2008 first book of the Graceling Realm fantasy series by Kristin Cashore
Graceling is a 2008 young adult fantasy novel written by American author Kristin Cashore, her literary debut.
The book earned a place on the Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year for 2008[1] and received generally favorable reviews. It was followed by a prequel companion book entitled Fire. A sequel companion, Bitterblue, which takes place eight years after the events in Graceling,[2] was published on May 1, 2012, by Dial, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group.
Plot
Graceling takes place in a world in which people with special powers are knowns as Gracelings. Gracelings are identified when their eyes become two different colors. In the Middluns, Gracelings are put in the service of the king. Katsa is a young woman known for her Grace of killing. She has been in the service of her uncle, King Randa, since she was a child, tasked with executing or torturing those who oppose or displease him. She also runs the secret "Council", which aims for justice in the Seven Kingdoms.
A Council mission to save an old Lienid grandfather from a prison unearths a mystery and an unexpected Graced Lienid man whose fighting skills match Katsa's. She renders him unconscious but lets him live, despite the fact that he recognized her. He later arrives at King Randa's court, introduces himself as Prince Greening or "Po", and claims to be seeking his grandfather. Katsa fights Po, but later reveals that they have rescued his grandfather in secret. The two become friends as well as sparring partners, though Katsa feels betrayed when she discovers that Po's Grace is not fighting, but secretly a form of mind reading. When commanded to dole out an unfair punishment, Katsa defies King Randa and sets out with Po to find the true kidnappers of the old Lienid. The two determine that Katsa's Grace is not killing, but survival.
Katsa and Po follow the trail of the kidnappers, and Po's Grace reveals that the revered King Leck of Monsea has committed numerous crimes, though they simultaneously swear that Leck is innocent. Po decides that King Leck, who is one-eyed, must be secretly Graced with the power to make others believe his lies. Katsa and Po set out to rescue Po's Aunt Ashen and her daughter Bitterblue from King Leck. Katsa and Po find Leck, who kills Ashen as she flees. Katsa is overwhelmed by Leck's Graced power and they are forced to flee. Once alone, they are able to find Bitterblue hiding in the forest. Po confronts Leck, but is severely wounded and has to hide in the woods in Monsea, while Katsa and Bitterblue flee through a dangerous and inaccessible mountain pass. Katsa and Bitterblue survive the journey and get to a ship at the port of Suncliff. They convince the ship's captain that they are acting for Prince Po, and make for Po's castle.
At Po's castle, Katsa is shocked to find King Leck has taken over, and is nearly overwhelmed by his Grace. Only Katsa's love for Po enables her to kill Leck when he is about to reveal Po's secret Grace. With Leck dead, his stories are exposed as lies and Katsa and Bitterblue return to Monsea with Bitterblue as queen. They find Po in the woods, but Katsa discovers that Po is blind due to his wounds. Nevertheless, his Grace allows him to sense his surroundings, and he is able to convince the others that he can see. Katsa and Po renew their relationship, and Katsa takes on a mission to teach the girls and women of the seven kingdoms to defend themselves. The lovers promise to reunite in a few months at Po's castle.
Awards and nominations
Graceling was shortlisted for the American Library Association's (ALA) William C. Morris YA Award, is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, was a Cybils finalist (Fantasy/SF category), and was a finalist for both the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (the SFWA's award for YA given concurrently with the Nebulas) and the Indies Choice Book Awards (Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book category).[2] Graceling won the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance 2009 Young Adult SIBA Book Award.[3] The book also was awarded:
Reception
Sue Ellen Beauregard, author of "Top 10 first novels for youth on audio" of the Audiobook review, said that it had "[m]any layered fantasy adventures."[10] School Library Journal stated that the characters are "compelling and eminently likeable" and called Cashore's style "exemplary".[2] Kirkus Reviews called Katsa an "ideal adolescent heroine" and said that the story is "Grace-full, in every sense."[11] A New York Times review praised Graceling's "rich fantasy world" and deemed it a story of teens' growing into their talents.[12]
It was announced on April 25, 2013, that the film rights had been acquired by Warner Bros. and would be produced by Reliance Entertainment.[13]
