Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Harcourt Books, 2008. Genre: Fantasy.
Graceling is a fantasy book. It takes place in a land with seven kingdoms. The main character, Katsa, is from Middluns, which is the kingdom in the center of them all. Katsa is the niece of the King of Middluns, King Randa. In this world, some people are born with Graces. Graces give you a special power/skill to do something remarkably well. In Katsa's case, everyone thinks she is born with the skill of killing, but it turns out to be more than that. To distinguish Graced people from all the rest, they have two different colored eyes. The main conflict Katsa has to face is saving the kingdoms from a manipulative ruler, King Leck who has a Grace that is unknown to most.
"A brilliant, unforgettable story that I inhaled in one sitting. For a first novel, for any novel, Graceling is extraordinary."
- Catherine Murdock, author of Dairy Queen.
This quote was found on the jacket of the book.
Graceling is all about Katsa's journey to find her true self and save the kingdoms from King Leck. Along the way she also finds love. Considering this is the author's first novel, it is very well written. The book is divided into three sections, and each section has a mini-conflict. The author is also very good at description and painting a picture in our minds of the characters and settings. This book reminds me of Eragon. There are not two many parallels besides the fact that they are both fantasy books, but they remind me of each other. The two main characters, Katsa and Eragon, are both blessed with special talents and have to learn to use them wisely.
Here is a quote from the book: "A long, blue carpet led from the doors to Randa's throne. The throne was raised high on a platform of white marble. Randa sat high on his throne, blue robes and bright blue eyes. His face hard, his smile frozen" (165).
Graceling was Cashore's first book, but I enjoyed it. I would definitely read another book written by her. In fact, I think a sequel to this book would be a good idea. I liked how she wrote the book. To me, her message (theme) was that people are misunderstood. Most people were afraid of Katsa, which they did have a right to be, but she was a very loving person if you got to know her. I think the author was trying to tell us not to judge somebody until we get to know the person. I liked the book because she clearly displays an important message and wrote an interesting read in the process.
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1. Tess's overall impression of this book was good. she said she really enjoied it and she would read another book by this author.
ReplyDelete2. What Tess noticed about the style of writing the author has is she divids the book up. this book is divided into 3 sections each having a mini conflict.
3. Tess piced an interesting passage from the book. this is because this part showed how powerful the main character of this book was.
4. i would consider reading this. this is because tess makes this book seem very interesting and enjoyable.
1. Tess had an overall impression that she enjoyed reading the book. She also states that she would read another by the same author.
ReplyDelete2. Throughout the book, Tess noticed that the author's style was to divide up the sections of the book to show different problems within the story itself.
3. I liked the passage Tess chose as it showed/described how important Randa is within the kingdom.
4.I might read this book but am unsure, as reading fantasy is not usually the genre I like to read.
III. I believe that the current format is good, and gives me a good flavor with enough information to understand the book and if I would read it.
1. Tess had an overall possitive impression on this book. She seemed to have liked the author a lot.
ReplyDelete2. Tess noticed that the book was divided into different sections, and each section had its own conflict. Also she noticed the author was very descriptive.
3. I liked the passage that Tess showed, because it gave us a taste of the fantasy with the blue carpet and thrown, and gave us a tast of the authors descriptive style.
4. I am not sure if I would consider reading this, because I am not really into fantasy books, but Tess made the author sound really good, so i might consider reading it.