Hey guys! Today I'll be reviewing "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. This book follows Kasta, a teenager with a terrifying skill. In her world, some are born with a Grace, an extreme talent. Others have the Grace of singing or swimming, but Katsa is gifted with the ability to kill. As the king's niece, she works as a hit-woman, killing and terrorizing his enemies. She is frustrated with her own life and resentful of the fear that she causes. But everything changes when she meets Po, a prince of a neighboring kingdom and Graced with fighting.
Po comes to stay at Kasta's castle in the Middlun Kingdom, caring for his kidnapped grandfather who was rescued by Kasta and her companions.
Po comes to stay at Kasta's castle in the Middlun Kingdom, caring for his kidnapped grandfather who was rescued by Kasta and her companions.
The style of writing took a while to get used to, but I ended up really enjoying it. It's what I would call an "old fashioned" style, with formal speech and words. The characters are compelling and I loved watching Po and Katsa interact. They're honestly too cute. I really liked Katsa especially because she was such a strong character. She takes a stance on something and she doesn't change. A lot of "strong" female characters bend to pressure (whether good or bad) but Katsa knows what she wants and she's gonna get it. One instance in which I noticed this was her stance on marriage. She was absolutely firm in her position that she didn't want to get married, even when she had a pretty good option standing in front of her (wink wink). I think that struck a nerve with a lot of people, because they don't think of marriage as restricting but the thing is, Katsa always knew she didn't want to become someone's wife and she's not going to change herself to fit someone else's wishes. That said, I was a tad bit disappointed she didn't change her mind. :)
Po is strong, witty, and compassionate. But despite that, he has his own secrets to guard. His true Grace is fascinating and made me rethink the entire book. He's smart and helps Katsa navaigate through all of the craziness and danger they encounter.
The plot was a bit slow at times. I actually tried to read "Graceling" about two years ago but I couldn't make it through the first few chapters. It just seemed dull. I think it's a combination of the formal language and the complicated fantasy world that is being introduced that makes the first part of the book move slowly. Afterwards, I was drawn into the story so I didn't notice the pace too much but the book is quite long at 471 pages. I did notice that it seemed like whenever the book was almost over and everything was almost solved, there would be a new problem. Frustrating, to say the least.
Spoiler: I was NOT expecting King Leck to be evil. He wasn't just bad, he was straight up evil. Torturing animals, children, killing his own wife. I haven't read the other books in the Graceling series but I've been told he's just as horrifying in the prolouge. Also, on a completely different note, I still don't understand why Po can't tell anybody about his Grace. Not even his own family. Raffin and Katsa know the truth but not his brothers, who clearly love him? I think it's sad. And hiding the truth about Po became one of the most important things in the entire book when Katsa killed Leck because she KNEW she had to keep Po's secret. I don't know, I think it's overkill.
Overall, I really enjoyed "Graceling". The premise of people being born with crazy talents was fascinating and I feel like it could be explored even farther. The characters were multifaceted and entertaining. I loved Katsa and Po's relationship and I also liked how strong Katsa was. However, the pace was sometimes slow and at times I felt as if the book would never end. But in general, "Graceling" was a great book with unforgettable characters, heart-racing adventure and beautiful prose.
Thanks for reading! Keep picking up those books. :)
Colleen
Po is strong, witty, and compassionate. But despite that, he has his own secrets to guard. His true Grace is fascinating and made me rethink the entire book. He's smart and helps Katsa navaigate through all of the craziness and danger they encounter.
The plot was a bit slow at times. I actually tried to read "Graceling" about two years ago but I couldn't make it through the first few chapters. It just seemed dull. I think it's a combination of the formal language and the complicated fantasy world that is being introduced that makes the first part of the book move slowly. Afterwards, I was drawn into the story so I didn't notice the pace too much but the book is quite long at 471 pages. I did notice that it seemed like whenever the book was almost over and everything was almost solved, there would be a new problem. Frustrating, to say the least.
Spoiler: I was NOT expecting King Leck to be evil. He wasn't just bad, he was straight up evil. Torturing animals, children, killing his own wife. I haven't read the other books in the Graceling series but I've been told he's just as horrifying in the prolouge. Also, on a completely different note, I still don't understand why Po can't tell anybody about his Grace. Not even his own family. Raffin and Katsa know the truth but not his brothers, who clearly love him? I think it's sad. And hiding the truth about Po became one of the most important things in the entire book when Katsa killed Leck because she KNEW she had to keep Po's secret. I don't know, I think it's overkill.
Overall, I really enjoyed "Graceling". The premise of people being born with crazy talents was fascinating and I feel like it could be explored even farther. The characters were multifaceted and entertaining. I loved Katsa and Po's relationship and I also liked how strong Katsa was. However, the pace was sometimes slow and at times I felt as if the book would never end. But in general, "Graceling" was a great book with unforgettable characters, heart-racing adventure and beautiful prose.
Thanks for reading! Keep picking up those books. :)
Colleen