Bibliography:
Cashore, K. 2008. Graceling. New York: Harcourt Children’s Books. ISBN: 9780152063962
Plot Summary:
Katsa discovered her “grace” or gift when at the age of eight, she killed a grown man with her bare hands. She is both the king’s niece and his bully and at times assassin. She doesn’t like it, but doesn’t see how someone with her grace can be anything else, she lives in his castle and her uncle is, well, family. She starts a secret council with help of close friends to counter the sometimes terrible tasks her uncle often send her to dispatch. During one of these mission of mercy, she meets Po. He sees her, can indentif her, but she decided not to kill him. When Po shows up at her uncle’s court later, Katsa has no idea how things are going to change. And that the thing that will change the most is Katsa herself.
Critical Analysis: Several things stand out to me about this book. The first is the world that Cashore has created. Other than the idea of being graced, it feels very much like a medieval Europe. Kings, princes, dukes, barons, all with their holdings, all owing allegiance to the one above them, demanding payments, fighting wars. This sort of allusion to actualy history adds a layer to the story, and understanding of characters and their behavior. Katsa stays with her uncle and does what he tells her to do for so long because she is a woman, and he is the man over her until she gets married.
Secondly, there is Katsa herself. I have to tell you, at first I did not like her. I thought she was very flat and static. However, as the book progresses, she changes, and so does how the reader sees her. As her own perception of self changes, the reader’s perception of her changes again. I also enjoy many of the other characters, especially Bitterblue and Po. In Bitterblue is a very wise old soul for one so young, and in Po is the patience of a saint.
Finally, I appreciate the mature tone and style of the story. Someone compared this to Tamora Pierce’s work, and I can see similarities. However, the tone and style is completely different. No one would mistake this serious layered story for the earnestness of most of Pierce’s work. Rather as a friend pointed out, this feel more like Poison Study, which is an adult romantic fantasy by Maria V. Snyder. It isn’t just that Katsa has sex either. It is her whole being, her understanding or her complex world. Pierce’s characters only do something wrong in pursuit of a greater good. Katsa does something good in hopes of balancing out all the bad negative tasks she has to complete for her uncle.
Readaliks:
- Snyder, M. V. (2005). Poison Study. Luna. ISBN: 978-0373802302
- Nix, G. (1996). Sabriel. New York: HarperTeen. IBSN: 978-0060273224
- Pierce, T. (1992). Wild Magic. New York: Atheneum. ISBN: 978-0689856112
