Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1) in AMS Book Club at UBC

Nov 05, 2021 Anna (ani) 🕷 rated it liked it

Long ish review because I have some (non-spoiler) thoughts:
I first read (and was obsessed with) this book nine years ago, when I was eleven, and I have gotta say it hit me harder back then because I had not read a lot of YA books and so this was new and exciting.

Honestly rereading it now I feel like Graceling is just alright, especially compared to a lot of other similar YA fantasy books. The plot is interesting enough, but I feel like some points were kind of weirdly structured or just happene ...more

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Nov 16, 2021 Tshepiso rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fantasy

3.5 stars

Graceling was a fun reread. The romance in this book is one of my favourites in YA. Po and Katsa's relationship is gripping from the start because of Kristin Cashore's emphasis on building trust between the two. I adored Po's consistent respect for Katsa's boundaries. Cashore develops their love for each other deeply making the romance the most engaging and dynamic part of the story.

Unfortunately, Graceling's plot lacked the dynamism of its romance. This is because Katsa's journey large ...more

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Nov 17, 2021 Bella Dufresne rated it liked it

Pretty solid read, a lot spicier than I thought it would be. That being said, I didn’t find the plot very interesting so it was definitely leaning a lot on the characters.

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Nov 21, 2017 Tshepiso rated it liked it

Shelves: ya-fantasy

3.75 stars.

Graceling was a breath of fresh air in terms of character and plot and fun ride, eventhough I had a few problems with it.

Katsa is one of the most interesting female characters I’ve read about in a good while. Her past really informed the way she acted and how she felt about things which made such an easy character to understand and like. I knew her goals and why she had them and I fundamentally understood her and how she saw things. Even when she reacted to things in way that frustrat 3.75 stars.

Graceling was a breath of fresh air in terms of character and plot and fun ride, eventhough I had a few problems with it.

Katsa is one of the most interesting female characters I’ve read about in a good while. Her past really informed the way she acted and how she felt about things which made such an easy character to understand and like. I knew her goals and why she had them and I fundamentally understood her and how she saw things. Even when she reacted to things in way that frustrated me I knew where she was coming from so her reactions didn't annoy me This was really evident when she reacted to the reveal of Po's real Grace. At first, I felt she was really over-reacting to Po's lie, but knowing that her body had never really been her own since she was a child and seeing how she thought of herself due to Randa's control of her made me see where she was coming from

I really liked the way Po and Katsa's relationship was developed in this book. It felt so natural and I could see why they were falling for each other. My only complaint is that Po doesn't really come off as a fully rounded person especially compared to Katsa, there's something about him that comes off as a bit too perfect for my liking. Overall at the end of the story their love for each other was heartwarming especially towards the very end of the book.

Okay, a large percentage of this book isn't a fast paced action romp, and honestly I'm okay with that. Most of the first half of this story was used to establish Katsa as a character which I loved. Her main internal conflict, while not the most creative thing ever written, was really compelling for me.

One thing I did have a major problem with was the disconnect between the first and second half in this book. There is a clear shift in focus from Katsa's struggle in finding herself and stopping Leck, and it really creates a disconnect within the story. While both halves of the story are sufficiently interesting it felt like Katsa's fear of her feral side and her eventual acceptance of who she really is could have been better tied in to the last act of the story.

I'll be the first to say I was so confused by the setting of the story at the start of the book. It really felt as if Cashore neglected to inform the audience where we were. During most of our time in Middluns I had no sense of where we were in terms of geography, culture or anything really important in establishing a fictional world. It was super confusing and made me feel so disconnected from the story in some ways, I truly cannot describe to you a lot of the locations in this book at all because they really weren't established in the story.

I did however love the descriptions of Monesa and Leinid towards the second half of the book. When were in Grella's Pass I felt biting cold and bracing winds and the descriptions of Leinid, while brief, did come alive on the page for me.

Overall this book did deliver a great story with unique main character and a compelling plot. While it does have a few flaws, it is definitely one of the better YA high fantasy novels. ...more

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