Graceling (Hardcover)

by Kristin Cashore (Author)
Key Phrases: lady princess, Lady Katsa, Lord Ellis, Lord Prince (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
If you had the power to kill with your bare hands, what would you do with it?

Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa's Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council of like-minded citizens who carry out secret missions to promote justice over cruelty and abuses of power.

Combining elements of fantasy and romance, Cashore skillfully portrays the confusion, discovery, and angst that smart, strong-willed girls experience as they creep toward adulthood. Katsa wrestles with questions of freedom, truth, and knowing when to rely on a friend for help. This is no small task for an angry girl who had eschewed friendships (with the exception of one cousin that she trusts) for her more ready skills of self-reliance, hunting, and fighting. Katsa also comes to know the real power of her Grace and the nature of Graces in general: they are not always what they appear to be.

Graceling is the first book in a series, and Kristin Cashore’s first work of fiction. It sets up a vivid world with engaging characters that readers will certainly look forward to following beyond the last chapter of this book. (Ages 14 and up) --Heidi Broadhead

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 8 Up—In this debut fantasy novel, Cashore treats readers to compelling and eminently likable characters and a story that draws them in from the first paragraph. In Katsa's world, the "Graced," those gifted in a particular way, are marked by eyes that are different colors. Katsa's Grace is that she is a gifted fighter, and, as such, she is virtually invincible. She is in the service of her tyrannical uncle, king of one of the seven kingdoms, and she is forced to torture people for infractions against him. She has secretly formed the Council, which acts in the service of justice and fairness for those who have been accused and abused. Readers meet her as she is rescuing the father of the Lienid king, who has been abducted. The reasons for his capture are part of a tightening plot that Katsa unravels and resolves, with the help of Prince Po, the captive's grandson. He has his own particular Grace, and he becomes Katsa's lover and partner in what becomes a mortally dangerous mission. Cashore's style is exemplary: while each detail helps to paint a picture, the description is always in the service of the story, always helping readers to a greater understanding of what is happening and why. This is gorgeous storytelling: exciting, stirring, and accessible. Fantasy and romance readers will be thrilled.—Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015206396X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152063962
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (180 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,711 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth My Time!, July 29, 2008

By	Heidi Anne Heiner (SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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Graceling is an engrossing read with wonderfully interesting characters and I enjoyed it on many levels. I won't summarize the plot again for this Amazon review, but the author offers some interesting thoughts on talents and personal agency that are insightful while telling a good story that can be taken at surface level for a light read if that's all you seek.

The book has a satisfying romance that is neither mushy nor too remote. It rang more true overall than most relationships that have been in my recent reading. It's not primarily a romance, although the romance is a strong secondary plot that provides some of the motivation for the characters.

About halfway through, I began to wonder about it being YA since the characters do not come across as teens. I had to go back to the copyright page and check the recommended reading age to verify that, yes, it is being promoted as YA for ages 14 and up. Really, it is a toss up either way. Not that YA isn't mature and wonderful--I read a lot of it after all--but it could have just as easily been marketed to adults. I think the majority of readable fantasy is in YA these days.

I highly recommend the novel but I have to do so with a warning. If it matters to you, the book has a rather anti-marriage message in it which fits the main character's personality, but will be the most problematic element for some readers.

Graceling is well-written with some grand adventure, musings on talents, as well as characters who actually grow and change as they learn more about themselves. It never goes for the cheap shot in action sequences although they aren't the focus of the story. In other words, I liked it. Even the few philosophies that I didn't agree with made me think. That makes it a book worth reading.

60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it! But conservative parents take note..., July 27, 2008

By	Unity Dienes (Hollis, NH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This book was a real treat to read. It was interesting on so many different levels. There is a powerful heroine who undergoes a transformation, discovering a strength of character to match her physical strength. Watching Katsa mature through the narrative was wonderful. The political intrigue was surprisingly compelling, and the mystery that drives the plot (why was this old man kidnapped, and by whom?) really worked. The romance was captivating. Even though it is obvious where the romance is going from the very first encounter, it was skillfully written. The magical elements of the story are not overwhelming, but alter reality just enough to make for a fun, fantastical world. I found myself sneaking off to read more of this book, and I was sorry to see it end.

BUT. This is billed as a book for 14 yo and up, so I think it fair to warn parents of elements they may not want their young teen to encounter. There are a couple of fairly discreet sex scenes, where the author is clear about what is going on but not very detailed. There is also a mention of a brothel near the beginning of the book (although a more offensive word is used to describe it) and there are many incidences of unwanted attention paid to girls or inappropriate comments made about them. This is a plot element, since it makes the lead female character defensive of the young women.

Also, and this is probably the "biggie" for conservative parents, Katsa rejects the concept of marriage, and there are several times when one or another character implies that it is a yoke that will force a couple to stay together regardless of their actual feelings. Being lovers is somewhat extolled as demonstrating their real trust and commitment to one another, since they are together without being forced, and love each other enough to set each other free if the love fades.

This book may actually allow parents to discuss these themes with teens, who need to decide where they stand on sex and marriage. However, some parents may decide just to skip this one if they don't want to deal with the issues.

Honestly, though, it really is a wonderful book, and I would definitely recommend it to any adult (particularly women) and most older teens, especially if they have someone willing to discuss any issues that come up for them as they read.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpectedly Mesmerizing, July 29, 2008

By	sanoe.net - See all my reviews

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Upon receiving my copy of Graceling, I had absolutely no expectations based on the summary. By the end of the third chapter, my expectations rose dramatically.

Graceling is about Katsa, the niece of a king, who has an extraordinary strength in combat skills. This extraordinary skill is called "Grace". Others may also have a "Grace" although the abilities vary from person to person. Some "Grace" skills are more useful than others, but all Gracelings are marked by their mismatched eyes.

Because of her unique and useful skill, she has become a henchwoman to her uncle Randa who is one of the seven kings of the world. It isn't something that she enjoys but it is something that she has come to accept.

While on a mission for The Council to retrieve the Prince Tealiff, she encounters another Graceling whose presence makes an impression on her.

Later, she encounters him again and learns that he is Tealiff's grandson and a Prince in his own right. The meeting with Po will prompt her to make a decision that will change the course of her life and her world as she and Po learn more of their Grace powers and of treachery and madness that lay within the corridors of another kingdom that will threaten the already fragile political stability of the seven kingdoms.

It sounds like a typical fantasy novel and to a large degree it is, but Graceling is so confidently and smoothly written that it felt fresh and new. The action and pacing of the plot moved at a brisk clip that I never felt bored. Ms Cashore also made good use of dialogue in that it was appropriate to the station of the characters. She also made a good decision in resisting the urge to make her characters speak in a modern rhythm. Instead, the dialogue had a classic style that gave it a timeless feel.

Which brings me to the characters! Katsa is a wonderful heroine to me. I do warn that she might not be everyone's type of heroine, especially those who are expecting a traditional sassy heroine. Katsa is a skilled fighter who is conflicted about how her skills are used. She is understandably wary of people due to the nature of her Grace and when she says that she is not interested in marriage, she really means it. She has a good heart but she can also be aloof, even dour at times. She is an odd mix of a personality that is unique for a fictional heroine. Typical for an anti-hero perhaps or a side character, but not the lead female. Because of that, I enjoyed Katsa and forgave her for some of her flaws that in another type of heroine, I might not have been so forgiving.

Katsa has friends in her cousin Raffin, her attendant Helda, and others who form The Council, a group of people throughout the seven kingdoms who work to help keep stability in the lands. These secondary characters are vividly drawn so it is easy to keep track of them and understand their importance to the story and to Katsa. However, it is in Po, the Prince who is trying to deal with his own ambiguous feelings about his Grace and searching for friends of his own, that she meets someone who can fully understand her.

And what a wonderful pair they are. It has been a long time since I've encountered two characters who were so uniquely right for each other.

This is a novel that I found unexpectedly mesmerizing. Before I sound too gushy, I admit that it isn't a perfect story. The end is drawn out a fraction too long and at times, the prose was a little too pretty. Yet those are minor quibbles because the truth is that once I started the novel, I had trouble putting it down. I even found myself sneaking peeks at work whenever I could. I would say to myself, "Just one more chapter!" And after I finished that chapter, I would say, "Maybe just one more!"

Simply put, Graceling was an excellent and enjoyable read that I will recommend to my friends without hesitation.

Minor caveat: This novel is a Young Adult novel and I recommend this book to readers age 14 and up with few reservations. However, there are descriptions of violence and a few scenes of sexual intimacy that, while neither graphic nor gratuitous, parents of children age 13 and under may want to consider prior to allowing their children to read.