As I've said, I love all of Robin McKinley's books, but most of them aren't perfect, although they ARE wonderful. This book is no exception. It is another retelling (she's very good at retellings), but this is of the classic story of Sleeping Beauty. It explains the plight that the poor princess was put in, with some humor, friendship, and lots of touching love. The princess (I forget her name again because I own the book but am too lazy to get up and get it now, hehe) was swept away by a fairy after the princess was cursed by a jealous and mean fairy. The story weaves through the life of the Princess (her name MAY be Briar Rose like in the cartoon, haha) along with her loving savior and her family. This story really made me smile, and I hope that RM will continue to produce and "spin" (what a loser I can be sometimes, lol) such great tales, or retellings,and I hope that more people will discover the beauty of her writings.