Thursday, September 10, 2015

REVIEW: GRACELING BY KRISTIN CASHORE

Published by Harcourt, 2008. Hardcover, 471 pgs

      In this first installment of a Young Adult Fantasy trilogy, our main character Katsa has an extreme talent for killing. In this culture, anyone with an inherent gift and eyes of two different colors possesses a "Grace" and is known as a Graceling. Katsa despises that she is under the employ of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns. Her assigned tasks include punishing those who have bothered the king in any way, whether that be removing fingers or being an executioner. Wishing to use her gift for combat in an honorable way as well, she embarks on covert side jobs to protect and free oppressed peoples in other kingdoms. Upon meeting Prince Po, a young man also Graced with fighting skills, her life changes in unexpected ways as she discovers more about her abilities.
     I really enjoyed this. It's been on my TBR for awhile, and I was happy when it was chosen for me to read by my BookBuddyAThon partner, Felica. This fulfilled one of five challenges in a readathon I participated in on YouTube, particularly reading a book your friend gave five stars. I really liked the world building and the characteristics of the seven kingdoms, as well as the strong female lead. She reminded me a lot of Lia from Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson, in that she rebelled against the life set out for her.
       I preferred Po a bit more than Katsa. Along with her gifts, her level of angst and bad temperament could be grating (even though this was resolved by the middle to end of the book). While the Graceling talents could feel convenient for the situations sometimes, I liked the progression of the story-and it was incredibly well-paced! Po is so well-drawn because Cashore makes him seem genuinely humbled that Katsa's talents are often superior, and he's refreshing because he doesn't feel threatened. Other authors attempt this, but often I think it feels forced.
       This was a great story, quite jealous at the selection of wonderful YA options available for teens today. I've always been a voracious reader, but would have been more so at a younger age with this kind of diverse content. Two thumbs up!



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