Book Review
7/10
Kristin Cashore’s best-selling, award-winning fantasy Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable yet strong Katsa, a smart, beautiful teenager who lives in a world where selected people are given a Grace, a special talent that can be anything from dancing to swimming. Katsa’s is killing. As the king’s niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his thug. Along the way, Katsa must learn to decipher the true nature of her Grace . . . and how to put it to good use.
Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, is the first book in a three part series with the second one jumping back in time before the characters and the third one taking place eight years after Graceling. All three books have been translated into various languages.
I picked up the book at the beginning of last month knowing it was intended for young adult audience and found it filled with intrigue and suspense worth the read. The author spun a compelling theme, if you had the power to kill would you? She filled it with colorful characters, Prince Po being my favorite, and situations that kept you guessing.
I read the entire book in three days due to work. I found it hard to set it down for the majority of the book, but towards the end it kind of died down and I struggled to pick it up again. The reason for this was not the writing quality or the characters, it was the lack of interest the material presented contained. To be more specific there were times where the author omitted facts and events I found compelling and far more interesting than the ones kept.
If the book had been written in Po’s viewpoint I would have adored this book far more. If the ending hadn’t seemed rushed and quick I would have included this book among my all time favorites. But overall as a debut novel I believe the story held together pretty well, it created a world and situation believable and fresh. I look forward to the other two books and to find out how Katsa and Po are fairing.
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Enchanted Tales of the Romantic Kind 