Works by Robin McKinley with their own trope page include: She has written several novels retelling folk tales, including Robin Hood ( The Outlaws of Sherwood), ' Sleeping Beauty' ( Spindle's End), ' Donkeyskin' ( Deerskin), and two different retellings of ' Beauty and the Beast' written 20 years apart ( Beauty and Rose Daughter). The Blue Sword was a Newbery Honor book and The Hero and the Crown won a Newbery Medal. She has written two novels and a number of short stories in the world of Damar. Fans of McKinley will recognize her penchant for animal-human connections in Maggie’s affectionate guardianship of the shadows, while other readers will find this a compelling entry point to the author’s work.Robin McKinley is an American fantasy author, whose works often have active female heroes. The secondary cast, including the requisite dual love interests, are afforded depth and nuance as well, rounding out the setting for the ensuing emotional drama. Intricate world building is matched with rich characterization a bit moody, a bit flighty, and all teenager, Maggie makes a relatable protagonist, and her wisecracks and astute observations help readers gain ground in this eerily familiar but nonetheless complex world of old magic, new science, and breaks in reality.

This is a tricky combination of genre tropes-a Big Brother–type of dystopian government, a clueless but powerful savior from fantasy, and the interpersonal dynamics of a family drama-but McKinley crafts them all with a deft hand, spooling out each element with a careful deliberation that allows them to coalesce into a fully formed story.

Before she can decide whether or not to go to the authorities, however, a “cobie,” a cohesion break in Newworld’s reality, sends everyone into a panic, and Maggie discovers that the shadows are actually quiet friendly little critters, her stepdad is an Oldworld magician (and a powerful one at that), and that her magical powers might mean she’s the only one standing between Newworld and its demise. Since she’s the only one who can see them, they might mean that she’s going crazy or, even worse, that she has the ability to see and possibly interact with magic, a big no-no in the science-focused, magic-abolishing state that is Newworld. The creeping, tentacled shadows that follow Maggie’s new stepdad around have the seventeen-year-old girl worried.

Shadows by Robin McKinley