The Stone Fey, by Robin McKinley

Reviewed By Sarah
Start Date: May 6, 2009
Finish Date: May 6, 2009
Star Rating: 7 stars *******
Movie Rating: PG. There are a couple swear words, etc.

Before you get confused, this is not a novel. (Who said we would only review novels on this blog? Nobody.) It is a short story. I thought I'd read everything by Robin McKinley avaliable--YA novels, Adult Novels, Short Story Collections. Turns out I was wrong.

I like to wander the return shelves in the Juvenile Lit section of the library. I like to see what other people have been reading, smile when my favorite books are there or see those that are on my TBR list. So today, when I had a bit of time before I had to go back to work after lunch break (I'd just picked up CDs 3-5 of Skybreaker, the sequel to Airborn, at the LRC which is right next to the Juvenile Lit section) this one happened to catch my eye. McKinley? Robin McKinley? THE Robin McKinley?

Yes. That Robin McKinley.

I felt a bit cheated in my McKinley-fan-ness--why hadn't I seen this mentioned somewhere before?--but grabbed it and checked it out.

It is, as I said, a short story. Its set in Damar, the world of The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. The only reason you would need to have read tBS or tHatC before reading this story, however, would be to know what yerig and folstza are, and even then it is implied that they are carnivourous animals, so in the end it doesn't really matter, I guess. And Aerin is mentioned once, I think, in reference to something happening since her time. So, while reading the other Damar books wouldn't be necessary to understanding this one, I don't really see why someone would read this unless they had read them and wanted more--but then again, I'm not really a short story person.

I liked the Illustrations. There was much more text than there were pictures, but the pictures that were there were nice watercolors. The Illustrators name is John Clapp, and according to the artist bio this was his first "childrens" book. I wouldn't call it a childrens book, though it is the size, shape, etc. of a picture book. This book is more for an older audience than most picture books, I think--teens, not kids.