Robin McKinley

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Robin McKinley


Born
in Warren, Ohio, The United States
November 16, 1952

Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences
Kipling and Tolkien


Born in her mother's hometown of Warren, Ohio, Robin McKinley grew up an only child with a father in the United States Navy. She moved around frequently as a child and read copiously; she credits this background with the inspiration for her stories.

Her passion for reading was one of the most constant things in her childhood, so she began to remember events, places, and time periods by what books she read where. For example, she read Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book for the first time in California; The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time in New York; The Lord of the Rings for the first time in Japan; The Once and Future King for the first time in Maine. She still uses books to keep track of her life.

McKinley attended Gould Academy, a prep
...more

Robin McKinley isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

Hiding from Reality*

The ME has been more-than-usually bad since the end of last September, initially for reasons I don’t think I can make into an entertaining blog post.  But I haven’t had to double down on anti-ME obstinacy in a while, & obstinacy as a survival mechanism is a (you should forgive the term) dead bore, & makes me cranky.  Crankier.**  One of the more creative ways I’ve been saying nyah nyah nyah to the

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Published on February 03, 2025 14:12
Average rating: 3.98 · 388,437 ratings · 30,154 reviews · 39 distinct worksSimilar authors
Beauty: A Retelling of the ...

4.05 avg rating — 82,491 ratings — published 1978 — 50 editions
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The Blue Sword (Damar, #1)

4.21 avg rating — 62,597 ratings — published 1982 — 2 editions
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The Hero and the Crown (Dam...

4.21 avg rating — 54,819 ratings — published 1984 — 56 editions
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Sunshine

3.84 avg rating — 43,932 ratings — published 2003 — 44 editions
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Spindle's End

3.83 avg rating — 25,153 ratings — published 2000 — 33 editions
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Deerskin

3.94 avg rating — 24,113 ratings — published 1993 — 23 editions
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Rose Daughter

3.79 avg rating — 21,623 ratings — published 1997 — 30 editions
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Chalice

3.84 avg rating — 15,401 ratings — published 2008 — 17 editions
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The Outlaws of Sherwood

3.79 avg rating — 12,210 ratings — published 1988
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The Door in the Hedge

3.70 avg rating — 9,911 ratings — published 1981 — 3 editions
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More books by Robin McKinley…
The Blue Sword The Hero and the Crown
(2 books)
by
4.18 avg rating — 124,499 ratings

Beauty: A Retelling of the ... Rose Daughter Spindle's End
(3 books)
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3.96 avg rating — 129,267 ratings

Pegasus
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3.63 avg rating — 9,424 ratings

Water Fire
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3.72 avg rating — 5,064 ratings

Related News

If you love the fantasy genre, this is the season for you! Some of the biggest books out this fall promise to be epics full of magic, adventure,...
205 likes · 50 comments
Quotes by Robin McKinley  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I don't put up with being messed around, and I don't suffer fools gladly. The short version of that is that I'm a bitch. Trust me, I can provide character references.”
Robin McKinley, Sunshine

“The story is always better than your ability to write it.”
Robin McKinley

“The train is roaring toward you and the villain is twirling his moustache and you're fussing that he's tied you to the tracks with the wrong kind of rope.”
Robin McKinley, Sunshine

Polls

~*Flower Power*~ April's Group Read


Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver


goodreads summary-What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.
 
  16 votes 20.3%

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting


goodreads summary-Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.
 
  15 votes 19.0%

Beastly by Alex Flinn



goodreads summary-Now a major motion picture starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer
I am a beast.
A beast!
Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll, stay this way forever ruined unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly...beastly.
 
  11 votes 13.9%

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan


goodreads summary-In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?
 
  9 votes 11.4%

The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood




goodreads summary-In the right dose, everything is a poison. Even love . . .

Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure -- or kill.

When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined . . .
 
  6 votes 7.6%

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley


goodreads summary-When the family business collapses, Beauty and her two sisters are forced to leave the city and begin a new life in the countryside. However, when their father accepts hospitality from the elusive and magical Beast, he is forced to make a terrible promise - to send one daughter to the Beast's castle, with no guarantee that she will be seen again. Beauty accepts the challenge, and there begins an extraordinary story of magic and love that overcomes all boundaries. This is another spellbinding and emotional tale embroidered around a fairytale from Robin McKinley, an award-winning American author.
 
  4 votes 5.1%

The Everafter by Amy Huntley



goodreads summary-Madison Stanton doesn't know where she is or how she got there. But she does know this - she is dead. And alone in a vast, dark space. The only company Maddy has in this place are luminescent objects that turn out to be all the things she lost while she was alive. And soon she discovers that, with these artifacts, she can reexperience - and even change - moments from her life.
Her first kiss.

A trip to Disney World.
Her sister's wedding.

A disastrous sleepover.
In reliving these moments, Maddy learns illuminating and frightening truths about her life - and death.
 
  3 votes 3.8%

Artichoke Hearts by Sita Brahmachari



goodreads summary-Twelve-year-old Mira comes from a chaotic, artistic and outspoken family where it’s not always easy to be heard. As her beloved Nana Josie's health declines, Mira begins to discover the secrets of those around her, and also starts to keep some of her own. She is drawn to mysterious Jidé, a boy who is clearly hiding a troubled past and has grown hardened layers - like those of an artichoke - around his heart. As Mira is experiencing grief for the first time, she is also discovering the wondrous and often mystical world around her
 
  3 votes 3.8%

Sleepless by Cyn Balog



goodreads summary-Eron DeMarchelle isn't supposed to feel this connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce his human charges to sleep. Though he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to do so. After all, becoming too involved in one human's life could prevent him from helping others get their needed rest.

But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia, a lonely girl with fiery red hair and sad dreams. Just weeks ago, her boyfriend died in a car accident, and Eron can tell that she feels more alone than ever. Eron was human once too, many years ago, and he remembers how it felt to lose the one he loved. In the past, Eron has broken rules to protect Julia, but now, when she seems to need him more than ever, he can't reach her. Eron's time as a Sandman is coming to a close, and his replacement doesn't seem to care about his charges. Worse, Julia is facing dangers she doesn't recognize, and Eron, as he transitions back to being human, may be the only one who can save her. . . .

Even once they've become human again, Sandmen are forbidden to communicate with their charges. But Eron knows he won't be able to forget Julia. Will he risk everything for a chance to be with the girl he loves?
 
  3 votes 3.8%

Cloaked by Alex Flinn


goodreads summary-I'm not your average hero. I actually wasn't your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn't a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I've ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades.

Don't believe me? I didn't believe it either. But you'll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got cloaked.
 
  2 votes 2.5%

Promise by Kristie Cook


goodreads summary-Alexis Ames decides to learn who she really is, with or without the help of her mother, who guards their secrets closely. After meeting Tristan Knight and discovering that he s not normal either, the secrets begin to unravel. Their union brings promise to the future of mankind. But it also incites a dangerous pursuit by the enemy. Because they are a match made in Heaven and in Hell.
 
  2 votes 2.5%

Elixir by Hilary Duff



goodreads summary-Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before.

When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.
 
  2 votes 2.5%

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen



goodreads summary-Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma’s stories about Briar Rose. But a promise Rebecca makes to her dying grandmother will lead her on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma’s astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose. A journey that will lead her to unspeakable brutality and horror. But also to redemption and hope. A Tor Teen edition of the modern classic by critically-acclaimed author Jane Yolen.
 
  2 votes 2.5%

Blood & Flowers by Penny Blubaugh


goodreads summary-Three years ago, Persia ran away from her drug-addict parents and found a home with the Outlaws, an underground theater troupe. This motley band of mortals and fey, puppeteers and actors, becomes the loving family Persia never had, and soon Persia not only discovers a passion for theater but also falls in love with Nicholas, one of the other Outlaws. Life could not be more perfect.

Until an enemy with a grudge makes an unfair accusation against the group and forces them to flee the mortal world and hide in the neighboring realm of Faerie. But in Faerie, all is not flowers and rainbows—with bloodthirsty trolls, a hostile monarchy, and a dangerous code of magic, the fey world is not quite the safe haven the Outlaws had hoped for. And they must decide what’s more important: protecting their right to perform or protecting themselves.

From critically acclaimed author Penny Blubaugh comes this mesmerizing tale of family, faeries, and finding a place to call home.
 
  1 vote 1.3%

79 total votes
More...

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