About the Author

Robin McKinley 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. Her other books include Sunshine; the New York Times bestseller Spindle's End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson.

Reviews

“A high fantasy as perfectly shaped and eloquently told as Beauty and The Hero and the Crown…a lavish and lasting treat.” –Publishers Weekly

“McKinley writes with complete assurance, and the novel’s climax is both compelling and a delightful change from formulaic fantasy.” –The Christian Science Monitor

“As delicately structure as the chambers of a honeycomb, this novel begs to be read…[Readers] who long for beautiful phrases and descriptive writing will find themselves drinking in this rich fairy tale as if it were honey trickling down their throats.” –School Library Journal

“McKinley integrates the world-building smoothly into a narrative that is a sensory delight, laden with tangible tastes and scents. Themes of stewardship, beekeeping and the power of duty and love flow through the story like the honey described so temptingly.” –Booklist

"A high fantasy as perfectly shaped and eloquently told as Beauty and The Hero and the Crown...a lavish and lasting treat." -Publishers Weekly

"McKinley writes with complete assurance, and the novel's climax is both compelling and a delightful change from formulaic fantasy." -The Christian Science Monitor

"As delicately structure as the chambers of a honeycomb, this novel begs to be read...[Readers] who long for beautiful phrases and descriptive writing will find themselves drinking in this rich fairy tale as if it were honey trickling down their throats." -School Library Journal

"McKinley integrates the world-building smoothly into a narrative that is a sensory delight, laden with tangible tastes and scents. Themes of stewardship, beekeeping and the power of duty and love flow through the story like the honey described so temptingly." -Booklist