Rating: 
Summary: A Struggle
Review: My daughter and I struggled through this book. I write this not to imply that it is a bad book. The story is a good one and it is very well written, but it strikes me as a story written for young people but in a very adult style. Technically, Ms. McKinley is a very proficient writer, but she uses lots of long, complex sentences that can even be difficult for an adult with above-average reading skills to wade through. My nearly eleven-year-old daughter was frequently lost. Beyond that, the book takes place very much on an emotional, impressionistic, sometimes surreal plane. There are only three action sequences in the entire book: the battle with the great dragon, the battle with the evil northern lord, and the battle before the gates of Damar's capitol city. Each of these is vivid, but brief. For example, Aerin, our heroine, spends more time climbing the stairs of the tower to find the evil Lord Agsded than she does actually fighting him. Her feelings and thoughts as she climbs the stairs are explored at length, but it all culminates in a brief and anti-climactic confrontation.I'm sure there are young readers out there who love this book. Some of the other reviews here bear witness to that. I think, however, that these are exceptional young readers. The average kid will have a difficult time. The 9 to 12 year-old who takes on this book will need to be both a very good reader and a very patient one. My daughter frequently found other things she preferred to do when it came time to sit down and read "The Hero And The Crown". For that reason, we've held our rating on it to just three stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn!
Review: OK, I really liked The Blue Sword, and wanted to know more of the story. This put me to sleeeep! I can't understand all the accolades, and I pity any poor kid having to read this for an assignment! There is very little action in this book, way too much description, and the first several chapters are incredibly slow. I kept reading 'cause I thought it would pick up somewhere, but it never did! Go read The Blue Sword instead!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Empowering
Review: I read this book in seventh grade. I am now newly graduated from college, but would pick this book up to read again in a second. In Harry Potter standards, which is a smoothly written, highly detailed series, this is not easy reading. However, it is highly entertaining and full of meaning. Some parts can get tricky to read through, especially if you're not one who reads regularily, but if you can make it through those sections, you will find yourself in the midst of a beautiful world.
The greatest thing I learned from this book was that true strength can only be found within yourself. I hightly recommend The Hero And The Crown to everyone, especially young, female teens learning to explore and love themselves.
The only reason I don't give this book 5 stars is because I enjoyed The Blue Sword a little more than this. If you enjoy this book, you will definatly love The Blue Sword!
Rating: 
Summary: Like it.....like it not.......like it........like it not....
Review: This is a confusing story yes and no. It is about a girl who is a princess. She is not like by many people. she gets sick so starts reading about potions and suff. She finds something on how to make a cream that when u put it on a put it in fire u won't burn. She makes, slays dragons, meets a wizard, sort of falls in love (...) and so forth.. it was ok...but there are a lot of questions at the end that puzzle u like what happened to the wizard? its ok
Rating:
Summary: Strength of the Heart: Courage
Review: Looking for a GREAT female protagonist ?
Then you MUST read this AMAZING book!! "Aerin-sol, fire-hair."
I wish I had courage burning half as bright as the flame in this woman's heart. This book has inspired me like no other! In "The Hero & The Crown", things change. Life just happens. And it happens awkwardly and painfully. At times, McKinley's writing may seem slow and deliberate, despite its brevity and economy. But her writing is very tactile, felt physically as much as emotionally. She moves the plot forward with cycles of change in Aerin's life: the school of "hard knocks". As a result, her art is true-to-life,and her ability to express implicit sadness and irony in her writing is uniquely profound. Refreshingly, McKinley allows precious little room in her writing for self-indulgent sentimentality, (and the average author's editorial commentary). Instead, McKinley thrusts the reader and Aerin into one perpetual change after another. When Aerin emerges from those changes, we see she has matured into a very beautiful and courageous woman. As a female protagonist, her feminine beauty is far more than skin-deep; it is in her heart: she is fiercely devoted, disturbingly self-reliant, and tirelessly determined. She does not give up, even in the face of despair. She is a winner. I found this book to be a breath of fresh air to my soul. I found that Aerin's challenges in life are everyone's challenges. Give up, or fight. If Aerin could risk all to conquer her obstacles (given the odds that were stacked against her) then so can you and I. My chief point of annoyance with the book was Aerin's abandonment of a relationship with the love of her life. In a key moment of decision, Aerin is forced to choose between her loves: of country and of her lover. Somehow, she resolves this conflict by acting on her sense of duty, rather than her feelings. Instinctively, I felt that her decision was wrong. In my view, by acting out of duty, Aerin was committing an evil: she was denying her heart's desire, and therefore she was living a lie. Her decision made no sense to me at the time, and it ruined my ability to adore this work of literary art. After some thought, I later realized that her decision was, on the contrary, the very best form of nobility. Despite the feelings of her heart, she consciously chose the very plain truth that her loyalties---her first love---took priority over her immediate desires. And she was absolutely right, because it saved her family, her future, and her kingdom. True to her nature throughout the book, she made a great sacrifice, based on her amazing ability to discern, and she changed. She grew, and became a better person. For this revelation of McKinley's ingenious translation of a very difficult life lesson on the road to maturity: the heart's ability to resolve opposing human desires, I give this book a 5-star rating. It is true poetry. To support my rating, I praise McKinley's style. It is not her style to embellish her descriptions, or to draw-out her depiction of events for the sake of melodrama. Quite the opposite. Her pen is a rapier in the hand of master. She strikes swiftly and simply, with an apparent minimum of effort and with a technique so refined, that she drives the point home to the reader in 1/5th the amount of space (with 1/5th the number of words) that other fantasy writers I could mention would take to tell the same tale. This book is truly a "master"-piece that you simply must read.
Rating:
Summary: The Hero and the Crown- Good Plot, but not my favorite
Review: The Hero and the Crown has a good plot, where the witchwoman's daughter, or rather the princess everyone looks down upon has to go on a wild adventure to retrieve the crown which is her destiny. Unfortunately, like Robin McKinley's other books (The Riddlemaster, Beauty...) it's a little confusing at times. I'm sure her intentions are good, but I guess it's just her style of writing, because coming from some other author, the plot would probably be wonderful. There's just something indescribable about it that makes me dislike the book the more of it I read. All that about the springs, the climbing, the sword, ... In the beginning, it was GREAT and unique, but maybe it's just me. Maybe I don't have the capability of reading such a deep novel... Besides that, it has a saddening quality to it, for all that there is romance. I don't really like the ending either. It almost makes it feel incomplete. Anyway, you can read it but I don't necessarily suggest it. The descriptions on the back of the book will probably draw you in but it wasn't what I was expecting...
Rating: 
Summary: The Pointless Book
Review: This book was so boring. The novel is mainly character driven, and that is good for some, but nothing exciting happens. Yes, she confronts a wizard and dragon, but there is no reason for it. Not to mention that Ms. McKinley seems to have forgotten how to write after the Blue Sword. Deerskin was awful too, but back to the subject, Aerin is not a likable character. I don't know why, but it was impossible to connect with her. Ms. McKinely went on for pages stating and restating how awful Aerin's life was, when those pages would have better been spent of plot development. Two big events carry the entire novel. Other than that, it is just Aerin sitting around doing nothing. She for no reason decides to start killing dragons. There was not much to Aerin, she was a two dimensional character despite McKinely's attempts to bore us stupid with about 5 chapters that have nothing to do with the plot except to let us know over and over again that Aerin had a miserable life as a princess.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Book
Review: The Hero and the Crown, to me, can be described as nothing less than an enchanting, page turning adventure with new ideas in every sentence. No story in my mind could possibly be better! If you are a fantasy and adventure loving person, than The Hero and the Crown is most certainly a book for you! It's a garuntee to love type book for sure!
Rating:
Summary: awesome
Review: This was an awesome story and had some of everything in it. I think anybody whos interested in adventure and about every other thing that can be in a book should read this.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying with a touch of everything
Review: I'm not the hugest fan of this author but I did like this story. The heroine was likeable and realistic. There was at least a touch of everything - humour, tragedy, romance, adventure, danger, magic. The plot was a bit thin I thought and sometimes, the descriptions of the scenery or objects just way too long. However, everything was not necessarily predictable which I admired. Overall I liked what this story was trying to say and I also liked how the sexism of the characters wasn't too overbearing. I'm reading "The Blue Sword" now and I'm glad I read this book first.
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