Book Review: Gracling

Hey All,

I've gotten the chance to do a lot of reading lately, and I just want to talk about one of the books I just finished recently.

Graceling -Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

I had been looking at Graceling for a long time, usually in favor of a series sequel I'd been looking for in the first place. But again, it kept getting my attention, and for good reason.

This book had a lot of elements that I'm fond of, and I'll go through these in order: 

[WARNING: there may be spoilers in this review.]

A strong heroine: Katsa is a strong, stubborn, intelligent protagonist, with a formidable sense of righteousness. Being socially isolated from those who fear the Graced (and fear her killing Grace, in particular), Katsa had to develop a thick skin, and has few friends in her life. Those she does have -her cousin, the Prince Raffin of the Middlums, her uncle's best spy, and one of his commanding officers -are completely loyal to her and she to them. Together they start an organization called The Council, which helps to right the wrongs of the rulers of the seven kingdoms.

A vibrant and unique world: Graceling is set in a fantasy world much like it's in a renaissance-era. The lands' politics are laid out in a simple-to-understand way and the landscape descriptions are vivid yet unobtrusive. The secondary characters are believable, with unique personalities that keep them from becoming flat, despite their brief roles in the whole of the book.

A great writing voice and a surprise twist: The writing and storytelling is clear and easy-to-read. Cashore doesn't bother with over descriptions and long and winded prose. And the twist 3/4s of the way through the book was, to me, unexpected and brought the story to a huge new level.

Things I didn't like so much:

There were some boring parts that I found lasted a little too long, like the section of time when Katsa and Po are simply training and fighting each other and nothing much is happening story-wise besides Katsa's obvious affection for Po growing. There were moments that would prove useful later, but these could have been brought up in other ways. The walking through the woods also lasted a long time, as well; it gets to a certain point when you begin thinking "okay, it's cold, you're ill-equipped and you might die -either get out or die already." Maybe this is a bit harsh, especially because Cashore does eventually have Katsa strap Bitterblue onto her back and run over the top of the mountains, probably as a way to hurry things along.

I still haven't decided if I like Katsa's relationship with Po. I understand that you can't always help when you fall in love, but I think with her realization came a sudden leap in dependency on Po's strength and his Grace that she had never felt she needed, even after she'd figured out what his true Grace was. While the romance didn't really alter the storyline or delay the major events, I wonder if it was necessary? I don't know, some days I don't mind it as a sprinkling of entertaining romance, and other times I wondered why Katsa was suddenly so infatuated that she couldn't think of anything other than this boy she's known for a few weeks, or how quick she was to give over her control of her mission to Po.

Overall Impression:

Despite my annoyance at some points, these bits were the smallest of blips in this 500-page story, and i have to say most of the times my romantic side gets the better of me in the end. However, this romance between Katsa and Po is hardly the main event in this action-packed book, and it's merely a minor hindrance in the story, if you're not into that kind of thing. Cashore really takes you into this world of Graces and kings and unique personalities, and I will definitely recommend it to others.

Amy's Rating: 4/5

Average Amazon/Goodreads Rating: 4/5

I hope you guys pick up this book, as I did, and I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did. I'm currently reading the second book in the Graceling series, Fire, which seems to be taking place before Katsa and Po's and Bitterblue's time, and in a different part of their land overrun with colorful and powerful versions of normal animals called "monsters." So far it's pretty exciting, and I hope to have a review of that up soon.

Thanks for reading,

Amy Liz

Review of: Linger, Wolves of Mercy Falls

Front Flap Summary: (from Amazon.com)

the longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of a human.

the linger.
For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces--wolf and human--with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Amy's Review:

I love Maggie Stiefvater's writing. If you've never read anything by her, go pick up "The Scorpio Races" -that's my Stiefvater favorite right now. She has this weird style of writing, like everything is a musical poem. Most books in first person "speak" as if the character is talking to you, but even through the multiple views that The Mercy Falls books take us through, there is the rhythmic quality that makes the writing beautiful.

As for the plot of this book, it moved a little slowly. There was a lot of exposition from two previously secondary characters (Isabel and Cole) that was, plot-wise, next to useless. It interrupted the flow of action between the main characters, Grace and Sam, and made the book seem a lot longer than it needed to be. The first 200 pages moved a little slowly because we had to be introduced to Cole St. Clair and his moody, depressing and drug-filled rock star background, but I would have appreciated more about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend and his best friend and bandmate, Victor, whom he also had made into a wolf -"for the high of it." More details on these characters and Cole's relationships with them would have made me feel more sympathy for Cole later on in the story. The story following Grace and Sam moved a bit faster, especially because Sam had to rediscover all of the possibilities life can now offer him and his wolf-less state. Grace's parents needed more of a reason to dislike Sam (at least before they found them in bed), and more of a reason to become so overprotective and authoritative. Also, Grace's illness/the wolf's death at the beginning needed more connection. The reveal at the end that they went hand-in-paw was a little far-fetched because in 300 pages it wasn't brought up after the initial discovery of the dead wolf.

The emotional impact of this book is powerful, especially if you've been with Sam and Grace since Shiver. I found myself crying at the end in a few places, mostly when Sam couldn't bring himself to change back into a wolf to be with his Summer Girl. Stiefvater definitely knows how to squeeze a few tears out of a reader, and she did it well in the conclusion of this book.

Overall, I give Linger, Book 2 of the Wolves of Mercy Falls 3 out of 6 stars. Despite its slow beginning and questionable attempt at a connection to science, the characters of this world have intricate and beautifully tragic personalities and lives, and the musical quality of the writing kept me reading until the end. I will most certainly be picking up the final book in the series, Forever, to see if Grace and Sam can be together for, well...forever.

Thank you for reading.