Sunshine

By: Robin McKinley

Narrated by: Laural Merlington

Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

There are places in the world where darkness rules, where it's unwise to walk. Sunshine knew that. But there hadn't been any trouble out at the lake for years, and she needed a place to be alone for a while. Unfortunately, she wasn't alone. She never heard them coming. Of course you don't, when they're vampires.

They took her clothes and sneakers. They dressed her in a long red gown. And they shackled her to the wall of an abandoned mansion -within easy reach of a figure stirring in the moonlight.

She knows that he is a vampire. She knows that she's to be his dinner and that when he is finished with her, she will be dead. Yet, as dawn breaks, she finds that he has not attempted to harm her. And now it is he who needs her to help him survive the day.

©2003 Robin McKinley (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A gripping, funny, page-turning, pretty much perfect work of magical literature." (Neil Gaiman, New York Times best-selling author of Anansi Boys)
"McKinley knows very well - and makes her [audience] believe - that 'the insides of our own minds are the scariest things there are.'" ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

An original take on a vampire story

Sunshine features a female protagonist whose greatest challenge is to learn about herself and accept what she is.
I’d have rated this higher if it had been less repetitive (going over the same info repeatedly), and if it it had been a tad less predictable. Any child who’s read a Goosebumps book could have told Ray not to go to the lake house all by herself.
It’s possible that I could have liked Sunshine more if it had been read by a different narrator. I just didn’t like her voice. Also, she mispronounced several words, including “fiefdom.”

Worth a listen!

Overall this was a great reading of McKinleys rambling story of magic and vampires. This has been a comfort read of mine, so I thought I would give the audio book a try. I’m glad I did! A great listen while cleaning the house or driving to work.

I love Robin McKinley

I love this book and author. Thank you so much. The reader used wonderful expressions.

Performance doesn’t fit

I love this book but it was jarring that a 20-something protagonist was voiced by a woman who sounded over 60. Also, there were a few stumbles that weren’t edited out — needed some quality control.

One of my very favorites!

I’ve been a Robin McKinley fan since adolescence, and many of her books have marked special times in my life - I even have a daughter named Aerin :)
I discovered Sunshine as an adult and it is my favorite fall read. Robin McKinley writes many of her characters with qualities that have shaped who I try to be in my own life; accepting challenges with dignity, courage, humor, and most importantly - remembering not to take myself too seriously.

Good story, bad narrator

I tried to listen to this story several times and was always so turned off by the narrator that I had to stop. I finally made myself keep listening. The story is actually pretty good. The narrator sounds like an older woman doing the voice of a whiney child. The main character is a woman in her twenties but it is hard to view her as any kind of adult because of the narration. The main character performs adult activities in the book, so it was pretty freaky that the whole thing was read from a whiney child voice. I think this book would have been better to read instead of listen. I noticed the narrator narrates several other books. Even if it is one of my favorite authors, I will not download another book by this narrator.. she's just that bad!

suck it twilight!

If you could sum up Sunshine in three words, what would they be?

better than twilight

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sunshine. She is powerful, intresting, real, loving and down to earth.

What about Laural Merlington’s performance did you like?

she captured the spirit of Sunshine and Con and the relationship between them quite well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes, it is that kind of book. When i read it i couldn't put it down and when i listened to it 5 years later it was the same way. I look forward to listening to it again!!

Any additional comments?

Far more realistic and classic vampire love story than twilight. The magic aspect was a nice touch :o) It leaves you wanting more, but feeling satisfied at the same time.

Bring a little sunshine to your life

A very good book. The writing was superb as was the narration.
I really think the narration brought it to life and added a little Sunshine to my life.

Entertaining

Light and entertaining, but a disappointing end. A sequel is in order.

McKinley at her best!

I knew I was going to love this book when one reviewer stated they were envious of anyone reading it for the first time. High praise for a book and completely deserved in this case. Hard to see why anyone would not be enspelled by this book. Not only were Sunshine and Con weirdly and deliciously good together, but the other characters were terrific as well. And best of all, McKinley seemed to find the perfect balance between giving us what we wanted with the main characters and 'just enough' of the secondary to make us want more of both. Wow, I'lll repeat what the other reviewer said - I'm totally envious of anyone about to read this book for the first time.