Sunshine by Robin McKinley Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Sunshine
Book Review: Deliciously baked but not quiet done.
Summary: 4 Stars
I found, Sunshine, to be a wonderfully engrossing read. Even in some of it's laidback scenes you still want to keep reading. Brilliant setting and fantastic words. The one disappointment about this book for me was it's ending. It leaves you wishing there had been more to it. Maybe not exactly feeling that there should have been, but nonetheless, wishing it.
Book Review: Deserves a Sequel
Summary: 4 Stars
This was the first book I've read by Robin McKinley and I really enjoyed it. So much, in fact that I would love to see a sequel. There are many areas to futher pursue that would make an excellant second book. Sunshine is a great character, one that I didn't get to see enough of. The story line has already been laid out in previous reviews so well that I won't bore people by repeating it here, but will talk about the characters. Sunshine is very well fleshed out in this book, but there is so much more about her we can learn and about her family. She has learned that she comes from a family very well versed in magic handling and learns that she has these powers herself, one being an affinity for Sunlight.
Other characters are just as appealing. Con, the vampire she is brought to as a meal, but they bond together and is one of the high points of this tale. Mel, her boyfriend, but what else is he? At one point in the story he helps her in her fight against the bad guy. Her father, who we don't get to meet on the page, but his influence is felt all though the book and her grandmother, who we only get to see several times and know we would like to see more of her.
A very good tale that combines elements of several differant genres and leaves the reader wanting more. How about it Robin McKinley? Will you please return to the world of Sunshine and give us more?
Sunshine is one book, I have no problem recommending to readers.
Book Review: Disappointing, But McKinley Is Still Worth Reading!
Summary: 3 Stars
Sunshine just needed some time alone. She knew that she should stay at her family's movie night and snuggle with her boyfriend, but she knew that she couldn't play nice for that long. So she headed out to the lake to sit and think. Sunshine hadn't gone to the lake in a long while, but she used to go out there with her grandmother when she was little. Everyone knew that the lake wasn't safe, that dark things and bad spots were out there, but there hadn't been any reports of someone getting attacked in a while so Sunshine felt safe. Until the vampires came. She never even heard them coming, but then, you never do. Sure that she would never last the night, Sunshine was stunned to discover that the vampires were giving her to another vampire as a kind of meal. This vampire was imprisoned and so he couldn't hunt for himself. But what was it about the imprisoned vampire that made the other pack fear him so? After Sunshine got over her fear of being chained in a room with a vampire, she discovered that his name was Constantine and there was something different about him. When Sunshine realizes that Constantine cannot go another night without feeding off of her, she determines to rescue both Con and herself from the vampire pack. Surprisingly enough, Sunshine succeeds, and ends up in ever more trouble than she was in when she was chained to the wall...
This was a difficult book for me to get into. I didn't really identify with the heroine and found that I didn't really like her very much or understand her choices. It is also written in a kind of stream of consciousness style that can be disorienting. I did enjoy Sunshine's descriptions of her life and her job as the best cinnamon roll baker in the area, but the world that she lived in is still kind of hazy to me. I don't really understand it and cannot really describe how the rules have changed in their world versus our world. This sense of mystery isn't all bad, after all, Patricia McKillip does it beautifully, but it made the story difficult to understand. There really isn't an end, either and I hope for a sequel, but am pretty sure that we won't get one as McKinley rarely revisits the same world, The Hero & the Crown & The Blue Sword notwithstanding. Sunshine reminded me a lot of Spindle's End, but in a different setting, actually. There is a lot of normal life that goes on in between the big events and you never really get the chance to warm up to the characters. Is it worth reading? I would say yes. But I am not saying that it is worth buying, per se. I think anything that Robin McKinley writes is worth reading, but this is not one of my treasures.
Book Review: Disappointing.
Summary: 3 Stars
There were several factors that kept this book from succeeding with me.1. The language. It's been mentioned in other reviews and I have to support their findings. The stream of consciousness narrative, complete with run-ons, can get very irritating. Especially when it interrupts the few action scenes there are. It IS all very monotone, save for one scene where she *nearly* has sex, where the language suddenly becomes very jarring. It's like listening to the monotone hum of the vacuum when suddenly it turns into a shrill whine.
2. The plot's similarity to other books. Not her books. But other books. Our hero finds herself at the mercy of vampires/werewolves/monsters. She has a fellow captive that is also frightening. They escape together against all odds and go back to destroy their enemies and grow closer at the same time despite their vast lifestyle differences. It's just not a new plot. It's not even an old plot done well or with a different light.
3. The stories untold. While the hero is off on a tangent telling us all sorts of things we really don't need to know, the author has missed opportunities to tell other, more interesting stories about the other characters.
4. The lack of communication between characters. There aren't that many conversations in this book. I don't count the places in which the hero starts talking to herself in her mind.
All together, those things displease me and made for irritating reading. I'd give it two stars, but I adore this author and I just can't bring myself to hurt her any more than she might already have been by these reviews, if she reads them.
Book Review: Doesn't let you down despite serious flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
I love McKinley for Hero and the Crown and have enjoyed all her other books, too. I'm also a big Buffy fan, so I thought this book would be pretty much my favorite. Not quite so, though I'm still keeping an open mind for the hopefully inevitable sequels.
Basically, the book is heavy with background information, which slows the story flow down a lot and makes Sunshine herself, who is telling the story, seem a little like a confused airhead rambling on in various directions instead of staying on topic (and at the same time, Sunshine's supposed to be quite reticent and taciturn - among other references, she gets along with her boyfriend because of their mutual need and respect for silence). Despite all the information, we never really get to know anyone in Sunshine's life. Everyone else, including the male lead, are only characterised in the vaguest possible way. I want some of the colorful people from the bakery to step out of the page - but they're all strangely muted. Lots of story lines are left dangling at the end.
On the positive side, Sunshine is such a normal and quirky person that you really feel you could know her. That gives the more imaginative events a lot of immediacy for the reader. The world, despite being over-described, is really interesting and novel.
SPOILER alert
The erotic scene is so sudden and directly described it's almost a shock. No subtle hints, solitary longing or averted eyes. Definitely very sexy and a great effect - this is one scene that steps out of the page. But equally frustrating that we don't get any conclusion or even much follow-up on what should have marked a serious change in the relationship, and should have brought up a few interesting questions for our ever meandering heroine to ponder.
end SPOILERS
The language is never dull and the humor nicely understated and dry. I'd definitely pick up a sequel.