Maddy has been roaming the hills of Damar with her sheep since she was a girl. The Hills hold everything she desires: her family; her beloved dog, Aerlich - and soon, her fiancé, Donal, who has been away for a year. But one evening a lamb is lost. And when Maddy returns to the Hills to find it, she discovers something else the Hills possess - something that will change her forever...
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Maddy has lost her sheep and even her dog Aerlich doesn't know where to find him. "It would soon be too dark to see anything, but a succulent young lamb would not survive the night in the wild rocky scree beyond the farm; if a foltza didn't get him, a yerig would. Damn." Okay, so Newbery Medal winner Robin McKinley's magical story The Stone Fey is no Little Bo Peep tale, and Maddy, the conflicted, passionate shepherdess, is no Bo Peep. One wild night in the Hills of Damar, a stone fey--a magical creature of the wilds--greets Maddy with her lost lamb in his muscular arms--his skin was gray, with "a rose-quartz flush across his cheekbones." After that fateful night, she can't get him out of her head, despite her commitments to longtime sweetheart Damon, who is due to return from a year away. With all the mist and mystery of a Mary Stewart novel, The Stone Fey is sure to thrill young readers with wildness in their hearts. John Clapp's lovely watercolors perfectly capture the mood of this haunting, innocent exploration of the nature of romantic love. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustration from The Stone Fey by Robin McKinley, illustration © 1998 by John Clapp, reproduced by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company.) (Ages 10 and older) --Karin Snelson
From Publishers Weekly
While staying true to her penchant for presenting strong female protagonists, Newbery winner McKinley strikes a softer note with this deeply romantic yet ultimately clear-eyed love story set in the fantasy kingdom of Damar. Maddy has always known who she is and exactly what she wants?to tend her flock of sheep; to marry her childhood friend, Donal; and to earn enough money to build her own farm close beside the "Hills [that] were her flesh and bone." But after she meets and falls in love with a Stone Fey, Maddy finds herself drifting further and further away from the people and things she truly cares for. Only when she accepts the fact that the Fey is unable to return her love (or to feel anything at all) is she free to rediscover her sense of self. Newcomer Clapp's incidental illustrations, dreamy watercolor and graphite paintings reminiscent of the work of Barry Moser, heighten the quiet drama of McKinley's prose. The best of his landscapes evoke the serene stillness of McKinley's writing; one portrait of Maddy, with its masterful play of light and shadow, particularly showcases his craft, as it glows with the power of burgeoning love. McKinley's sophisticated syntax, as well as the text's subtle concern with female sexuality, make the novella most appropriate for teens who can appreciate its empowering feminist message. The superb storytelling, however, will likely hold the rapt attention of readers whatever their politics or gender. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword. Her other books include Sunshine; the New York Times bestseller Spindle's End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book that I wish could have been longer,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Stone Fey (Hardcover)
McKinley again manages to weave a beautiful story about Maddy and the Stone Fey that captivates her. This book was a real treat to me because of the gorgeous illustrations. And it was nice, as always, to find a reference to Aerin in the story. Any story about Damar is great.I do wish that there had been more to the story. It's very cool that she did a picture-book, but this is a story I wish she would have turned into a full-blown novel, with the depth of Aerin, or Harry. The story was haunting and lyrical in a way that only McKinley could do, but as always, her books leave us craving more. For any precocious child or wondering adult...
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good, but...,
By
This review is from: The Stone Fey (Hardcover)
...I wanted more depth, more meat to the story. Ms. McKinley's writing is always superb, but there just wasn't enough of it. I agree with the reviewer below - this would have been a great full-length novel. I'm ready for another novel about Damar! I wouldn't say this book is not for children - I would have enjoyed reading it as a 10 year old - but I think the format is a little too juvenile to appeal to a pre-teen or YA.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
extremely difficult to describe,
By
This review is from: The Stone Fey (Hardcover)
Like Orson Scott Card (particularly in Ender's Game), Robin McKinley here made my perspective/attitude/understanding expand, as this story included elements that I didn't want and certainly didn't expect, but ended up appreciating. The cussing probly wasn't necessary, but it did make Maddy seem more real and less idealized. McKinley never quite explains what a fey is (or yerig or folstza) but readers familiar with her other books will understand at least vaguely, and the way she leaves so much to the imagination is a skill too many fantasy writers have forgotten. The fey's actions are surprising and yet believable, and Maddy's responses are unexpected yet extraordinarily real. The result is a story that avoids predictability but feels neither cheap nor deceptive (as the film The Village does). Because of the cussing and sensual undercurrent I wouldn't recommend this book for children despite its format and apparent fairy-tale appeal, but mature young people (especially girls) should both appreciate and benefit from McKinley's intelligent, personal treatment of the classic human-falls-in-love-with-otherworldly-being idea. As a young adult (age 21) fond of McKinley's other books despite a few criticisms, I found this story passionate, haunting, riveting, puzzling, beautiful, and immensely satisfying in an unsettling sort of way.
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