≫ Libro The Hero and the Crown Robin Mckinley 9780441328093 Books

The Hero and the Crown Robin Mckinley 9780441328093 Books

Download As PDF : The Hero and the Crown Robin Mckinley 9780441328093 Books

The Hero and the Crown Robin Mckinley 9780441328093 Books

... and I still do, but I've been reading reviews by readers who absolutely hated it, and I'd like to address them.

But first of all, this IS a story with an orphaned princess, a nice prince, some wizards, a couple of magical artifacts, dragons... - except it reads nothing like such books. The princess is tall, clumsy, red-haired with too big feet and she proves a disappointment (in her mind at least) to her family and her country. She decides to fight dragons, which is not a glamorous task, since dragons in her land are small and considered as oversized vicious rodents - nothing heroic.
She poisons herself, burns herself, does her best, goes into the wilderness alone, expects to die, climbs unending stairs, doesn't know what the hell she's doing...
And yes, indeed, very little is explained. As a young reader I found this frustrating - but just about as much as I did the 'real world'. Who is Aerin? Where did her mother come from? What are her powers? What happened before her birth? What does any of it mean?? Aerin herself asks those questions over and over, mostly gets no answers, is also frustrated (it's her life after all!) but she trundles on nonetheless and makes something of herself, something actually quite heroic after all, even though we get the nitty gritty and not the shining banners.
So okay, even though I wished for more background information, more rules, more knowledge of the odds, or even the mythology, I took it in stride - as I did life. For writers who provide all that, see the great John Ronald Rueul Tolkien!

There is something I very much liked in the book and that quite a few American commentators took exception to; Aerin is in love with 2 men, who are extremely different, and who hold widely different places in her heart, and times in her now almost immortal life Yes, she does have sex 'before marriage', whatever that means in such a different context. I found that prudery amusing. Aerin is a free agent, and her body and life are hers to do as she wishes. I remember liking this even as an 11-year old, I was glad the author trusted us with such complexity and not the usual saccharine fairy tale ending. I enjoyed Aerin's freedom, her capacity to live and love, and the knowledge that someone out there knew that life was never as simple as 'They lived happily ever after'. I certainly hadn't known anyone who did!

Only much later did I realize how strongly feminist this book was, and how much of a role model Aerin had become to me...


Tags : The Hero and the Crown [Robin Mckinley] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. For over a decade, Robin McKinley's richly woven saga has gripped the imagination of readers and caused critics to hail her as a master of fantasy. It is the story of Aerin,Robin Mckinley,The Hero and the Crown,Ace,0441328091,Fantasy - General,Fantastic fiction.,Fantasy,Fantasy fiction,Fantasy.,Wizards,Women heroes,Young adult fiction,Classics,FICTION Fantasy General,Fantasy & Magic,Fiction,JUVENILE FICTION Action & Adventure General,JUVENILE FICTION Classics,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic,JUVENILE FICTION Girls & Women,Juvenile FictionFantasy & Magic,MASS MARKET,Science fiction,newberry award books ages 9-12;newberry award books ages 9 12;newberry award books ages 12-15;newbery award winners;newbery award books;award winning childrens books;classic children's books;classic books;fantasy books;fantasy books for kids age 9 12;fantasy;dragons;chapter books for kids age 9-12;kids books ages 9-12;books for kids age 9 12;boys books for ages 9-12;ya books;young adult books;fantasy books for teens;magic;books for 11 year old girls;books for 10 year old girls,fantasy; dragons; newberry award books ages 9-12; newberry award books ages 9 12; newberry award books ages 12-15; newbery award winners; newbery award books; award winning childrens books; classic children's books; classic books; fantasy books; fantasy books for kids age 9 12; chapter books for kids age 9-12; kids books ages 9-12; books for kids age 9 12; boys books for ages 9-12; ya books; young adult books; fantasy books for teens; fantasy books for kids age 12-15; magic; books for 11 year old girls

The Hero and the Crown Robin Mckinley 9780441328093 Books Reviews

Magnificent. With some trepidation, I bought this although I have nothing to do with a YA demographic. It is listed for ages 12-18. That's hilarious. What makes this YA? There isn't sex, vulgarity or innuendo. Ok. It is well written, however, not simplistic at all, in either prose or plot. The plot is developed. The characters are fleshed out. The truth is that this doesn't seem so much like YA, but rather something that can appeal to many on many levels. That is what the best of YA always did. This is YA in name only. Brilliant.
Awhile back I purchased “The Hero and the Crown” by Robin McKinley. It’s a YA fantasy novel that was released in 2000 and even though I was very excited to own this book, I didn’t end up reading it for months. Pretty sure all my posts start off with me explaining why I didn’t get around to reading the book for awhile and this one will be no different. I doubted this book because it’s such a short novel and while I liked that there was a dragon on the cover, I just kept thinking that a story written in the 2000’s wouldn’t be good for some reason. I know, I know! It’s such a silly notion since I try to read older books that I might have overlooked throughout the years but that thought kept lodging into my brain. I’m glad to say that I was happily mistaken! This novel was very enjoyable! I swept through this in one sitting as well. The main character, Aerin, is now a new favorite because she’s a bad ass (sort of) princess but without the attitude. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for bad ass women, but most times their extreme confidence makes them seem pretty rude and usually unnecessarily so. And while I do enjoy confident bad assery, it’s a breath of fresh air to see a character who wasn’t confident at all, who literally had 2 friends (maybe 3 if you count the horse), is not beautiful, and is always the odd one out in the royal palace. She was always being bullied but she remained strong, determined, and persisted. I love that so so much. She persisted! I especially enjoyed that Aerin did exactly what she said she was going to do and she did it right then and there. Or at least attempted to do whatever she was doing right at that moment. All of it was so straight forward, from the relationships and characters to the whole call of adventure part, that I’m no longer surprised to see why the book is so thin! It actually turned out to be great so I’ll do my best not to doubt thin books again! While I am glad to have read a book that is a stand alone for once (seriously, has anyone else noticed the complete overflow with series lately??) I know some people might have a problem with the lack of complexity. It was alright for me since I actually enjoyed how straight to the point everything was but it’s a simple story line. The fights didn't seem all that epic, no huge twists and turns either which I was okay with since it’s a stand alone. The only thing I was really surprised by was the predicament of who she would choose to stay with. Not a love triangle at all but it’s kinda hard to describe without really spoiling. Overall I’d give this book a 4 star rating since I don’t regret reading this book and meeting Aerin but I do feel like everything was almost a little too simple. I am encouraged to read more novels by McKinley now though!
... and I still do, but I've been reading reviews by readers who absolutely hated it, and I'd like to address them.

But first of all, this IS a story with an orphaned princess, a nice prince, some wizards, a couple of magical artifacts, dragons... - except it reads nothing like such books. The princess is tall, clumsy, red-haired with too big feet and she proves a disappointment (in her mind at least) to her family and her country. She decides to fight dragons, which is not a glamorous task, since dragons in her land are small and considered as oversized vicious rodents - nothing heroic.
She poisons herself, burns herself, does her best, goes into the wilderness alone, expects to die, climbs unending stairs, doesn't know what the hell she's doing...
And yes, indeed, very little is explained. As a young reader I found this frustrating - but just about as much as I did the 'real world'. Who is Aerin? Where did her mother come from? What are her powers? What happened before her birth? What does any of it mean?? Aerin herself asks those questions over and over, mostly gets no answers, is also frustrated (it's her life after all!) but she trundles on nonetheless and makes something of herself, something actually quite heroic after all, even though we get the nitty gritty and not the shining banners.
So okay, even though I wished for more background information, more rules, more knowledge of the odds, or even the mythology, I took it in stride - as I did life. For writers who provide all that, see the great John Ronald Rueul Tolkien!

There is something I very much liked in the book and that quite a few American commentators took exception to; Aerin is in love with 2 men, who are extremely different, and who hold widely different places in her heart, and times in her now almost immortal life Yes, she does have sex 'before marriage', whatever that means in such a different context. I found that prudery amusing. Aerin is a free agent, and her body and life are hers to do as she wishes. I remember liking this even as an 11-year old, I was glad the author trusted us with such complexity and not the usual saccharine fairy tale ending. I enjoyed Aerin's freedom, her capacity to live and love, and the knowledge that someone out there knew that life was never as simple as 'They lived happily ever after'. I certainly hadn't known anyone who did!

Only much later did I realize how strongly feminist this book was, and how much of a role model Aerin had become to me...