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Graceling (Graceling Realm #1)

4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 · rating details · 122,449 ratings · 11,324 reviews

His eyes, Katsa had never seen such eyes. One was silver, and the other, gold. They glowed in his sun-darkened face, uneven, and strange. She was surprised that they hadn't shone in the darkness of their first meeting. They didn't seem human....

Then he raised his eyebrows a hair, and his mouth shifted into the hint of a smirk. He nodded at her, just barely, and it released...more

Kindle Edition, Reprint, 481 pages

Published September 7th 2009 by Harcourt Children's Books (first published October 1st 2008)

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May 19, 2012 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: and-so-this-is-grad-school, favorites, why-yes-i-ya

it is so hard to write reviews for books i actually like. no, love.

talking about this book is like trying to describe to someone a relationship from long ago that was bittersweet and is now over, but i have never had a relationship that involved so many horses and swordplay, not even metaphorically. and fewer people care about my love life than about this book.

(i see you ariel - you are glowering at me with tiny slitted eyes)

but this book is like a wonderfully sweet relationship. at the beginni...more
it is so hard to write reviews for books i actually like. no, love.

talking about this book is like trying to describe to someone a relationship from long ago that was bittersweet and is now over, but i have never had a relationship that involved so many horses and swordplay, not even metaphorically. and fewer people care about my love life than about this book.

(i see you ariel - you are glowering at me with tiny slitted eyes)

but this book is like a wonderfully sweet relationship. at the beginning, you can't even imagine how you ever got along without it.and your friends (ariel) try to talk you out of it "oh, don't get with that guy, he gave me herpes" or whatever... but at the beginning everything was shiny and magical and when things started to go a little bit awry, i wrote it off as a glitch - a bad day that didn't necessarily mean that we weren't super awesome soulmates.

(because it's true - the "girl time in the mountain" sequence was the weakest, but i really thought the book rebounded to perfection afterward. we can forgive one drunken dalliance, can't we? one lapse in judgment?? what happens n graceling stays in graceling? yes?)

i just loved so much about this book - i never ever get invested in the love story side plots of these teen fiction books - i have yet to be on a "team". but this time, i fully believed in their attraction, and i really wanted these crazy kids to get together and kick ass together forever. their fighting scenes, when they were fighting each other, were hugely erotic,and for once the male lead seemed worthy in a way that others have not been. their shyness, their tenderness.... i found it very sweet. and if i was a crying type of girl, i would definitely have cried at this one.

so i am seriously bummed that the sequel is about the early life and times of king lamewad and not about anyone i actually cared about. but i will probably read it anyway, completist that i am.

and eventually, because i think i have largely abandoned this metaphor, and it is very important to follow through, even though there were bumps in the road and people got hurt and friends were less free with advice in the future, the experience was a generally positive one, and the memory lives on as an Important Time where everything seemed possible. even liking a book ariel said was bad...(less)

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Oct 29, 2009 Miss Clark rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mature Readers

Shelves: adventure, fairytale-fantasy-sci-fi-mythology

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I wanted so badly to like this book. It has so much going for it. It is original and inventive. I never once caught myself thinking, "Now, where did I read that before? Oh, right, in the last three books!" The idea of the graced, their skills and their mismatched eyes; of the seven kingdoms; of the characters themselves. All of them were uniquely Cashore's own. Her prose was clear and lucid, though there were passages that dragged and made me want to skip ahead. So, pacing was occasionally a pro...more I wanted so badly to like this book. It has so much going for it. It is original and inventive. I never once caught myself thinking, "Now, where did I read that before? Oh, right, in the last three books!" The idea of the graced, their skills and their mismatched eyes; of the seven kingdoms; of the characters themselves. All of them were uniquely Cashore's own. Her prose was clear and lucid, though there were passages that dragged and made me want to skip ahead. So, pacing was occasionally a problem, but not the actual words themselves. I thought it quite notable, especially as a debut.

However. Yes, that dreaded however.

But before we get to that, a quick disclaimer. I certainly have no say on what Cashore did or did not intend the book to say. I only can say with certainty what I find in the book and I hope you can agree that if, in addition to great writing and engaging stories, one desires one's reading material to have at the very least some simple ethics, it is more than reasonable that some readers will discuss and debate the ethics and social mores that certain features of this book present. Personally, I appreciate being able to discuss something that a book mentions and which allows me to think of it in an entirely different light.

I am fully aware that many might feel that this review is biased and unfair, written from a narrow-minded, hidebound mentality. How dare I allow my personal convictions to color my view of a book I read? Especially a fantasy book that clearly takes place in a world that is not this one. But before you comment to let me know that I am a horrible disgrace and disappointment as a human for allowing my personal convictions to color my view of a book that I have read, please take a moment to know that I am not allowing any comments on this review. I had nearly 50 comments on this review and I ultimately chose to delete them when the vitriolic, contemptuous comments kept coming. For those of you whose opinions differed, but who chose to share that contrary opinion with civility and tolerance, I would like once more to extend my sincerest thanks, especially to Ariel and Angie. For the others that commented to agree or say thanks for the review, I hope it helped.

So, back to that however. My issue is that firstly, what Po and Katsa have is not love. Infatuation? Certainly. Affection? Sure. But love, "true love," is wanting what is best for the other person and doing whatever one can so that the other is able to move toward the best. Thus, love is at its core sacrificial and giving. What is the purpose of Katsa's and Po's sexual relationship? It is of transient emotional and physical benefit, but how does it benefit them ultimately? I don’t believe that love equals sex, and the book seemed to infer just that.

But say she did love him. I'm all for girl power and females don't need a guy to be fulfilled. All for that. I even understand that at that point in Katsa's life she had just claimed her freedom and could not imagine entering any other station of life that would in any way limit or curtail her personal liberty. All well and fine. But then she goes ahead and enters into a physical relationship with a guy because she "loves" him, but just can't ever be "married" to him because that would limit her sense of self and her own freedom to come and go as she pleased. Granted, the concept of marriage within the confines of that secondary world might differ, it could be a total abnegation of self, but I never got that sense when they talked about marriages in their society. In fact, at its core, marriage (in our world) is a contract of personal commitment between two people, but Katsa, while perhaps legitimately shunning marriage in her world, still has no desire to ever commit to Po in any way. So it would seem that Katsa's issues had way more to do with herself and her own flaws and insecurities than the idea of commitment or even Po. Given his affection for her, he would never have limited her freedom. But flip the coin. What if it was Po who “loved” Katsa, but refused to marry her because then he would not be free? Where he was the one who would take whatever Katsa had to offer, but did not care enough to actually make any sort of commitment to her? That likely would not go over as well. It is strange what a double standard we have in relationships, esp. in a "feminist" age. We praise novels that show females as strong, independent individuals, even if that means they are also selfish and controlling, while we quite rightly condemn that sort of behavior in male protagonists. But then not only are we giving a sad view of a "strong" woman, as if that is the only way to portray a vibrant and intelligent female, we are also touting a weak and ineffective masculine image that indicates that no male can be resourceful or a leader or else he is preventing the girl from being who she ought to be free to be...etc. When we did we stop striving for an ideal where both men and women complimented each other, each being allowed their own strengths, and being equals rather than always rivals and competitors?

So, again, a talented new author, but I have deep reservations about some of the messages in this book and I doubt I will recommend it to many people. Which is a shame considering the quality of the rest of the story, which is easily three stars for the prose, though the plot had a few spots that seemed out of place.

Graceling never seemed like it should have been a love story (much less a hook-up), and I was loving it as a fine fantasy/ personal growth novel, but once they brought in the romantic/ anti-romantic elements, it lost me.(less)

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Jan 24, 2012 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, ya, fantasy, ala-ya-2009, tres-annoying, mythopoeic, 2012, favorites, series-dropped-lost-steam

Update 1/24/2012. I probably should already stop being surprised by the fact that every time I reread a book, I come up with something new to say (or feel) about it. Looks like my previous reading of Graceling caused a lengthy rant. Yeah, no such strong feelings this time.

This time, I was able to appreciate the writing more. It's lovely. I really love how it flows, how the sentences connect. This book stands the test of time. And it's great that it stirs so much discussion and, often, outrage....more

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May 29, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews

Graceling by Kristin Cashore follows in a burgeoning market for strong female characters.

Katsa is much like Katniss from The Hunger Games in her naive perception of the world, her coldness and tendency towards pragmatic practicality. She is similar to Xhex from the Black Dagger Brotherhood in her disgust of all things "feminine".

The story is well written, with engaging, fun characters. Katsa is fun to read about. The plot may be a little predictable at times but it did throw me a curve ball tow...more

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Jun 17, 2010 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: recommended for adventure aspects, not interpersonal/relationship aspects

Shelves: assassin, young-adult, owned-copy, uf-challenge-spring, fantasy, kickbutt-heroine, warrior-woman, superhuman, psychic, reluctant-heroine, fantasy-romance, too-preachy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Review Update: 9/9/11
I am going to do something I don't do when it comes to reviewing/rating books. I have thought about this book a lot, and the fact that I really disagreed with the message about women, what empowers women, how they show that they are 'strong' and 'independent' women. I am going to downgrade my rating because I felt like the message in this book was too blatant and leading. It feels manipulative to me, and that's an issue I can't get past. Ultimately an author has a choice of...more

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Jul 31, 2008 Sean rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-books, fantasy

[This is a review of an advance copy.:]

While Cashore shows herself to be a promising writer in many respects, this book could have used a better editing job, especially with the pacing, the climax and the dénouement. Other points:

1. The dialogue she put in the ten-year-old princess's mouth was not believable in the slightest; maybe Cashore should spend some time around pre-adolescent girls to get an idea of what they really talk like.

2. The psychology of several of the characters (including Kats...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Amelia, the pragmatic idealist rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointing, all-kinds-of-fantasy, annoying-protagonist, mc-girl

EDIT: THIS REVIEW IS IN NEED OF A REWRITE.

I bumped this up to 3 stars. There's really only 1 thing about this book I didnt like. Katsa's attitude and some of her decisions.
Second review:

Main idea: My goodreads buddy Isis says it best on her review, and I'll echo her sentiments that "being an angry bitch doesn't give someone a strong constitution or character."

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Apr 24, 2012 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: awards, fantasy, young-adult, female-lead

Ambivalence: the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing him or her in opposite directions (Dictionary.com). Thus ends my Graceling review.

Kidding! But it does sum it up nicely.

On the one hand, I found it a fast, engaging read that was hard to put down. As a favorite tale states, there is "fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..." Alright, maybe not...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Sparrow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Linda

Recommended to Sparrow by: Maya

Shelves: chosen-girls, girls-rule, motherless-daughters, slaves, young-adult, reviewed, romantic, want-a-hardcover-of-my-very-own, favorites

Yay!!! This was just what I wanted. This was like a cone of shaved ice on a hot day by the pool listening to a mix of one hit wonders. Yay!! I feel like I didn’t realize it, but one of my goals for vacation was to stay up till three in the morning with a fun adventure, and this was just the thing. 3 a.m. read: check!

There is such a deluge of young, energetic girl writers, writing women who struggle with their stoicism and strength and have supportive, emotional male counterparts, and I absolutel...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Emily May rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-na, fantasy, 2011, annoying, wtf-sexism

First thing I need to point out is that I consider myself a feminist, even as far as to take an active role is such matters. Previously, I have written articles on Feministing and I honestly think so many of these issues are still very important in today's world. However you look at it, the battle for equality has not been won and has, in fact, become rather dormant.

On that note, I love reading fiction by feminist writers, Atwood never fails to deliver and The Handmaid's Tale is one of my favourite books of all time. Similarly with Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, except Woolf's writing can make you want to slit your wrists at times. The point of me saying this is that when I heard Graceling called 'feminist propaganda', rather than being repelled, I was intrigued. I love modern stories with strong heroines who can stand up for themselves and don't need to wait for prince charming to swoop in and save them. Katsa fit this in many ways, true, but I have so many issues with the feminist ideals in this novel that I don't know where to begin.

I am constantly faced with the irritating irony of radical feminists. The irony being that their favourite passtime is telling women what to do. Real feminism (as in the one that actually cares about women) is about choice, not about having to follow strict guidelines in order to banish the image of feminity. It's people like Kristin Cashore who make the term 'feminism' seem like a dirty word. Being strong and capable of making your own decisions is one thing... but the extremes of having to prove that you don't care about your looks or refusing to wear a dress is ridiculous. I wear dresses, I wear make-up, I like to make the effort to look nice... but in Cashore's world that means I'm a weak, pathetic wannabe-housewife.

For me, the main mistake that Cashore makes is to assume that anything 'girly' is bad. It's an ongoing debate about women and feminism. For example, take the stereotype that women are more emotional and are therefore more weak than men. The argument is: Is this wrong and women are not more emotional? Or does what's wrong lie in the idea that emotions are a weakness because they are a feminine trait? Radical feminism continues to try and spit on traditional aspects of what it means to be feminine. Of course, it is arguable that the idea of 'feminine' is created through socialisation (e.g. dressing babies in either pink or blue depending on gender), but it has long been my opinion that if you take the colour pink (a worldwide symbol of the female gender) and make it into something that should be disgusting, then that's about as anti-woman as you can get.

Margaret Atwood understood the dangers of radicalism and wrote the novel to go with it. In the same way that extreme socialism becomes the mirror of totalitarianism, radical feminism begins to mirror sexism. And that's why I had issues with a great deal of Graceling.

But... what I did like was the love story between Katsa and Po, once Katsa got over the idea that he would somehow take possession of her after sex. Po was a sweetheart and an all-round likeable character. And, don't get me wrong, I never really disliked Katsa because the fact that she refuses to wear a dress and doesn't want children is entirely her choice and that's what's important. I liked her strength and at many times I felt her frustration... particularly with regards to the girls throughout the kingdoms who were never taught to protect themselves because their fathers and brothers were expected to do it. I completely agree with the idea that the girls should have been taught self-defence and self-sufficiency.

The whole backdrop of magical kingdoms and whatnot was alright. It fit nicely around the main characters but I found the love story to hold most of my attention and that's why I've decided that I don't want to read Fire. The reviews of it tell me that romance comes far behind the whole fantasy aspect and I still have Tolkien nightmares. Yeah so, not a bad story but so many things disagreed with what I stand for.(less)

61 likes · like · see review

Mar 06, 2011 Lora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of YA fantasy

Recommended to Lora by: Nic

Shelves: lib-audiobooks, favorites, fantasy

Born with an ability that is more of a curse than a gift, Katsa's life hasn't been an easy one. Katsa is Graced with the ability to kill. And when an accident causes her to kill a man at the age of eight, she soon realizes what her Grace really is.
Upon finding out Katsa's true Grace, King Randa of the Middluns, Katsa's uncle, quickly decides to utilize her morbid abilities rather than kill her for them as most would.
Wanting to harness her abilities and control them rather than be ruled by them a...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Penny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read Graceling over a year ago and i feel it necessary to say: I don't like this book. The romance is incredibly unromantic and the rest of the story is some (crazy man-hating version of) feminist propaganda.

I happen to like books which feature feminist heroines and are light on the romance. So I should like this book, right? Yeah, but I didn't. First of all, Katsa acts like a petulant child throughout the entire book, not some feminist poster child. Also, I felt like the author spent too muc...more I read Graceling over a year ago and i feel it necessary to say: I don't like this book. The romance is incredibly unromantic and the rest of the story is some (crazy man-hating version of) feminist propaganda.

I happen to like books which feature feminist heroines and are light on the romance. So I should like this book, right? Yeah, but I didn't. First of all, Katsa acts like a petulant child throughout the entire book, not some feminist poster child. Also, I felt like the author spent too much time trying to sell us her agenda: dresses are the worst, femininity is wrong, men don't respect women, commitment ruins relationships, marriage is a tool of the devil, and so on.

Look, I understand that some women feel that way, and I'm completely cool with it. I'd be lying if I said I've never thought some of the same things once or twice. That said, I hate how the author shoves her views down my throat instead of telling me a story that causes me to think. To me it's clear Cashore strongly believes women need to act like men in order to be legitimate. Not just men but men who have intimacy issues.

Every other woman in this book is portrayed as weak and dumb. So basically, in the Seven Kingdom universe, unless you're an angry, dress-hating, man-hating woman with an aversion to commitment there is something wrong with you.

News Flash: femininity isn't anti-feminist. I'm sorry but it is possible for independent, intelligent and stable women to embrace their femininity without losing credibility. And anyway, isn't that the point of the feminist movement? Gaining equality without having to act like 'one of the guys'?

I could have handled Katsa's aversion to relationships if she hadn't had any feelings for Poe, or if she knew she wasn't emotionally ready to make that sort of commitment. But no, the whole thing was built up do be some great personal strength of hers. In the end it just felt like she ('she' being Katsa. Or Cashore. Kat-Shore?) was trying to prove a point or something, like "look at how independent I am. I'm not a barnacle. I don't need a man...except for when I needs teh sex. So Poe, my lover, sorry you lost your sight and all. I'll prolly be drunk-dialing you in the future, though, cause I am comfortable with my sexuality. kthanxbai. *sob* Walking away is way hard, which is why I am so strong. *sob* Grrrrrrrrrrrrrl Powerrrrrr!"

Yeah, because being a loving, trusting, equal committed relationship isn't a sign of strength. Strength can only be had by ~~loners who don't like to commit because doing so will supposedly lower their self-worth~~ ...ummm....I mean..."independent" people.

Also, it has to be said: The love scene grosses me out as much or more than the sex scene in Titanic and/or Avatar. Some people just don't know how to write a love scene. James Cameron and Kristin Cashore are among that group.

Two stars because the concept was cool. Too bad it was poorly executed.(less)

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Feb 26, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I finished this book a couple of nights ago, and waited to review it. This is a pretty good YA and as I've said about other books, it gets 4 stars because I can't give it 3.5. I waited because I wanted to think about a couple of things. First as Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" noted she "has an issue" with this book, I had a couple. I don't know if one of them is her's but we'll talk about mine in a second. One of them I can discuss in my general review, the other I'll mention below a spoiler...more

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Dec 17, 2008 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen, fantasy

In the seven kingdoms, there are some children who are born different. They are marked with eyes of two different colors, and they are called Gracelings. Gracelings have abilities beyond the natural, and they are feared and shunned by most people. There are many different Graces—some are benign, like the Grace to swim long distances, or to juggle. And some are deadly.

Katsa, niece to King Randa of Middluns, has a killing Grace. Since she was a small child she has been able to kill a grown man eas...more In the seven kingdoms, there are some children who are born different. They are marked with eyes of two different colors, and they are called Gracelings. Gracelings have abilities beyond the natural, and they are feared and shunned by most people. There are many different Graces—some are benign, like the Grace to swim long distances, or to juggle. And some are deadly.

Katsa, niece to King Randa of Middluns, has a killing Grace. Since she was a small child she has been able to kill a grown man easily with her bare hands. She lives as King Randa’s enforcer—he sends her to maim, torture and kill those who defy him.

But Katsa has a secret. Far from just being King Randa’s mad dog, she is also a part of a secret Council that does its best to watch over the seven kingdoms and bring justice and right to its people. When a Council mission brings her face to face with Po, a Lienid prince Graced with combat skills, Katsa has met her match for the first time. Po isn’t afraid to meet her mismatched eyes. And Po can match her in a fight, blow for blow.

Together, Katsa and Po begin an investigation into a mystery that has deadly roots in the most unexpected of places, and they will face a terrifying enemy who can confound even Katsa’s Graced skills.

At stake is nothing short of the fate of all seven kingdoms.

The thing I really love about this book is the Council. Even from the opening page of this book, Katsa is living and thinking and acting for herself. All the other reviews I’ve read make a big deal about how flawed Katsa is, and how wonderful it is to have a truly flawed heroine. I won’t argue with that—that’s definitely nice.

But what’s even better is, instead of watching Katsa grow into a strong young woman is seeing that she is one from the first page. The Council is amazing. I love that from the moment we meet her, Katsa is already stepping up and doing good. Watching her grow from that into someone who recognizes her own self-worth is a joy.

But that’s not the only great thing about this book. The first few chapters throw you right into the action, and the mystery—so abruptly that I was confused, and I had to go back and reread those pages once I figured out what was going on. But good confused. The kind of confused that makes you want to know and understand.

The politics of Katsa’s world intrigue me—I’m very glad that there are going to be other books set in the seven kingdoms so I can understand it more.

There’s a lot going on in these books, and once you realize where the plot is going—well, it’s terrifying. The bad guy is seriously scary, and the possibility of failure is terrible. Graceling is an old-school adventure/romance that feels fresh and vibrant and new.(less)

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Jun 06, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fantasy Lit lovers

Recommended to Sarah by: Karin's Book Nook

Shelves: favorites, tear-jerker, heroine-to-beat

Excerpt: “And now I’m wondering,” he said, “how it is you don’t realize your eyes ensnare me, just as mine do you. I can’t explain it, Katsa, but you shouldn’t let it embarrass you. For we’re both overtaken by the same—--foolishness.”

CuteCat

That’s Katsa’s eyes. Kidding. But that quite explain the eyes of a Graceling, just imagine it 10 times fantabuluos.

A Graceling is a person with Graced. Being Graced is like having an exceptional talent. But it does not only refer to singing or dancing, it could be t...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Kyle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: boring, give-me-a-break, massive-dissapointment, overhyped, so-so-reviews, unique-setting

Read this and other strange reviews at Living Is Reading!

2.5

THE REVISED AND NEW REVIEW NOW THAT I'VE FINALLY FINISHED:

(Please disregard the original review saying I stopped at page 385. I have since gone back and finished those last 90 or so pages I had left, so this review is a review of the entire book.)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore is a novel that is quite infamous for the debate and discussion that occurs once people start talking about it. It’s a book that it appears you either love or...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Lady Valee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adults

Well, this book was definitely a huge surprise. I mean, I knew I would like it big time because there wasn't a single person who didn't give a 5 star review to this book, but I never though I would like it this much.

It was such a different and original world. I loved the idea of the Gracelings. Specially the heroine's grace. I had forgotten how a good YA's story should be like. This book had everything I usually look for in my reads covered: amazing world building, great plot developing and very...more

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Feb 02, 2009 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I came so very close to giving this one 5 stars. It was a great fantasy adventure with a strong female lead (perhaps too strong).
Katsa is a girl with extraordinary powers. When she meets Po, a young man with powers of his own, they strike up an unusual friendship and together set out to root out a growing evil.
This book had a great plot with some surprizing twists. It had great characters (I loved Po), and a slowly growing romance, but in the end I was expecting someting from Katsa that she just...more

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Oct 05, 2009 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone.

Recommended to Becky by: Allison

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, owned, 2009, reviewed

I have to say that I loved this book. Once I started reading, I could barely put it down. The characters were fun and real, or as real as they could be in a world where extraordinary and almost supernatural talents are, maybe a little less than common, but not unusual. This is definitely fantasy, and the characters were fantastic, but still realistic.

Katsa was such a wonderful character. Graced with the ability to fight and kill with ease, she is used as a weapon and Royal Leg-Breaker by the Kin...more I have to say that I loved this book. Once I started reading, I could barely put it down. The characters were fun and real, or as real as they could be in a world where extraordinary and almost supernatural talents are, maybe a little less than common, but not unusual. This is definitely fantasy, and the characters were fantastic, but still realistic.

Katsa was such a wonderful character. Graced with the ability to fight and kill with ease, she is used as a weapon and Royal Leg-Breaker by the King whenever he felt that someone just wasn't fawning over him with the right level of doe-eyedness. But there is more to her than that. Despite being trained and practically raised to violence, she has a sense of justice and right and wrong that is commendable.

And then there's Po... Hmm. I loved Po's character. He's mysterious, charming, interesting and fun, badass and sweet, humble but cocky, brilliant... I'll stop now before this review starts to sound like a cheesy 80's rock ballad or something. But really. I loved him. And he has kick-ass eyes. :)

I will say that I wish that the antagonist's evil was more concrete, but that's a very little nitpick. There was so much I loved about this book that it easily outweighs just this one little thing.

I loved that Katsa grew into herself, not only in her skill and Grace, but as a person and woman. She is self-assured, independent and strong, which is an excellent role-model for young girls.

I loved that Po was able and more than willing to let Katsa be herself without trying to own or control her, and without asking her to compromise herself for him.

I loved the subtle feminist message in the book, and how Katsa isn't unprepared in matters of birth control. Good thing Randa thought to teach Sex-Ed in his kingdom, eh? ;)

I also loved the little homage to Jane Eyre at the end. Perhaps it wasn't meant that way, but it certainly reminded me of it.

I really could go on and on about what I loved about this book, but I won't. You should just read it yourself. :D(less)

12 likes · like · see review

Oct 14, 2008 Hayden rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, romance, teen, adult, sex

Katsa lives in a world where some people have Graces (i.e., super powers), and her Grace is that she is a badass fighting machine. The king who rules her country uses her as a hired thug to break the thumbs of people he doesn't like.

But then she meets this guy she likes, and decides that maybe she shouldn't be a thug anymore. Also, the guy, Po, has a lot of distant relatives who are in distress, so they have to spend a lot of time riding around trying to help those people.

This was a strange book...more

14 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2013 Scott Pilgrim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, favorites, fantasy, epic, companion-book

Simply epic!

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 05, 2013 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Three star books are often the most difficult to write reviews for because they're books that didn't completely work for me and yet I still enjoyed them overall. Graceling is one of those books. I'll start by saying that when it comes to high fantasy I tend to prefer political intrigue over adventure stories, and while Graceling is a mix of both it definitely leans more heavily on the latter. The long stretches of time spent traveling were a bit tedious for me. Those who love adventure fantasy s...more Three star books are often the most difficult to write reviews for because they're books that didn't completely work for me and yet I still enjoyed them overall. Graceling is one of those books. I'll start by saying that when it comes to high fantasy I tend to prefer political intrigue over adventure stories, and while Graceling is a mix of both it definitely leans more heavily on the latter. The long stretches of time spent traveling were a bit tedious for me. Those who love adventure fantasy stories will probably enjoy this more than I did.

My feelings towards Katsa are mixed. I love her strength, which is manifested both physically and mentally. She is well-versed in the fighting arts, she's confident in her physical abilities and she is a survivor. She's also a determined character who fights for what she wants, and unlike so many other YA protagonists, she doesn't become a doormat once she falls in love. Additionally, I appreciated her desire not to have children because it's a rarity among female characters in nearly all media. There is still a real stigma against women who don't want to be mothers in our society and its important for girls to get the message that wanting children is a choice not a requirement.

Where Katsa lost me was with her views on marriage, not that she didn't want to get married, but her rationale behind it, which was basically that marriage robs women of their independence. This view would have been more understandable if marriage in the book was shown to be nothing more than a way to oppress women and take away freedoms they had when they were unmarried, however, this was not the case. There was one marriage that was shown in a negative light and the situation wasn't even known to Katsa when she formed her opinion. Also, the romantic storyline itself didn't support Katsa's unwavering beliefs about marriage.

Although my feelings about Katsa were middling, I really did like her love interest, Po. He is the antithesis of the abusive, brooding male trope. He knows what he wants and he goes for it. He's open and honest, although not unrealistically so. He never tries to control Katsa and he loves and supports her unconditionally but this love doesn't cause him to forsake all others. If I have any complaints about him at all it's that he was a little too perfect in his role as a love interest. I would have liked it more if he were less of a push over when it came to Katsa's demands about the terms of their relationship.

Aside from the uneven pacing, the biggest problem I had with Graceling was the world-building, which I thought was entirely too shallow. With the exception of Lienid, the other kingdoms didn't seem to be very distinguishable from each other in terms of culture, and the social structure was underdeveloped. Lienid was far better explored and distinguishable from the other kingdoms, however, I was still left with a lot of questions about the specific physical characteristics that made them unique. Katsa indicates that the Lienid people look different from people of the other kingdoms but it's unclear how. The only physical traits mentioned are their dark hair and gray eyes but these are also found in the other five kingdoms according to Katsa. There have to be some differences (skin color, eye shape, hair texture, etc.) because Katsa knew Bitterblue was part Lienid by looking at her but Cashore never comes out and says it, which led to some difficulty in picturing the characters.

The magic system was also a little to haphazard for me. I like rules when it comes to magic and the Graces really don't have any in terms of what powers a person has and who receives them. Katsa's power was almost limitless and there were no real consequences to balance out her power. In the beginning people feared and hated her because of her Grace, and she was also used as a tool, but these consequences were minor compared to the power she had and they were easily remedied.

Overall, I enjoyed Graceling but my enjoyment was as uneven as the pacing. I'm still debating whether or not I should read the sequels. (less)

12 likes · like · see review

Jul 23, 2012 Anatea Oroz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

This review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf.

I spent a whole 5 minutes thinking of how much stars to give this book, which I usually decide in matter or seconds. I couldn't decide if the book is just okay, or do I like it enough to want to read the Fire & Bitterblue. And I decided I do want to read them sometime, so thus the 3 stars.

This book was interesting at some points, but there was a lot of parts that were awfuly boring, like the parts where they travel. The only part I ca...more

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 29, 2009 Krystle rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Graceling has a beautiful cover, great premise, and lots of hype, and would be a terrific novel if it weren’t for the terrible writing and atrocious main character.

What is with the awkward sentence structures and prose in this book? "In these dungeons the darkess was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind." It should be "In these dungeons, the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind." And look at the next sentence: "One that had so far proven to be correct, as Oll's maps tende...more

78 likes · like · see review

Apr 25, 2013 Colleen Venable rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-read, ya-fiction, 2013-read, re-read

Anyone who knows me knows if you want to watch me get upset or start singing very loudly all you have to do is begin to tell me the ending to a book I have yet to read. Of course I always make exceptions with books I'm CONVINCED I'll never pick up, Graceling being one of them. Now it's a pretty cover...but so screams towards its intended fantasy-loving audience, an ultra fancy cover clearly also yelling towards me "Hey Colleen, you don't like fantasy books! This is a Book You'll Hate!" was much...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 13, 2011 Kelsey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-favorites, kelsey-s-100-books-of-2009, to-reread-summer-2011

My journey into the world of the Seven Kingdoms began and ended in one day. That's right, one day- I started this book at about nine in the morning and finished it around five, and all I can say is wow. Just wow. I am completely blown away.

Let me explain something. I was intially disappointed when I started Graceling this morning- the first part of the story, although interesting, struck me as flat. The characters did not seem to be fleshed out and there seem to be very little plot or character...more My journey into the world of the Seven Kingdoms began and ended in one day. That's right, one day- I started this book at about nine in the morning and finished it around five, and all I can say is wow. Just wow. I am completely blown away.

Let me explain something. I was intially disappointed when I started Graceling this morning- the first part of the story, although interesting, struck me as flat. The characters did not seem to be fleshed out and there seem to be very little plot or character development. So as I finished the first part, I was surprised when I turned the page and immediately found myself careening down a whirlwind literary adventure that struck me out of nowhere. Unlike most books that start out at a fairly even haul and continue onward to their finish, Graceling is a river that starts with a small paddling pool and ends up with you, the reader, frantically paddling down Level 5 rapids. This books starts out slow but it gets better and better and better and by the end, you're wondering how you ever survived without reading it. So if you plan to begin reading it, beware- once you get past the first part full of exposition, you cannot put this book down- literally.

I truly think the best part about this book was the character development. I'm not normally one to extol the virtues of this- character development, smaracker development. But in this book, although the fantasy aspect is intruguing, it is the characters that truly stick out in my mind. The novel takes place over some period of time and you can truly see the three protagonists grow. The valiant Katsa. The multifauceted Po. And finally Bitterblue, the girl who grew up into a queen in the space of 100 pages. That is the true beauty of this story. The characters start out as skeleton ones with bare details and simple traits. Then, before your eyes, they begin to grow- muscles develop, features intensify, and all the sudden, they change before your eyes into real people. This progression for me seemed completely natural- there were no long speeches or psychology lessons to flesh them out- they discovered themselves on a long journey, Like a lot of other characters. Only, trust me when I say, there are not other charactes or stories like these. As if possessed by the spirit of Robin McKineley or Tamora Pierce, Kristin Cashore has managed to create another wonderful, wonderful world full of timeless characters I want to visit again and again. Read it and remember your own voyage of self-discovery, whenever it took place in your life.(less)

10 likes · like · see review

Jan 18, 2010 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya, own, highly-recommended, signed

Graceling by Kristin Cashore exudes awesome. It just pours off of each and every single page. In the world within Graceling there are seven kingdoms. Each of these kingdoms are ruled by royalty. Within this world certain people are graced. Being graced means you are exceptionally talented at something. Katsa, the main character, is graced as an assassin. She's essentially a BAMF. (see Dane Cook for explanation)
Read the rest of my review here

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 06, 2011 Ryn rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy

This was pretty much one of the most irritating books of all time - and consistent with my idea of YA fantasy. But I fought my way through it because, goshdarnit, I picked it up at the library, dragged it home with a load of other books and groceries, and renewed it the max number of times - I was gonna finish it.

You know the kickbutt heroine who is just totally kickbutt and doesn't need no one, no way, no how, and yet loves and feels and hurts deeply and yet keeps everyone away because she is b...more This was pretty much one of the most irritating books of all time - and consistent with my idea of YA fantasy. But I fought my way through it because, goshdarnit, I picked it up at the library, dragged it home with a load of other books and groceries, and renewed it the max number of times - I was gonna finish it.

You know the kickbutt heroine who is just totally kickbutt and doesn't need no one, no way, no how, and yet loves and feels and hurts deeply and yet keeps everyone away because she is baaaaaad? Yeah, that one. I hate her.

You know the quiet, loving hero who worships the ground his heroine walks on and yet is reasonably kickbutt himself, while at the same time deferring to the heroine's wishes and not fulfilling any of his own? I hate him, too.

Katsa was a child, and I hated that she and Po meandered their way into a sexual relationship because of 'twu wuv' and the fact that she would be tied down if she married. By golly, dontcha know you don't have to be married to have sex and lead a wonderful, fulfilling life? Now imagine the situation reversed - if Po had fallen in 'twu wuv' with Katsa, but would never contemplate marriage because he thought it would tie him down and keep him from true freedom... Wow, that would be really, really sexist. And lame. But if a woman does it to the man whom she loves (and who loves her in return), it's a point for us rockin' feminists.

Please. Please. For the love of good fantasy fiction, let's write and read about realistic characters and remember that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. I would have hated it if Po had refused to marry Katsa for the reasons stated above, but neither do I enjoy it when the poor guy's just supposed to be some worthless blob waiting for her to come home from her adventures, beat him at fights, and then run off into the wild blue yonder again. Isn't marriage/love supposed to be a give-and-take between equals? If Katsa had scorned marriage in the beginning and rethought her view after learning that Po's love would never keep her bound, there would have been something to say in defense of this novel.

I suppose the idea of the Grace and the Kingdoms, etc. was good, but the childish, flat chracters and overdone prose made it a difficult, boring read that could have been halved and still felt too long. And best wishes to the youth who read this and decide that sex isn't a big deal, that it can happen as long as you KNOW you're in love (because, obviously, it's easy to know when you're that age), and that 'marriage' is a synonym for 'slavery'. (less)

29 likes · like · see review

Mar 07, 2013 Cory rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Mary Sues.

Recommended to Cory by: Goodreads :p

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, romance, adventure, 2-stars, reviewed, quite-disappointing, sucks-noodles, book-challenge-2013, find-the-cover-2013, why-the-hype, its-a-series

"A monster that refused sometimes, to behave like a monster. When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?"

1. Sentence:
“In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind."

Everyone and their dog seemed to love „Graceling“ and rated it 4-5 stars, so my expectations were rather high in regards to this book.

Man, was I disappointed.

There are so many things I’d like to address when it comes to this book, but I bet...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 29, 2012 Kana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adults-n-teens, audiobook, fantasy

Summary
Katsa is a graceling, a person who possesses special skills. This is a sub-group of the population, though the cause is unknown, it's easily spotted by the person having two different colored eyes. A person's grace is unique to each person. And for Katsa, hers is a killing grace. She's fine with this life, until she wonders if killing and hurting people, per the King's orders, is really doing it for her. When she decides it's not, she follows one of her friends, Po -also a graceling, on h...more

7 likes · like · see review

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Should the romance have been left out?	10	57	23 hours, 40 min ago
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About Kristin Cashore

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

So, here's the short tale of me: I grew up in the countryside of northeastern Pennsylvania in a village with cows and barns and beautiful views from the top of the hill and all that good stuff. I lived in a rickety old house with my parents, three sisters, and a scattering o...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

So, here's the short tale of me: I grew up in the countryside of northeastern Pennsylvania in a village with cows and barns and beautiful views from the top of the hill and all that good stuff. I lived in a rickety old house with my parents, three sisters, and a scattering of cats, and I READ READ READ READ READ. I read while brushing my teeth, I read while chopping parsley, the first thing I reached for when I woke up in the morning was my book; the only two places I didn't read were in the car and in bed. What did I do then? The one thing I liked even more than reading: I daydreamed.

And so, without knowing it, I was planting the seeds. Reading and daydreaming = perfect preparation for writing.

At 18 I went off to college-- thank you, Williams College, for the financial aid that made this possible-- and it almost killed me. College is hard, man, and the Berkshires are cloudy. A (phenomenal) year studying abroad in sunny Sydney revived me. After college I developed a compulsive moving problem: New York City, Boston, Cambridge, Austin, Pennsylvania, Italy, and even a short stint in London, where my showerhead hung from the cutest little stand that was exactly like the cradle of an old-fashioned telephone. The best phone calls are the pretend phone calls made from your telephone tub.

During my stint in Boston, I got an M.A. at the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College. (Thank you, Simmons, for the scholarship that made this possible!) Grad school almost killed me, but I felt a lot more alive than when I was almost being killed in college. The Simmons program is stupendous. It got me thinking and breathing YA books. It got me writing.

Am I getting boring?

Since Simmons, I haven't stopped writing, not once. I've developed a compulsive writing problem that makes my moving problem look like a charming personality quirk. I can't stop! But it's okay, because I don't want to stop. I've been writing full-time-- well, more than full-time, really-- for about 4 years now, first doing educational writing for the K-6 market and now working on my novels. It's a dream job, which is another way of saying that when I shop for work clothes, I go straight to the pajamas section.

Should I say a little bit about what I'm like? I'm fiercely independent. I am sometimes a hermit, but never for very long. I am in search of the perfect cat. I'm a recovering Catholic. I meditate, and when I do, Prince Harry appears in my subconscious and meditates with me. It's a little strange but I don't think there's anything I can do about it. Sometimes he's not the only one; the other day it was me, Prince Harry, the Dalai Lama, Mr. Rogers, Coco the gorilla, and George Clooney. We were all floating above the earth looking down at the continents as they passed. George Clooney suggested I visit Providence, Rhode Island. The Dalai Lama sighed deeply and said he'd really like to visit Tibet.

Poor Dalai Lama.

I recently moved from Jacksonville, Florida, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, trading the St. Johns River for the Charles River and pelicans for geese. As a native northerner, it's nice to be back in the land of four seasons. I feel as if I've come home. :o)

And that's my story.(less)

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Quotes from Graceling

“I'm not going to wear a red dress," she said.
"It would look stunning, My Lady," she called.
She spoke to the bubbles gathered on the surface of the water. "If there's anyone I wish to stun at dinner, I'll hit him in the face.” — 2,284 people liked it

“When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?” — 899 people liked it

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