Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling Author: Kristin Cashore Format: TC Available Formats: TP, Kindle, Sony eBook, Audio Download, Audio CD Page Count: 471 Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult Publisher: Graphia Pub. Date: September 7, 2009 ISBN-13: 9780152063962 Series: A novel in the Grace universe Rating: 9 of 10

Summary:
Katsa accidentally killed her cousin when she was 8 years old. This is her "Grace"--a talent above human abilities--that manifests physically in her the two colors of her eyes: one green and one blue. Unfortunately, because she is the orphan niece of the king, she is forced into the role of carrying out the king's dirty work. Often Katsa is treated no better than an attack dog. However, this is not the life Katsa wants and when she befriends a prince Katsa begins to realize that she can make her own choices after all.

TL;DR Version:
Partially, Kristin Cashore reminds me of Tamora Pierce, with her strong and lovely heroines who don't quite fit into society's rules (and don't care to, either). This is a stunning novel that I recommend without reservation and, in fact, will probably begin to force upon my friends.

Review:
Graceling is absolutely stunning. In fact, I'm so stunned that I don't quite know where to begin with my review.

Katsa, the protagonist of Graceling, is deeply close to my heart. I can not express adequately how refreshing a this female protagonist was for me. Gifted with fighting and a restrictive life she believes the worst of herself. The tale that emerges is a coming of age for her, but also a battle against doing what is expected (and sometimes wrong) against finding your own feet in the world. Katsa's journey is heartbreaking and rings utterly true. What I loved most about Katsa was this truth. She remains true to herself and her own beliefs through the entire book despite the opinions of others. Although part of this is entirely personal, I love that Katsa does not want children or a husband. This decision is just as difficult for Katsa (socially speaking) as it is our current world.

Additionally, I should say that I love every supporting character. Po, the hero; Raffin and Bann; Oll; Bitterblue--I want to see all these characters again, but if I don't, then I think I could be content because the story they got was so fantastic. (As a note, Cashore is currently working on the third novel in the universe titled Bitterblue and Fire is already available as a sort of prequel or companion novel.) One of the aspects of Graceling that particularly impressed me was the incredible handling of the relationship between Po and Katsa. It can be difficult to balance a truly independent heroine with a love interest, but Cashore does it perfectly. Po is--and I'm sorry to anyone who loves the trope--not the ordinary alpha male hero. Instead, he's a compliment to Katsa's skills, abilities, and beliefs rather than someone she can concede to without losing herself. There isn't any concession in their relationship, because they balance each other. And if that sounds dull, just trust me when I say that it absolutely isn't for a moment.

If one can criticize anything in Graceling it would be the universe not being developed quite enough. However, I found that the 7 kingdoms are easy to understand and provide a sort of canvas for the real content of details to be painted upon. Primarily, the idea of "Graces", these abilities that no average human can match, is fantastic and layered. A Grace may be something useful (such as fighting) or it may be utterly useless (such as being able to twist completely at the torso) or so specialized most people wouldn't deem them useful (such as swimming). Regardless, Graces are outcast in most kingdoms, with few exceptions. In these kingdoms, any child that manifests a Grace must be sent to the king. After deciding if the child's Grace is useful or not the child is then either put into service of the king or sent home to be looked at warily by neighbors.

Cover/Title/First Line Critique:
The cover of Graceling is gorgeous and elegant. I liked it well enough to invest in the hardcover, even after the paperback had been released. I'm glad I did so now. The title and first sentence surely convey the books content and tone: "In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind."

Rating: 9 of 10 [Learn more about the rating system?]
I was debating the rating for a long time. I was leaning towards an 8 for quite awhile, but--in the end--I feel that Graceling deserves the 9. After all, any author I want to follow compulsively certainly has earned it. I have the highest hopes for Fire and Bitterblue--thankfully I have Fire, but I doubt it'll tide me over until Bitterblue's due date is announced!

This book was purchased from the university book store.