Sunshine by Robin McKinley

The depressing part is, I'm done & there aren't any more books set in this world. Nor does it appear Ms. McKinley is spilling the beans about her next book. No info on her website or Amazon or anywhere like that. *sob*

The happy part being- Sunshine is a great book & I totally loved it & I am buying the hardcover new to add to the keeper shelves. A rare accomplishment in my little book world.

Sunshine is set in an alternate modern post apocalyptic reality. At least I think it is. Humans & assorted magical being had a huge destructive war. There has been tremendous damage done to both the physical world & to the institutions that govern the races living here. There are areas that are 'safe' from the bad guys & areas that aren't. Humans & magical beings have interbred enough that strictly by looks alone it isn't possible to tell who is human & who is 'passing'. Vampires however are always bad guys, for different reasons Ms. McKinley spells out clearly.

Sunshine and her newfound ally/compatriot must overcome both cultural & societal hurdles and unite to defeat a power hungry bad guy. Sunshine must grow hugely, which is depicted in all of its pain & difficulty &, sometimes, bitchiness. She moves fully out of childhood & its assumptions that what you see & what you're told is the truth, into adulthood. Which is to say, Sunshine realizes that one must leave the cocoon of the familiar. That the adult world is messy, more grey than one might wish for, things are never quite what they seem & that government agencies are often hamstrung by their own lurching need for paperwork & doing things the 'right way'.

A great book all around. Fully realized, fully though out & rounded. Plus, lots of possibilities for a sequel or two.
Book Review, Books