Graceling

Author: Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling

Series: Seven Kingdoms (book 1)

Number of Pages: 480
Publication Date: 2008
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: "In the course of her dark and eventful tale, Cashore plays with the idea of awkwardness, how at a certain age gifts and talents are burdens, how they make it impossible to feel comfortable in the world. And in this she writes a fairly realistic portrait of teenage life into the baroque courts of her outlandish kingdoms…In many respects Graceling is a study of mysterious angers: it offers a perfect parable of adolescence, as its characters struggle with turbulent emotions they must learn to control. The consequences are more tangible than they usually are in more mundane settings—if Katsa loses control, she breaks someone's jaw by accident—but the principle is the same. The teenage characters in this novel, like some we may know in life, grow into their graces. They realize that their monstrous individuality is not so monstrous after all."

So I finally read Graceling this past week (it was awesome) and I really enjoyed reading it and cannot wait to read the prequel Fire when it comes out next month.

I loved reading about Katsa; the thing I liked most about her was how she was trying to be more than just her uncle's (I hated her uncle) little killing machine. I also enjoyed reading about the characters Po and Bitterblue’s.
My favorite element about the book would have to be the graces and those who possessed a grace they made for a cast of very interesting characters, plus their eyes were totally cool. It was definitely an interesting and different storyline than most fantasy books.
It's hard to say what my favorite part of the book was, but it was most likely the fight scenes.
Although I enjoyed Graceling, I found it easy to figure out who the true villain in the story was.
My least favorite part of the book was, like, the last thirty or forty pages of Graceling. Why? Because it seemed very anticlimactic, but I won’t say how it was anticlimactic because I don’t want to give something away to those who might not have read it yet.
All in all Graceling was a great fantasy read that I would totally re-read and recommend it to anyone and everyone who hasn't read it yet.

Graceling Earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.

Orchid