A Newbery Medal Winner
Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin has never been
accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people
whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have
enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then
died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a
son. But none of them, not even Aerin herself, can predict her
future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the
Blue Sword...
"[The Hero and the Crown] confirms McKinley as an important writer
of modern heroic fantasy, a genre whose giants include C. S. Lewis, J.
R. R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin."--The Washington Post
"An utterly engrossing fantasy."--The New York Times