SUNSHINE

Sunshine – Robin McKinley

Speak – 9780142411100

    Here’s the thing. Julie and I picked the book we wanted to review for this week. Why haven’t we reviewed it?  USPS hates me. They HATE me. Why else haven’t I gotten my copy yet? There is no other answer. They leave me a little pink slip requesting my signature, I sign, I leave pink slip where they left it. Next day…another pink slip somewhere else in my building! Come on! Am I supposed to leave you a note in EVERY possible location? Just leave me the box! So, we will save that review for next week, unless this is war, in which case I’ll never get my book.

    So, this week I asked Julie if it was A-OK if I reviewed one of my favorite books for the blog. She said yes – of course – otherwise this would also be considered an act of war. Here goes. I love Robin McKinley. Just do. True, sometimes I do want her to cut back on some descriptions, but that just depends on how tired I am when I’m reading. Otherwise she is just fabulous. One of my favorite of her novels is SUNSHINE. Now McKinley fans out there will know that SUNSHINE was originally published (like most of McKinley’s books) as an adult novel. But (again, like most of her novels) it is now being re-released as a YA novel. SCORE! Now I can blog about it here and there’s nothing you can do about it!

     When I first read SUNSHINE the first thing that came to mind was “Wait, Robin McKinley wrote this?” and it wasn’t because of the quality, it was because it was just so…different. It was so modern and, and, MODERN. You know? Most of McKinley’s books are re-imaginings of classic fairytales (like my other favorites SPINDLE’S END and DEERSKIN), so this was like rediscovering your favorite brand of ice cream. You think you know all the flavors, and you love all the flavors, then they come out with a new one, and you are shocked by how awesome it is. Yeah. That’s SUNSHINE.

     Ok. So here’s the secret. It’s a vampire book. Wait! No! Don’t go! Come back here – you can go on Facebook later, ok? Now I know we are alllll tired of vampire books. I know I am. But this novel is worth it. Don’t believe me? Would you believe Neil Gaiman, who said this book is “pretty much perfect”? So you know I’m not steering you in the wrong direction.

     Rae Seddon, nicknamed Sunshine, lives a nice life working at a bakery and making cinnamon rolls so awesome that every time I read this book it makes me want to take a crack at them myself. One night, Sunshine goes out to the lake where she is taken hostage and thrown in a room with a very hungry vampire, Constantine. Sunshine must use her long-forgotten magical abilities to free herself before Constantine’s self-control goes amuck. Constantine and Sunshine form an unusual relationship, considering he’s a vamp and her abilities stem from her love of the sun. There’s no lovey-dovey romance, and Sunshine doesn’t spend her time mooning over Constantine’s killer eyes and sickly skin – but the two do depend on each other to survive. After all, just because they escaped doesn’t mean they got away scot-free, right?

    And one final plus to this book. There is no sequel. This isn’t a trilogy. Or a quadrilo…gy? McKinley has pondered the idea of writing a sequel but has never confirmed (as far as I can remember), but that is ok! Why? Because this world is so perfectly created that she doesn’t have to write a sequel – I already wrote one…in my head. And it’s awesome. How awesome? Pretty much perfect.

Comments

[annie]

This definately made me want to reread my copy of the book. So I kind of want a sequel but only if its done right. Until then, I'm content with the book the way it is. I have no need for another vampire/romance/supernatural book to jump shark and become a ridiculous series with an even more ridiculous new book every 10 months.

[M.Garcia]

Thanks, Annie! I'm right there with you on the ridiculous series front. In fact, I'm pretty sure I know which series you're talking about. ;)

[thisstupidlamb.com]

Sorry but this book was extremely boring and drawn out!

[M.Garcia]

No need to apologize...Miss/Mr.StupidLamb. We all have different tastes!