I read this for the first time in the 7th grade. My best friend and I passed the book back and forth until it fell apart, and had fantasies of beautiful dresses and magic castles. This was Robin's first book. It is remarkably simple, but every page enjoyable. To be honest I've read it so many times I could probably recite passages of it to you.
Reading this book you know exactly where Disney got Belle's character for their version of Beauty & the Beast. Beauty is a plain girl with 'an unfortunate nickname' who reads books, loves giant horses, and is a tom boy. She doesn't fit in with her pretty, feminine sisters. Her character is strong, brave, and honorable ('Honor' is in fact her given name).
I like this version of Beauty and the Beast over all others because it doesn't over-embellish the tale, and it lets some of the more muddled bits remain muddled. Simplistic, but all the more beautiful for it. I'm always finding bits of this story slipping accidentally into my own writing simply because it's become such a big part of my identity.
Another retelling, this time Sleeping Beauty. According to my purchase history on Amazon I bought this in 2003. I've probably read it six or eight times by now.
In this story the princess saves the day, has short hair, and falls in love with a blacksmith twice her age. It's in this great other-world where magic is an everyday occurrence and fish are thought not to exist. Part of the charm of this book is the luscious world-building. You just wanna step into it and explore.
It has talking animals, and fairies, and a house that is alive. (That's my favorite part.) I wouldn't call it the most epic of stories, or the deepest, but its so much fun it doesn't really matter.
I think this is probably Robin's most controversial book, and that's part of the appeal. It deals with the healing process after an incestuous rape. It's based on a fairy tale called "Catskin" or "Tattercoat" and is about a princess whose mother dies. Her father vows to marry his daughter instead. The princess runs away and disguises herself as a servant in another kingdom, where she falls in love with and marries a prince.
This is an emotionally harrowing book, and is told with the same rich detail as Robin's other works. Deerskin has to rebuild her psyche after her terrible ordeal, and she finds a group of healing friends and even, eventually, love. This prince in this story is awesome because he's so very not your average fairy tale prince.
It's a tough read because of the subject matter, but it's also a very fulfilling story too, and well-told. It has the same rich world as Spindle's End, and down to earth, like-able characters (except the evil father of course).
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