The Blue Sword

There I am in seventh grade English class and I get the option to read either All Creatures Great and Small or The Blue Sword.  And here I will give myself away; of course I chose The Blue Sword!  What seventh grader would want to read a book that is 448 pages long when you can choose one with the word sword in the title and a mere 248 pages.  I mean really!  So twelve year old me starts reading and thinks 'this is so boring,' but continues because she has to.  Well, after the lemonade, so to speak, it got a lot more exciting and I really liked it by the end.  When I read it the second time, I even liked the first forty pages.  Robin McKinley writes in a different style, one where you have to pay attention to the turn of phrase to understand the tone.  The Blue Sword takes you into the deserty world of Damar with horses, sashes, swords, and battles.  There might be a love story or two in there as well.  Follow Harry, a daughter of two worlds as she creates a bridge between her old life and new.  No language and no explicit violence to behold; just a very refreshing read.  Here's the cover on my book; the library probably has a different one that doesn't convey the feeling of the story as well.

Robin McKinley wrote a companion novel entitled The Hero and The Crown, which won a Newbery medal, but I didn't like it as well as The Blue Sword, which has been a favorite for many years.