Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling, Seven Kingdoms Trilogy #1

Author: Kristin Cashore

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Pages: 472

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewed by: Lucky (Suzanne)

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

My Thoughts

I've loved this story ever since I saw what appeared to be an "interesting book". I read the back and wondered simply "What is a 'Grace'?". I managed to talk my parents into letting me buy it and the sequel, Fire. I loved how Kristin filled in Katsa's personality without making it too sentimental and emotional, all while keeping from alienating from their personalities. She also had Katsa's personality slowly morph from a sad, unwanted murderer to a ingenious, in love young lady.

Now the character of Po; the strange, metallic-eyed Prince Greening. He's what turned kept me captivated, with the difference of depth of characters--Katsa, whom you know every action and thought of and the strange, somewhat queer Po. The unbalance between characters is what keeps you interested; I highly recommend this book, no matter what. The only thing that I can say is "PG-13" since there is a quality of gore, character corruption and... adult themes. However, I say that you should try to read this book, no matter what.