Synopses & Reviews
A compelling and inventive novel set in a world where science and magic are at odds, by Robin McKinley, the Newbery-winning author of
The Hero and the Crown and
The Blue Sword, as well as the classic titles
Beauty,
Chalice,
Spindles End, Pegasus and
Sunshine
Maggie knows somethings off about Val, her moms new husband. Val is from Oldworld, where they still use magic, and he wont have any tech in his office-shed behind the house. Butmore importantlywhat are the huge, horrible, jagged, jumpy shadows following him around? Magic is illegal in Newworld, which is all about science. The magic-carrying gene was disabled two generations ago, back when Maggies great-grandmother was a notable magician. But that was a long time ago.
Then Maggie meets Casimir, the most beautiful boy she has ever seen. Hes from Oldworld tooand hes heard of Maggies stepfather, and has a guess about Vals shadows. Maggie doesnt want to know . . . until earth-shattering events force her to depend on Val and his shadows. And perhaps on her own heritage.
In this dangerously unstable world, neither science nor magic has the necessary answers, but a truce between them is impossible. And although the two are supposed to be incompatible, Maggies discovering the world will need both to survive.
Review
"A sharply incisive, wildly intelligent dragon fantasy . . . Penetratingly insightful . . . Quietly magnificent." -
Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Readers will be engaged by McKinley's well-drawn characters and want to root for the Smokehill community's fight to save the ultimate endangered species." -
School Library JournalReview
Robin McKinley knows her geography of fantasy, the nuances of the language, the atmosphere of magic. . . (
The Washington Post)
Review
-
Eon is wonderful, with its whirlwind of gender exploration, imperial ambition, dragon lore and dissection of nature versus nurture.+ -
Los Angeles Times-Includes plenty of exciting sword fights and plot reversals, and the dragons themselves, which only mystics of Eon+s ability can see, are beautifully described.+ -New York Times
-This mesmerizing story begins where most novels end: in a tension-filled climactic event . . . A world so richly imagined that it feels real.+ -Booklist, starred review
Review
-A gripping, funny, page-turning, pretty much perfect work of magical literature.+ -Neil Gaiman
-Smart, dark, and riveting. Sunshine is quite possibly the best vampire book published in my lifetime.+ -Melissa Marr, bestselling author of Wicked Lovely
Synopsis
Dragons are extinct in the wild, but the Makepeace Institute of Integrated Dragon Studies in Smokehill National Park is home to about two hundred of the world's remaining creatures. Until Jake discovers a dying dragon that has given birth, and one of the babies is still alive.
Synopsis
Jake lives at the Makepeace Institute of Integrated Dragon Studies in Smokehill National Park. There are five million acres of the Smokehill wilderness, and the endangered dragons rarely show themselves. Jake's never seen one except at a distance. But then, on his first overnight solo in the park, he meets a dragon and she is dying. More than that, she has just given birth, and one of the babies is still alive...
Synopsis
Jake lives at the Makepeace Institute of Integrated Dragon Studies in Smokehill National Park. There are five million acres of the Smokehill wilderness, and the endangered dragons rarely show themselves. Jake's never seen one except at a distance. But then, on his first overnight solo in the park, he meets a dragon - and she is dying. More than that, she has just given birth, and one of the babies is still alive. . . .
Synopsis
Master storyteller Robin McKinley here spins two new fairy tales and retells two cherished classics. All feature princesses touched with or by magic. There is Linadel, who lives in a kingdom next to Faerieland, where princesses are stolen away on their seventeenth birthdays-and Linadel's seventeenth birthday is tomorrow. And Korah, whose brother is bewitched by the magical Golden Hind; now it is up to her to break the spell. Rana must turn to a talking frog to help save her kingdom from the evil Aliyander. And then there are the twelve princesses, enspelled to dance through the soles of their shoes every night. . . . These are tales to read with delight!
Synopsis
Read Alison Goodman's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community.
Eon--the award-winning crossover fantasy that soars!
Sixteen-year-old Eon has a dream, and a mission. For years, he's been studying sword-work and magic, toward one end. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye-an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.
But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.
When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life.
Synopsis
There hadnÕt been any trouble out at the lake in years. Sunshine just needed a spot where she could be alone with her thoughts for a minute. But then the vampires found her . . . Now, chained and imprisoned in a once-beautiful decaying mansion, alone but for the vampire, Constantine, shackled next to her, Sunshine realizes that she must call on her own hidden strength if she is to survive. But Constantine is not what she expected of a vampire, and soon Sunshine discovers that it is he who needs her, more than either of them know.
Originally published as an adult novel, but now in YA for the first time, Sunshine is an alluring and captivating vampire storyÑone that will ensnare fans of paranormals everywhere.
About the Author
Robin McKinley (www.robinmckinley.com and robinmckinleysblog.com) has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for
The Hero and the Crown and a Newbery Honor for
The Blue Sword, both about the magical country of Damar. Her other books include
Chalice;
Dragonhaven; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast,
Beauty and
Rose Daughter;
Deerskin, which was inspired by the Perrault fairy tale Donkeyskin; a retelling of the Robin Hood legend,
The Outlaws of Sherwood;
Spindles End, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty; and two volumes of Tales of Elemental Spirits,
Fire and
Water (with Peter Dickinson). Her
Imaginary Lands won the World Fantasy Award for best anthology and her novel
Sunshine won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature.
Robin lives in England with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson, two hellhounds, a hellterror, an 1897 Steinway upright, and too many rosebushes.