Author You Should be Reading: ROBIN MCKINLEY

Marirosa Mia: Hello, everyone.  For a while I've been tossing around the idea of a new segment called "An Author You Should be Reading."  But thanks to life, the holidays, and NaNoWriMo, my first post got a bit delayed. Here it is, FINALLY. 

My first author you should be reading?  The one and only Robin McKinley.  Let me give a general overview of what I love about her; Julie and I have already reviewed two of her pieces, SUNSHINE and THE HERO AND THE CROWN, in more detail. 

I first discovered McKinley when my lovely friend, Annie, handed me a copy of SUNSHINE, confident that I would fall as deeply in love with McKinley's writing as she had. After reading SUNSHINE, I immediately purchased every McKinley book I could find in my local bookstore:  BEAUTY, SPINDLE'S END and DEERSKIN.  Reading each felt easy, like visiting an old friend. With just a sentence or two McKinley builds a world. She chooses her structure carefully and guides her readers expertly along the way. Of all her novels (I've read even more after that bookstore run), my favorites are DEERSKIN, SUNSHINE, and THE HERO AND THE CROWN. Like most of McKinley's work, those novels feature a strong female character - a survivor - who plows on, regardless of the obstacles she faces. 

I also admire the way McKinley handles love. It isn't flowery or ornate; it simply is.  There are no mistaken identities or accidental kissings of the wrong person--nothing messy or scandalous.  But the love portrayed is still intense, and very real.

McKinley is a writer who will always have a home on my bookshelf. If you get a chance, pick up one of her books, like Newbery Honor winner THE BLUE SWORD or Newbery medalist THE HERO AND THE CROWN. Or maybe SUNSHINE is the book for you--Neil Gaiman called it "perfect." McKinley's many fairy tale retellings, like SPINDLE'S END or DEERSKIN, are also well worth trying.  Reading any of these, you might find yourself a new friend.