Book Review: GRACELING

Author: Kristin Cashore
Number of Pages: 471
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: October 1, 2008

Katsa is a Graceling- one of the few people graced with the ability to do one specific task really, really well. For Katsa, it is killing. She killed her first man when she was eight years old. (Sure, it was on accident, but still.) The king of the kingdom she lives in uses her as his personal thug, forcing Katsa to harm and sometimes murder people he dislikes.

One day she meets Po- prince of another kingdom, graced with combat skills- and something about him grabs her attention. Po has a secret, one that could destroy or save the seven kingdoms. Which one will it be?

I really liked this book. Katsa is portrayed as such a strong, independent character in the beginning, and it's interesting to see her softer side when she's with Po. The whole idea of Gracelings and graces is really neat in itself, as well. All of the details in this book build up on top of one another until eventually there's a moment when you're like, "Oh! So that's why that happened!" I thought that this was a great fantasy novel without being totally out there. Overall, this was an excellent book. I have no complaints!

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes, but probably only if they were a fan of fantasy. If not, this most likely would not be a very enjoyable book to read.

Yours,
NutFreeNerd