Graceling by Kristen Cashore
Posted by megmme on December 17, 2009
Overall Grade: A
Synopsis (from GoodReads):
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight–she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace–or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.
Review:
This book has become one of my favorites in the young adult genre. Kristen Cashore has developed a vivid world with an inventive concept of “graces.” While they may be analogous to a superpower, they are looked on differently by the world in this book–many of the “graced” are forced into a type of slavery. Its an interesting concept and one I can see quite believable if graces were present in our world.
Katsa is a wonderfully strong female character and, for this reason (along with it being an excellent read), I would highly recommend it to a young teenage girl. While issues of love and relationships (and sex, but more on that later) are present, Katsa has a good head on her and does not fall in to the helpless maiden role at any point. The relationship she builds with Po is one of equals and a good one to present to a young girl who may be overly familiar with twisted versions of relationships (I’m looking at you, Twilight).
The book reminded me a great deal of The Hunger Games (probably my favorite read of the last year). The characters carry similar names and the central female warrier/fighter is the same. I would highly recommend Graceling if you enjoyed The Hunger Games and vice-versa.
The ending was a little disappointing–the climax of the story was somewhat….well…anticlimactic. It seemed a lot of buildup for a few sentences worth of action. I thought it was in keeping with the story however, so I don’t consider it a deal breaker for the book.
Shortly after I read this book, one of my favorite groups on GoodReads read it (The YA Book Club) and there were some interesting discussions surrounding the appropriateness of sex in a young adult book. There are some sex scenes (and also discussions of birth control) in the book. They are not graphic but if this is a concern for you in reading this book or recommending it to a young person, this is something you may want to think about.
There are two related books though not quite sequels. Fire is a prequel to Graceling but it set long before. Bitterblue, a sequel that follows a somewhat minor character in Graceling, will contain the main characters of Graceling but not as a central focus. Fire has been out for a while and I’m on the waiting list at our local library–I’m excited to read it as I really enjoyed Kristen Cashore’s style.
Audiobook Details
I read this book quite some time ago and I’m afraid I can’t remember many specifics though I do remember enjoying the reading. It was a small cast production, which I usually enjoy and the readers had clear and emotionally vivid voices.
Run time is 12 hours, 31 minutes.
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