Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Bibliography
McKinley, R. (2010). Sunshine. Speak. ISBN 978-0142411100.
Summary
Sunshine works at her dad’s coffee shop until one evening when she drives out to the lake to clear her head and encounters a gang of vampires. The vampires end up kidnapping her and bringing her to an abandoned house in the woods where they lock her in a room with another person. She draws upon her magical skills to set them both free which comes with consequences.
Critical Analysis
Sunshine is a traditional urban fantasy that does not start with the supernatural right off the bat until you are several pages in then you start to realize Sunshine’s world is not like ours. The novel is narrated in the first person so you know exactly what Sunshine is thinking and doing as you move forward through the pages. McKinley’s storytelling is very distinctive and has a magical quality to it with a mix of fantasy and horror with a fairy tale feel. There is a twist in the novel when Sunshine is kidnapped and chained to a wall for an old vampire to feed on, but we soon learn that the vampire is being held captive too and does not have any intention of feeding off Sunshine. The two begin to form an alliance and manage to escape from the mansion. Sunshine hopes to go back to her normal life, but after being kidnapped and meeting Constantine, nothing will ever be normal again. She soon has to face the magic within herself and make choices about her place in the world.
Strengths/Weaknesses
-urban fantasy
-narrated in first person
-a mixture of fantasy, horror, and fairy tale
-storytelling is distinctive
-conflict between humans and vampires
-supernatural elements
-alternate post-apocalyptic world
Connections
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/UJpUD9335ZY
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 2004
Other Books Written by Robin McKinley:
The Hero and the Crown
Rose Daughter
Beauty
If you liked Sunshine by Robin McKinley, check out these books:
A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Personal Review
The novel had interesting developments that were directly related to vampires and then some about the world Sunshine lives in and the people she interacts with. McKinley slowly revealed the relationships developing between Sunshine and the other characters/vampires. The book started off really great, but I feel like halfway it started getting very slow and I became less interested. Since the novel is narrated by Sunshine, we spend a lot of time in her head which reveals a lot about who Sunshine is. I did like the twist of meeting her opposition who she thinks is there to feed off her, but ends up becoming a friend and helping each other escape.
Reader Reviews
Gimlet-October 27, 2017
Robin McKinley's SUNSHINE is a standout, one of my favorite discoveries of the year. McKinley's vampires are chilling, her world-building lush, and the good-guy characters endearing. It is neither formulaic nor familiar because the heroine's voice is entirely unique. The romance is understated, but it worked well in the context of the novel's driving theme. Rae Seddon, nicknamed Sunshine, is a profoundly good person whose circumstances shielded her from appreciating her power and potential. She thinks she lives to bake goodies and feed family and friends at Charlie's Cafe. On a whim, or perhaps driven by forces beyond her awareness, she stumbles into a terrifying vampire feud. To her astonishment, she finds the power to save herself, but empathy and decency compel her to rescue a co-captive at great cost to herself. The rest of the story revolves around her growing empowerment and determination to save those she loves. I'm not generally a great fan of internal dialog, but in Sunshine, it is the hands-down star of the book. By turns comic, wrenching, and inspiring, Sunshine is a heroine and a half. This is not a typical plot line; it leaves questions unanswered that make the reader wish for more. I found that wistfulness entirely appropriate and true to the fabric of the story. Sunshine is a voice you are richer for having heard. I recommend the book highly.
Robin-April 19, 2022
I don’t run into a lot of books that I feel let down because there’s no sequel/series…meet Sunshine.
Sunshine is a 25-year-old popular baker in her stepfather’s small hometown diner who, after a traumatic kidnapping experience with a group of vampires, discovers how powerful her magic handling abilities have become since she was a child. She forms a bond with Constantine, a vampire who was also being held with her, and they manage to escape together and go on to try and seek out/destroy master vampire Bo (Con’s nemesis and the boss of the kidnappers above).
First of all, my only complaint (and it’s minor) is at 475 pages I felt it was too long. The middle could have been tightened. However, it did serve the purpose of spending more time with these delightful characters (especially Sunshine) and that wasn’t a bad thing. Yes, it’s a fantasy vampire book and yes it has similarities to Buffy and the Breaking Dawn series, but I became more deeply involved with the people here and absolutely loved it. It’s hilariously dry-witted throughout but also tackles more serious issues like balancing the good AND bad in each of us and being terrified to step out of our comfort zone but doing it anyway. Just be warned, the ending hints at more, but it’s been 7 years…*sigh
Review Excerpt
Kirkus Reviews (August 15, 2003)
Mild-mannered vampire fantasy from Britisher McKinley, author of whimsical, rather talky rewrites of classic fairytales for young adults.
The lurid copy and cover art of this American edition of McKinley's first for grownups (inaccurately described as "A Mesmerizing Novel of Supernatural Desire") are wildly at odds with the story itself: Sunshine, a cheerful chatterbox with a touch of magic in her soul, is very much at home in a near-future that's as cozy as can be, though inhabited by various Other Folk, including werewolves, Supergreens (ecology-minded supernatural beings of ordinary mien), assorted demons, sprites, and fallen angels. It's considered pretty cool to be a fallen angel, but the global council has decreed that Weres must take drugs to control their more beastly behavior, and being a vampire is technically illegal. Yet, after the Voodoo Wars, they all seem to get along well enough. Sunshine makes cinnamon buns for Charlie's Coffeehouse, and her mother (married to Charlie after a difficult divorce from Sunshine's dad) handles the administrative side of things. (Yes, Mum is Mom, and they serve coffee, not tea, but most of the details are recognizably British.) Sunshine is both intrigued and repelled by vampires, so when one abducts her and chains her up in a spooky mansion, she doesn't know what to think. But her vampire, Con, seems not too terribly bloodthirsty and even genuinely interested in a Creature of the Daylight, so Sunshine explains the coffeehouse routine once more, then tells him a fairytale, and, lo and behold, by morning she's escaped her shackles and lived to tell the story several times (though McKinley has a light touch, everything seems to get repeated, to all and sundry). Will this mortal but magical girl betray the vampire she's befriended to government agents?
An intriguing mix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter-ish characterization. Mostly for teenagers who don't trip over words like "eschatology," and maybe some older fantasy devotees as well.
Matched by Ally Condie
Bibliography
Condie, A. B. (2011). Matched. Speak. ISBN 978-0142419779.
Summary
In Matched, the lives of the characters are controlled by the government. When someone turns seventeen in their city, they are matched with a partner who they will spend the rest of their life with. Cassia ends up getting matched with her best friend Xander and is happy about the outcome, but she soon finds herself falling for another boy, Ky. She tries to erase the feelings and focus on her match, but she is left questioning if Xander is her true match.
Critical Analysis
Throughout the book, Cassia is curious, intrigued, and always questioning Society. To live in a society where you are matched at the age of 17 with someone who they think will be your perfect match makes you feel like the government is in control of your future and you have no choice. The author uses the struggle between being the person your family wants you to be and figuring out who you are on your own. In Matched, the Society seeks perfection by matching you with someone who the computer program’s algorithm thinks will be your perfect match, but everything soon becomes not as it seems and the Society must strive to maintain that perfection.
Strengths/Weaknesses
-no objectionable content
-dystopian romance
-interesting protagonist
-internal/external conflict
-written in first person from the point of view of Cassia
-trilogy
-use of poetry
Connections
Theme: follow your heart, courage, choices, rules and order, society and class
Movie Trailer: https://youtu.be/nWx3bGrNUmc
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/xaeNWL8rlBI
Other Books Written by Ally Condie:
Crossed (Book 2)
Reached (Book 3)
Summerlost
Personal Review
Ally Condie describes a perfect world where the choices in our life are made for you, especially who your soulmate will be. As a reader, you are placed in this world of mystery, love, perfection, and secrets. You soon see the questioning of the perfect world of Society and its underlying principles. Ally Condie did a great job describing the struggle of the main characters on the acceptance of their life and the events that lead up to the questioning the Society. This was a fast read and can’t wait to read the other books in the series to see the outcome of Cassia’s future and will the Society change.
Reader Reviews
P. Blevins-January 6, 2015
Matched by Ally Condie. This is science fiction that is futuristic. It is suitable for junior high students to read and would be a great series for them after the Divergent series and the Hunger Games. The characters are very realistic.
Cassia is anxious to attend her Matching Ceremony. She will know who her husband will be or at least who the person is who best fits her. She will then get to know this person over the ports. At seventeen, she is also waiting to find out what her work assignment will be. She is sorted and is making great strides in this field. She steps out to the Matching Ceremony with her Mother and Father in a beautiful green dress. This is one of the only times she will wear a color other than black or brown and she makes the most of it. She carries an artifact with her, a compact that her Grandfather had given her. She feels so grown up and nervous.
Something surprising happens at the Matching ceremony, she is matched with her best friend Xander. It is very unusual for a match to be made with someone you know, but she is thrilled as is Xander. They know each other quite well. Now it will simply be raised to a different degree. She does look at the microchip that they give her in the silver box. It has all the information she would need to know about her match. However, when she first looks at it, Xander disappears and Ky Markham appears. Then, Xander reappears. The Official assigned to her convinces her that her microchip was defective She believes this because she had learned that Ky was an Abberation and would not be matched with anyone.
This mistake on the part of the Matching Team, causes Cassia to start paying more attention to Ky. He had been a member of their group since he arrived, but he didn’t engage with anyone well. Now, he seems to be part of the group and accepted by all. He and Cassia are both in the hiking group and begin to get to know each other better.
What lies ahead for Xander, Cassia, and Ky? What do the Officials have in mind for them? How are her parents involved? Once Cassia starts breaking the rules, things get complicated. I can hardly wait to read Crossed.
Kim Deister-October 15, 2014
This book hooked me from the very first page! The world of Matched is the epitome of a utopian dystopia, a world that seems almost perfect on the surface. But at what cost?
It is a world that makes you wonder if it is really worth the sacrifice to have that utopia. The disease has been almost eradicated, as have poverty, hunger, etc. There is no religion and no politics... eliminating much of the world's source of strife. But it can also be extremely suffocating under the totalitarian control of Society. Individuality is discouraged, and optimum efficiency is encouraged. Every aspect of one's life is strictly regulated... marriage, family, careers, even the culture the society. Culture is limited to 100 pieces of music, paintings, books, etc., all chosen by a committee long ago after it was decided that too much culture was too confusing, too overwhelming.
There is a certain complacency that occurs when in a situation of total control. You accept things easily. You don't question anything. You often don't even consider that there are other ways, other ideas. Cassia is an interesting character. On the surface, she is a mild-mannered, conforming Society girl. But when certain things happen to her, her perspective begins to change. A big part of this is because of Ky and Xander. She has known both boys since childhood. Xander is her best friend and now her Match, the epitome of a Society boy. Ky is a bit mysterious, with a story of his own that makes him unacceptable for Matching. The story that unfolds around them makes Cassia finally question the world she lives in.
This is a book that makes you really think about the world that you live in and what sacrifices you would make. Is it worth the sacrifice of individuality or freedom to live in a perfect world? Is there any such thing? Is it worth the loss of anticipation, the unexpected? Is it worth living in a world that will be rather stagnant and resistant to change?
My Recommendation: If you love the concepts of utopia versus dystopia, this is a great read. It is a book that makes you think and consider your own world!
Review Excerpt
Booklist (September 15, 2010 (Vol. 107, No. 2))
Grades 9-12. “Do not go gentle into that good night.” Cassia’s feelings of security disintegrate after her grandfather hands her a slip of paper just before his scheduled death at age 80. Not only does she now possess an illegal poem, but she also has a lingering interest in the boy who fleetingly appeared on her viewscreen, the one who wasn’t her match, the man she will eventually marry. What’s worse, she knows him—his name is Ky, and he is an orphan from the Outer Provinces. How could she love him as much as Xander, her match and best friend since childhood? The stunning clarity and attention to detail in Condie’s Big Brother-like world is a feat. Some readers might find the Society to be a close cousin of Lois Lowry’s dystopian future in The Giver (1993), with carefully chosen work placements, constant monitoring, and pills for regulating emotional extremes. However, the author just as easily tears this world apart while deftly exploring the individual cost of societal perfection and the sacrifices inherent in freedom of choice.
The Reader by Traci Chee
Bibliography
Chee, T. (2016). The Reader. G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 978-0399176777.
Summary
Sefia’s father is brutally murdered and she is left to live with her Aunt Nin. Aunt Nin teaches her how to hunt, track, and steal when they cannot find what they need. Sefia’s aunt is kidnapped and must search for clues and along the way she finds a book. With the help of the book and a young boy, Sefia finds out what really happened the day her father was killed and who took her aunt.
Critical Analysis
The Reader is a YA fantasy set in a world without books. The book turns out to be an important clue in determining who took her aunt and what really happened to her father because, in the world of Kelanna, people have never learned to read, write, or knew what a book was. Sefia soon realizes that there is meaning within the pages and figures out how to read. Due to the book being told from multiple perspectives, readers might find it difficult to follow along with the characters. Also, it is important to pay attention to the page numbers as they also include words. The book also contains things that go beyond the text like fingerprint smudges, blacked-out passages, test fading, and hidden messages. The novel has just enough magic that it is not overpowering bringing the epic adventure to life.
Strengths/Weaknesses
-Four different Storylines/Four different characters
-descriptive writing
-trilogy
-worthwhile quotes
-a story within a story
Connections
Theme: heroine, friendships, powers, romance
Skills: author’s craft, perspective, symbolism, figurative language, irony, motif
5 Things You Need to Know About The Reader by Traci Chee
Other Books Written by Traci Chee:
The Speaker (Book 2)
The Storyteller (Book 3)
A Thousand Steps into the Night
Personal Review
This book contains adventure, magic, and a bit of mystery which keeps moving in unexpected ways. Since the novel is told from different storylines, it can be hard to follow along, but end up connecting to one another. It was interesting to see how Traci Chee merged them together throughout the book. I chose the book because I was intrigued by the notion of living in a world with no written language (books). I look forward to reading The Speaker and The Storyteller.
Reader Reviews
Jessica O.-November 25, 2017
This book absolutely blew me away from the first line. It draws you in so well, it feels like you’re a part of the story (and you kind of are!) I don’t want to give too much away, since I really think it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible; so please bear with my extremely vague review. (Maybe I’ll do a book talk soon so I can talk in detail?)
I really loved how we got to see through multiple POVs that were seemingly unconnected until the end! The way everything tied together made so much sense and I liked that it wasn’t something that was easy to figure out sooner.
The characters and world-building in this book are absolutely amazing! Everyone is well fleshed out and it really feels like you’re living through them. When you can feel the same emotions as characters and envision the world clearly, how could you not fall in love?
There is also TONS of diversity as well as strong female characters; what more could you want?
For some reason, I thought the little extras and hints were printing errors in the beginning and I honestly feel so ridiculous for thinking it, haha. First I saw a fingerprint on one of the pages and was like, “wow, that’s a really big error for a Penguin book.” Then, about 100 pages in, I noticed the words on the bottom of the pages and finally realized that I was missing out on all kinds of clues and hints.
I did some research and found that the author said there were 10+ hidden messages! I am not perceptive enough to find them all, even after going through the book twice; so if anyone else has found more than two please tell me. I need to know!
Overall, I really loved this book. It’s been a while since a book completely blew me away and this really did it for me. I’m absolutely amazed that this is a debut novel since it was written so well! Also, the books are absolutely gorgeous!
Lacie Megan Fitts-June 21, 2021
There are not enough words to describe the beauty of this book. “Words have power”, and this is definitely the book to prove that words carry magic and power with them. That those who can read words, and those who can wield words, are just as powerful as those who go wield blades and guns. Perhaps even more so. Words contain knowledge, and knowledge comes from the past, but knowledge is what guides us to the future. Yes, these readers in this book have a bit of magic help, but in reality, it is to show those who are not die-hard readers what it is like when a true reader, a true lover of words experiences when they read. To see the stories within the stories, to see the past and the future…to have the knowledge, but within the knowledge know that love is the only story worth telling…the one story that weaves through all the other stories. Tracie Chee has written an opus of a love story, the greatest of stories to be told, and she has written it for the readers. Perhaps the pen is mightier than the sword after all.
Review Excerpt
From the School Library Journal
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