Sunday, January 18, 2009

6/81 Chalice by Robin McKinley - 4 Stars

Chalice by Robin McKinley, just for fun category

How many times can Robin McKinley rewrite Beauty and the Beast? Well, if every retelling were as fresh and original as this one, she could keep it up for as long as she wanted and I would keep right on reading them! 

Chalice starts with a young woman awaiting the arrival of the new Master of their lands. The young woman is named Marisol, but is called Chalice, because that is her customary function. As Chalice, she is to work closely with the new Master and restore the Willowlands to harmony and balance. 

I really enjoyed this book. My main complaints are that first, there was so much description and not enough dialogue; and second, that the book often jumped around in time and sometimes had me confused about if the event I was reading about was happening now or in the past. 

But I can recommend this book. I liked Marisol as a character and couldn't wait to see how it would end. My daughter, whose book I borrowed, says that she enjoyed it more the second time she read it. Maybe I will try it again myself and see if she's right.

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