Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore
I sit here on Tuesday night trying to think about the elementary school carnival that is coming up this Friday. I am responsible for making sure that all the shifts have volunteers. I should be printing out lists. I should be highlighting blank parts on the sheets. I should be making phone calls or even playing with my two children. Instead, I can’t stop thinking about the book Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
What a fun read! I would compare it to two of my favorite books, The Hunger Games and Chasing Fire by Suzanne Collins. It doesn’t STACK UP if put along side them, but is a good story with the heart pumping fast kind of feel. The reason I LOVED The Hunger Games and Chasing Fire is that, although rough around so many edges, Katniss is lovable. You can see her heart, her struggles, and WHY she has to endure the pain and love she feels. On the other hand, although I truly liked Katsa, I didn’t feel her struggle as much. She is strong, no doubt, and has been abused of her power, her grace, since she was 8. Therefore, I am thrilled that she has changed and wants to be fair when using her grace.
I love the idea of a Council and you see Katsa become empowered by her work with it. Before she stood up to her uncle/ the king, I feel that there had to be something more than Po talking to her only once about her struggle with following the commands of the king. I think that it should have been a bigger conversation, a stronger relationship between she and Po, before his words would be running through her mind when she decides to stand up to the King and tell him she will no longer do his dirty work. . Especially since an army is surrounding her! Wow, what an asset she became to him. I love that she realized she couldn’t be held back any longer.
I fell in love with the story after Katsa left the castle and worked through her issues with Po. I like the mission they are on and certainly like the power that Leake ended up having. What an interesting and useful Grace. Okay, I know that Katsa has bonding issues. However, obviously, she and Po find love. After all she and Po experience, after the relationship builds between Bitterblue and her while they travel to escape Leake, after finding each other again, how can they not end up together??? Call me old fashion, call me old, but I just think the commitment should be a little more at the end of the book. They obviously can’t live without each other, they obviously felt pain while they were apart, they obviously rejoiced when they finally met again after the murder of Leake. Why, oh why, do they have to pretend that is okay for them to live apart? It just bothers me. I know I just want love to win. Especially if there is nothing physically or legally keeping them apart. I am a sucker for the love in a story.
The prequel in the series, Fire is now available. I just don’t know if I want a story without Katsa and Po.
The third book in the series, Bitterblue is currently being written. I can’t wait to read it. I really liked Po, his development in the story, his honesty, and determination. I really just want more of Po and Katsa. I guess I truly want to see if they end up together and what they were doing the last 6 years. I also am eager to learn more of Bitterblue. She is such a strong, young girl. What a great role model for today’s youth. I think her age in the next story will help teens relate better with her character. I have heard that some people think that Kristin made her character too “old” for her actual age. However, I disagree. She has been though so very much with her father and death of her mother that I feel that made her grow up in some regards. She also has been educated as the daughter of a King. Her strength arises as she survives the mission she is on with Katsa to escape her father. I like that she actually changes in the book from a frightened young girl hiding in a log to a strong young woman trying to save her kingdom.
Total Stacks: 4 out of 5
Sending lots of STACK love your way, Shannan!
[...] enjoyed Graceling and Fire and so did Shannan and Stacy. So we were SO excited to snag an ARC for this book at [...]