Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

May 01, 2009 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

In the world of the seven kingdoms, gifted children known as Gracelings are prized--and feared. Marked by mismatched eyes, each Graceling has a specific and almost superhuman skill--excellence at baking, at swimming underwater, at dancing or fighting. At age 8, Graceling Katsa killed a man. Ever since, her uncle, King Randa, has used her as his enforcer and assassin. Despite her reputation as a mindless killer whose bloodlust is only held in check by her uncle, Katsa is growing increasingly unco In the world of the seven kingdoms, gifted children known as Gracelings are prized--and feared. Marked by mismatched eyes, each Graceling has a specific and almost superhuman skill--excellence at baking, at swimming underwater, at dancing or fighting. At age 8, Graceling Katsa killed a man. Ever since, her uncle, King Randa, has used her as his enforcer and assassin. Despite her reputation as a mindless killer whose bloodlust is only held in check by her uncle, Katsa is growing increasingly uncomfortable with her missions. Randa and the other kings are so focused on power that they neglect their citizens. With her two fellow enforcers and the king's son Raffin, she creates the Council. Through small, grassroots oriented actions, the Council helps the citizens of all seven kingdoms learn how to keep themselves safe.
All this is background--the true plot begins when Katsa encounters the Leinid prince Po. He is a Graceling as well, and for the first time Katsa can let loose while fighting someone. From training together, they develop a close friendship. Together, they must discover the true plot behind the kidnapping of Po's grandfather.

This is not a perfect book. The writing is a bit clunky, particularly at first, and I don't think the Council was as rounded out as it could have been. Princess Bitterblue was unbelievably thoughtful and articulate for a 10 year old. The ending was a little rushed.
But.
This was a really exciting, enthralling story. I found myself reading as quickly as possible, just to find out what happened next. I literally shouted out loud when Katsa *runs for days over mountains* with Bitterblue on her back, fighting mountain lions all the way. Although she seems like a cliche in the first few chapters, Katsa is far from it. She loves having superhuman physical powers, even though she is aware of how it sets her apart from an ordinary life. She refuses to be tied down--even after she falls in love, she maintains her stance against marriage and children (take THAT, Tamora Pierce!). The characters aren't stupid, either. I realized who the villain of the story was only a few pages before the characters themselves, and there is an actual, plot-related reason it took them those extra pages.

This is not the most well-written fantasy novel, but it is one of the most exciting, least problematic books I have read in some time. Given that this is the author's first novel, I can't wait to see what she does next. ...more

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Mar 24, 2009 Sara ♥ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, books-i-own, romance, challenge-fall-2009, 2009, action-adventure, suspense

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. September 25-25, 2009

I'd rate this one a solid 4.95 stars. It was so fascinating, and just sucked me right in! If it had ended just a LITTLE bit differently, I could have given it those last 5 hundredths......

I think my friend Christy said it really well:

"While I greatly appreciated Cashore’s exploration of feminism and her redefinition of gender roles, power, etc., I was disappointed that rather than redefine marriage, she shunned the entire institution."

I think this is VERY true. The whole boo ...more

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Dec 04, 2009 Nadine in NY Jones rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, young-adult

This book is like an exquisite piece of chocolate cake. It's delicious, and satisfying, yet not unfamiliar. The flavors are deep and rich, but not overly complex. And you didn't realize how MUCH you were in the mood for an excellent piece of chocolate cake until you took the first bite. You can't stop eating it, but you don't want it to be finished either. It is very very satisfying, and delightful, and enjoyable. Or are those all the same thing?

And sometimes as you continue to eat the cake, yo This book is like an exquisite piece of chocolate cake. It's delicious, and satisfying, yet not unfamiliar. The flavors are deep and rich, but not overly complex. And you didn't realize how MUCH you were in the mood for an excellent piece of chocolate cake until you took the first bite. You can't stop eating it, but you don't want it to be finished either. It is very very satisfying, and delightful, and enjoyable. Or are those all the same thing?

And sometimes as you continue to eat the cake, you find the icing is too sweet, or maybe there are walnuts hidden it, and you hate walnuts ...

from NPR poll of best Young Adult fiction ...

As I read, I had the distinct feeling this book was born as an idea for Buffy fanfic. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

This exchange from early in the book is delightful, and gives a taste of the entire book:

"I'm not going to wear a red dress," she said.

“It’s the color of sunrise,” Helda said.

“It’s the color of blood,” Katsa said.

Sighing, Helda carried the dress from the bathing room. “It would look stunning, My Lady,” she called, “with your dark hair and your eyes.”

Katsa yanked at one of the more stubborn knots in her hair. She spoke to the bubbles gathered on the surface of the [bath] water. “If there’s anyone I wish to stun at dinner, I’ll hit him the face.”

And finally, the best part:

… Dear Helda. She saw what Katsa was and what she did, and Helda didn’t deny that Katsa was that person. But she couldn’t fathom a lady would didn’t want to be beautiful, who didn’t want a legion of admirers. And so she believed Katsa was both people, though Katsa couldn’t imagine how she reconciled them in her mind.

I loved the beginning of this book. I loved Katsa and her prickly relationship with the world. I loved Prince Raffin (I loved how he's apparently gay, but no big deal us made of it, either we the readers "get it" or we dont). I loved Katsa's slow coming of age, her physical prowess and her emotional confusion. She is still just a girl, really.

What I didn't love so much was after the build up was over, and she and Po begin their relationship. The relationship itself was fine, and I loved Po, and I personally don't care if she wants to get married or have sex or whatever (tho I was a little taken aback when she went from "I will never feel anything or ft close to anyone" to "let's have sex in the dirt!" ... I expected a bit of a transition, maybe some handholding or a few nights just kissing? But perhaps all their hand-to-hand combat was enough transition?) but somehow the story just lost all its momentum there, and it went from a 5 star to a 3 star. Still enjoyable, but no longer exquisite.

I'd originally read this as part of the 2015 Ultimate Reading Challenge "trilogy" category, but now that I realize the second book is billed as a "stand alone prequel" it appears this is not a true trilogy.

This book fulfills the "author I've never read before" category of the 2015 Ultimate Reading Challenge. ...more

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Feb 25, 2009 Maria Elmvang rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009, arc, 2017, 4-stars, ya, fantasy, owned-physical-book

Rather weird to reread a book where you remember nothing from the first read. And I do mean nothing - it wasn't even just that I couldn't remember ahead of time, but recognized plot points as we got to them - I was totally blank.

Fortunately it was just as good a "first read" the second time around. I enjoyed getting to know Katsa and Po and see how their friendship grew and blossomed into something more. I liked their interactions with Bitterblue, and how Katsa was forced to learn to see herself ...more

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Jan 05, 2010 Kate rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen-book-club, fantasy, age-ya, 2010

I had to read this very fast for my book club today, which was almost too bad - I wouldn't have minded being in this world for a bit longer.

In Kristin Cashore's world, some people are born with Graces: special abilities that differ about as much as their eyes (all "Gracelings" have two different color eyes). Katsa, neice of King Randa, has the Grace of killing. She can take on a number of soldiers unarmed and kill them all. Randa sends her out on missions to kill or maim his enemies, but Katsa h ...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Sara ♥ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, romance, 2013, audiobook, action-adventure, suspense, 2012, 2017, challenge-audio-1000-2017

January 29-31, 2017

WOW. Has it been 3.5 YEARS since I read this book? No wonder I'm having problems remembering the details!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was so good! PO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love him. And seriously, the character development for both him and Katsa was so incredible for such a short book!

And, in case you were wondering, the bad guy is terrifying. Like, SERIOUSLY scary.

August 28-30, 2013

You know, I realized a little way into this book that I actually wanted to read Fire instead of ...more

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May 14, 2012 Christina rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I really enjoyed this! It was kind of like a cross between "The Hunger Games" and "East," with shades of Robin McKinley as well. There were certain sections when I was so absorbed in the book I felt very confused when I finally looked up. The Grella's Pass sequence was one of them, and I don't usually go for "survival in harsh nature" scenes or stories. I felt as if I was right there, all the more impressive since I was reading outside at the time, in direct sunlight on an 80-degree day.
I'll adm I really enjoyed this! It was kind of like a cross between "The Hunger Games" and "East," with shades of Robin McKinley as well. There were certain sections when I was so absorbed in the book I felt very confused when I finally looked up. The Grella's Pass sequence was one of them, and I don't usually go for "survival in harsh nature" scenes or stories. I felt as if I was right there, all the more impressive since I was reading outside at the time, in direct sunlight on an 80-degree day.
I'll admit to having some trouble in the beginning when it seemed like "exposition everywhere, and not a drop to drink." Katsa frustrated me, but she grew on me as she, well, grew. I also liked Po most of the time, although my favorite character, late-introduced though she was, was definitely Bitterblue. I was also very impressed by the fight scenes; there were a lot of them, and I thought they were described well, in a way that made me feel that I knew what was going on and didn't jar me out of the book with being overly-descriptive.
I saw a couple of reader comments on Goodreads, actually I think they were on the next book but may be on this book as well (I'd check but I don't really care), where people were complaining about Cashore's "anti-marriage and pro-casual sex agenda." This struck me as absurd. First of all, there's nothing in this book that says "all marriage bad"; it's more like "given the way marriage works in our world and the relative position of our characters, at this time it would be a wicked bad idea for me to marry you." That's...that's not really an agenda, and personally I found it refreshing, considering marriage is usually the result of fantasy romance. I also found the sex scenes suitably vague and fairly romantic. There's nothing casual about sex between two people who are in love and committed to one another, especially when neither one of them has sex with anyone else in the whole book. Oh, Kristin Cashore, your agenda! Your terrible agenda! It's because of you the teenagers are having the premarital sex these days, because they never would have thought of it before! ...more

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Apr 11, 2010 Esther rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, __given-away, author-female, zz-2011, zz-2011-from-my-own-shelf

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 10, 2010 RachelAnne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: youngadult, adventures, fantasy, romance

A believably-crafted world of interesting magics, vibrant characters, swashbuckling action, intrigue and romance: this is what fantasy fiction is supposed to be! Katsa rules.

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