occult

I'm all about Robin McKinley, because she creates female characters that are real, the kind of women with which women want to be friends. I'm also absolutely addicted to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so I was looking forward to getting my hands on Sunshine, Ms. McKinley's new "vampire novel." My anticipation proved quite founded.
Now, at first, it was jarring to find that Sunshine was set in a world not unlike present-day earth (with the addition of vampires, demons, and the occasional were-raccoon.) One expects expert world building from Ms. McKinley, but it was still a bit of a shock to read about cars and television and computers in the pages of one of her novels. I kept looking for the tiny glimpses of Damar Ms. McKinley sometimes throws into her stories, but couldn't find a single one.
However, Rae (Sunshine) Seddon is a classic McKinley heroine: smart, wry, self-deprecating, and, of course, chockful of magic. You want to hang out with her, and you shudder right along with her as she has her first encounter with the vampire, Constantine. The adventures that follow are mind-blowing, and require close reading not only to catch each well-chosen word, but also to make sure you know what the heck is going on. Sometimes, I felt as if I was reading sci/fi, sometimes horror, sometimes fantasy, but the entire time, I knew I was reading a good book.
So, yeah, I really liked this book. I hope there will be more stories about Sunshine. Ah, you might be saying, but why only four stars? I'll explain. Fans of Ms. McKinley will remember the shocking rape scene from Deerskin, which freaked a lot of people out, because for some reason, Ms. McKinley is always pegged as a Young Adult novelist. Sunshine is clearly a straight-up Adult novel, but that wasn't what bugged me. What bugged me was the language used during the one (graphic) and a half (not so graphic) sex scenes. It's not that the words offended me, they just seemed to fit neither the gorgeous story nor the wonderful, if flawed, protagonist. The Deerskin scene, while horrific and hard to read, was intrinsic to the story. The language used by Ms. McKinley in the sex scenes in Sunshine didn't seem intrinic, just out of place.
But it was only two or three words. And it really wasn't worth taking off one whole star. So technically, I'd give Sunshine a 4.5. Or 4.75. Okay, a 4.87, but that's as high as I'll go.

This was the first book I've read by Robin McKinley and I really enjoyed it. So much, in fact that I would love to see a sequel. There are many areas to futher pursue that would make an excellant second book.
Sunshine is a great character, one that I didn't get to see enough of. The story line has already been laid out in previous reviews so well that I won't bore people by repeating it here, but will talk about the characters. Sunshine is very well fleshed out in this book, but there is so much more about her we can learn and about her family. She has learned that she comes from a family very well versed in magic handling and learns that she has these powers herself, one being an affinity for Sunlight.
Other characters are just as appealing. Con, the vampire she is brought to as a meal, but they bond together and is one of the high points of this tale. Mel, her boyfriend, but what else is he? At one point in the story he helps her in her fight against the bad guy. Her father, who we don't get to meet on the page, but his influence is felt all though the book and her grandmother, who we only get to see several times and know we would like to see more of her.
A very good tale that combines elements of several differant genres and leaves the reader wanting more. How about it Robin McKinley? Will you please return to the world of Sunshine and give us more?
Sunshine is one book, I have no problem recommending to readers.

I have read many of Robin McKinley's books....and they are NOTHING like this! I have no idea what she was thinking when she went off on this little writing tangent, but I'm glad she did. I was just blown away by both the writing and the wonderful plot. Constantine is just perfect...though I would really like to know more about him. My only regret for this book besides that is the fact that McKinley never actually get around to telling you (SPOILER WARNING) if Sunshine's a partblood or not. I'm not really a vampire person, but this book was just breath-taking. By the way, I'm under 13 but I still read this book. SOME of us are mature enough to handle it. It's not like I've never heard of any of it before, what with school and our American culture, which is pretty obsessed with "R-rated" notions anyways. But, Sunshine is an amazing tangent for Robin McKinley and I demand a sequel! I assure you that if you read this book, you will in all likelihood feel the exact same way. A job well done, Ms. McKinley!