A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley

This is a collection of five stories. They would be called fairy stories because they delt with magic. Reading them reminded me of Grimm's collection much more than Disney-fied versions, but they were not like those stories in many ways. Grimm's stories pass over the thoughts and feelings of the characters most of the time, which McKinley does not do. Still, something about the mood did not welcome me into the story.
The five heroines were unlike the modern heroines who are brave and foolish. All except the last ends up married to a man she loves. All are humble and willing to do what they must. The first four are set in a time and place unlike ours- the normal setting for a story including magic; the last, Annabelle, has to battle a highway coming through her new little town. At first I didn't understand that she was staying in our time and thought her magic might be time travel or something, but it wasn't. Magic is usually a very big part of a fairy tale, but these had normal people that come into contact with a bit of magic that they didn't expect. Except for Erana, whose childhood was spent with a witch and a troll.
I liked this book mainly for the two stories of Lily and Coral, the other three didn't seem to finish up right to me. All of the stories were creative and new to me, and would be good stories to tell at bedtime.