Robin McKinley

Everyone knows the story of Beauty and the Beast. What makes McKinley's Rose Daughter different is the treatment of Beast. Yes, the moral of the story still stands that true love is blind and even a beast can find love...eventually. Yes, Beauty is selfless and kind, a lover of all nature (even bats and toads), but missing is the feeling she is a prisoner; that she is trapped with the beast. In Rose Daughter she can go home at any time. All she has to do is tend to the Beast's roses to repay him for the dark red one her father stole. The other major difference is that Beauty does not end up with a charming prince at the end. I greatly appreciated the choices she had to make, especially the one at the end.
As an aside: Straight away you know you are in for a treat when a bad-tempered dragon on a leash is introduced on the very first page.… (mehr)

I've read many versions of the "Robin Hood" legend, but this is one ties for my favorite of them all.

McKinley's imagination with trying to make these characters real is just astonishing. They're still fitting into the mythos of Robin Hood - but not everything is what you expect. They're not laughable figures who shrug off swords and arrows. They're real people, with emotions and flaws and moments of genius and nobility.

I found this to be very enjoyable, and I love that McKinley continues to not disappoint when it comes to writing fairy tale adaptations.… (mehr)