully now that i have this i'll actually go through with it
like i've been wanting to start journaling regularly for quite some time so hopefully now that i have this i'll actually go through with it
October 5, 2025
Journal with a writing prompt for each day. A lot of the prompts are simply quotes from the novels, and even the ones that aren't might be found difficult to write for. Maybe fans of the book series that this came from will get more out of it.
December 31, 2025
*3.5
An interesting exploration of the internal through a series of fantastical prompts. I found this to be a little overwhelming at times, but also a great challenge to see how I like journaling with some inspiration for every day.
An interesting exploration of the internal through a series of fantastical prompts. I found this to be a little overwhelming at times, but also a great challenge to see how I like journaling with some inspiration for every day.
February 2, 2019
A book of interesting writing prompts that of course I had to buy because it's Leigh Bardugo. Look forward to trying it out.
February 5, 2019
This gorgeous journal is very well made with beautiful prompts about your day and you can get very inspired! Leigh Bardugo is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews