Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Book 61 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge
Book 8 of 50 for the New Author Challenge

Awards: ALA Best Books for YA; Cybils finalist; William C. Morris Award/Honor; SLJ Best Book; Publishers Weekly Best Book; Booklist Editors' Choice; VOYA: The Perfect Tens; Kirkus Editors Choice

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Graceling is set in a world of seven kingdoms. Some inhabitants are graced with a special talent, such as the ability to forecast the weather, fight extraordinarily well, or mind read. Those that are graced are respected, yet feared.

Katsa is a young woman, graced with the ability to kill. Her uncle, a king, has taken advantage of her abilities, but Katsa wishes to use her talents for good. She is part of an underground council that seeks to keep the peace between the seven kingdoms. One council mission embroils her in a serious political battle as she seeks to rescue the father of a king that has been kidnapped.

I really enjoyed this book. It is kind of Poison Study meets Hunger Games meets Twilight. It has a great romance, involves magical powers, and has an over-arching theme of fighting for survival. The middle was a little slow for me, and I got really sick of the word snorted. Seriously, "Katsa snorted." so many times I thought I would throttle her. The other thing that bugged me was that the powers of the main characters seemed to evolve during the book as needed by the plot. But for a first novel, I think Kristin Cashore did an amazing job. I look forward to reading Fire and Bitterblue.

Those who enjoy the young adult fantasy genre with a strong heroine will absolutely love this one. Recommended for 14+ for violence and sexual situations.

Also reviewed by:

• Teen Book Review
• At Home With Books
• Book Nut
• The Book Nest
• Ticket to Anywhere
• Best Book I Have Not Read
• Becky's Book Reviews
• off the shelf
• Menasha Public Library