Robin McKinley’s Sunshine creates a spellbinding tale that takes place in an alternate universe (somewhat like our own), but in the main character’s world, there exists the hated, evil Others: vampires, demons, werewolves, magicians and part-bloods. Of course nothing is what it seems to be, an underlying theme in the book, and what Rae “Sunshine” Seddon must come to terms with.

Abducted and shackled by a vampire gang led by Bo as a form of torture to another shackled and rival vampire – Constantine –, Sunshine becomes a surprisingly, albeit reluctant, advocate for protecting Constantine as well as herself from Bo’s gang once they escape. Throughout the course of the novel, we see Sunshine psychologically conflicted with her “normal” life now blurred by what she thought was an evil world. Now, she’s not so sure – especially since she learns she can perform a bit of magic herself – and on top of everything else, she needs to enlist her friends, whom she learns are part-bloods, to help Constantine and her escape the vengeance of Bo.

Sunshine can be a bit long-winded sometimes, but the absorbing plot and interesting characters such as Constantine and Pat make the book engrossing. Like many other fans of Sunshine, I’m hungry for a sequel that may not come.