The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley, won the Newbery Medal in 1985. This award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. I remember the book was better the first time I read it. Maybe this is one of those books that works for children but not as much for adults. I can see how McKinley's style of writing would be novel (no pun intended!), but the story is bland and it's hard to tell when the story is reaching a climax or when it's just moving the plot forward. I've read a bunch of Newbery Medal winners and The Hero and the Crown is one of the more difficult reads. It's not really straightforward (lots of what I call "dream-writing" where the character is hallucinating or having a vision and you're not really sure what's going on) and because it's fantasy, the names, settings, and animals are all a bit unfamiliar. I'm glad it wasn't the first fantasy book I'd ever read...I think I would have been turned off the genre.
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