Throwback Thursdays: Spindle’s End

(via Wikipedia)

One of the dismaying parts about writing for this column is that you often discover that a thing you really liked a long time ago is super problematic when you revisit it. For example, the last time I reread a Robin McKinley book (The Blue Sword) for a Throwback Thursday, I realized that it’s a dead ringer for the Mighty Whitey trope. Of all of McKinley’s books, Spindle’s End was always one of my favorites, so it was with some trepidation that I picked it up to read it again after several years.

To my great relief, I discovered that, in leaving the world of Damar behind for a different fantasy country, McKinley left her troubling racial tropes behind as well, instead weaving a fairy tale retelling that focuses on the importance of the bonds between several very different women.

Spoilers for a sixteen-year old book after the jump!

Throwback Thursdays: The Blue Sword

If there’s one thing I love about this column, it’s that I get to go back and revisit some of my childhood faves. If there’s one thing I hate about this column, it’s, well, that I have to go back and think critically about said childhood faves.

I adored The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley when I was younger. How could I not love a story about a girl who’s swept into a magical world and becomes a knight? Having recently reread it, though, it does have a pretty problematic side.

Spoilers after the jump!