Finished Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I’ve heard a lot of buzz about this book, and since I’m trying to write a young-adult fantasy, I thought I would check it out. Warning: There be spoilers ahead.

Graceling is set in the world of the Seven Kingdoms, where people have extreme skills or “graces” in various areas like cooking, dancing, etc. Lady Katsa has an unusual skill, even among Gracelings — she can kill people with her bare hands. Katsa basically serves as her uncle, King Randa’s, enforcer — hurting and killing those who renege on their deals with the bullying king. Katsa hates her work, so she forms a secret council that’s dedicating to doing good deeds.

One of those deeds involves Katsa rescuing an old grandfather, which brings her face-to-face with his grandson, Prince Po. Po is also graced in fighting, and soon, he and Katsa are friends and sparring companions, even as they try to figure out who kidnapped his grandfather and why. Along the way, the two fall in love, and Katsa learns more about her grace — and Po’s — than she ever imagined was even possible …

I thought the writing in Graceling was very lush and beautiful throughout — it very much made me feel as though I was in a fairy tale, fantasy world. And I loved Katsa’s character. She’s just what I want in a heroine — tough, strong, loyal to her friends, but still real and vulnerable.

I thought the love story between Katsa and Po was well done, and I was especially glad that Katsa didn’t suddenly want to be married with a bunch of kids at the end of the book (since she doesn’t want either one for the first 400 pages).

But I did have a few quibbles. My biggest one is the middle section of the book, where Katsa and Po set out on their quest to find out who kidnapped Po’s grandfather. The two of them spend several chapters traveling, camping in the forest, and figuring out their feelings for each other. It kind of reminded me of chapters in the last Harry Potter book where Harry & Co. also camped in the woods for several chapters. I would have liked for more to have happened in that section or for the pace to have been a little quicker.

Also, Katsa’s character changed a little too abruptly for me. She starts out angry and out of control and slowly begins to accept the fact that her killing Grace doesn’t make her a monster. But then, it’s like bam! Katsa suddenly sees herself in a new light and mellows out. I liked the change – I just thought it came about a little too quickly after Katsa has a realization about her Grace and what it really is.

And I hated what happened to Po at the end. He’d been through so much already. His going blind really broke my heart, even though his mind-reading Grace helped him compensate for the loss of his vision.

But I thought the book really shined after Katsa and Po rescue a young princess, Bitterblue, and race to save her from an evil king. There, Katsa took over, using her Grace to do incredible things, including go over a snow-covered mountain peak to flee to safety using only her wits and the few supplies she had. Katsa was so tough and strong and smart and fierce. I loved that part of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I’ll definitely be reading the other two books set in this world when they come out, and I hope Cashore writes a sequel to Graceling. I’d love to spend some more time with Katsa, Po, and Bitterblue. Thumbs up. 

Up next: Something from the TBR pile.

Books in my TBR pile: About 20.