Sunshine

This time around, I'm reviewing Robin McKinley's Sunshine.

Firstly: This is NOT a kid's book. I make this notation because previously, I'd only ever read young adult or children's novels from this author. Primarily beautifully retold fairy tales. This is no fairy tale.

That does not mean that Sunshine is not a good book. Quite the opposite. It's wonderful. Just not for kids, and it was a little startling to read something by someone I thought of as a children's author that is definitely adult.

I'd normally break the book down into "plot, setting, character" but 1) that might get boring for people to read and 2) I would have a very hard time breaking this book down into those categories. For instance, there are "wards" and charms in the book that are almost self-aware, or spoken of as if they were. Do I count them as characters? Part of the setting? Plot devices? You can see the difficulty.

I will say that Sunshine does hold up to the "writers' trinity" that I'm always harping about. The characters are sympathetic and believable. The setting is well realized. The plot is complex and engrossing. Everything a good novel should have and more.

Now, I'm trying to avoid mentioning Twilight too much in my reviews. But I have to here, because it is somewhat relevant. Sunshine, like Twilight, is in fact a "vampire novel" if not precisely a vampire romance. Whether there is romance between the titular character and her... comrade? (That's the best way I can describe their relationship, another reader might disagree) the vampire Con, is open to interpretation. Sunshine spends more time describing the blood-curdling horror the main character experiences in the presence of even a mostly friendly vampire than describing the beauty of said blood-sucker's eyes.

So beyond there being vampires, there really aren't any similarities to that other novel. However, I could say if I was feeling catty, which I may be just a bit, this book is what Twilight could be. It's written in first person. There's vampires. There's romance. There's blood and danger and an actual enjoyable plot.

Why isn't THIS a movie?

Now I hate posting gushing reviews, even about my favorite novels. So, flaws. Well, Sunshine (it's a nickname) does whine some. It can be grating, but it's also justified. I'd be whiny and blubbery too if I'd been through HALF of what she goes through in the first couple of chapters. So okay. The book is a slow read. I started reading it the day I posted my last blog entry. It never takes me that long to read ANYTHING outside of maybe a textbook or Tolkien. That's about it.

I won't say too much more about the book. It's complex and fascinating and trying to summarize it  would almost be an insult. So would picking it apart to analyze it critically. Some books are just like that. You just read them, and enjoy them. I recommend doing that.