The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

Synopses:

Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her, to get an heir to rule Damar--then died of dispair when she found she had born a daughter instead of a son. But none of them, not even Aerin herself, can predict her destiny--for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword.

My Rating: 7/10

My Thoughts:

I'm not sure exactly how to review this book... I liked it, but at the same time I kinda didn't. It's one of those classic young adult fantasy novels that always seem to come up on lists of best books for teens, or kick-ass girl books, and there is a part of me that believes it deserves to be there. But at the same time, I had a hard time getting through it.

This is not the first time I've read this book. The very first time, I was pretty young, and just couldn't get through it. I tried it again in high school, and finished it, and I don't really remember feeling either positively or negatively about it. This time however, because of this blog, I'm forced to actually articulate my feelings, and it's so difficult. I guess I'm finding reviewing it difficult because I found reading it a little difficult. The style of writing seems almost... arcane. That's the only word I can think of, and I guess I didn't really like that style. I felt a little disconnected from the main character, Aerin, and I didn't really care about the love story.

I guess I should also list some things I did like, since I did like the book, even though I didn't. Ultimately, this is a girl kicking some ass novel, which I'm a huge sucker for. Any time a female character does something that she is not expected to do because she is female, I'm one hundred percent behind it. So having a feisty heroine give this book a lot of points.

So there you have it, my review of a book that I liked even though I didn't. I guess I recommend reading the book for yourself and coming to your own conclusions. Don't listen to me, what do I know. Many, many people love this book, so who are you going to believe. And remember, I too liked it, even though I didn't.