OVERALL

5/10

VERDICT

Unique world-building, likable characters, but with an underwhelming conclusion.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT, ANYWAY?

In this Medieval Europe inspired world, people gifted with enhanced abilities are called Gracelings. Katsa has a special Grace; Po, her friend, has a special Grace. They go on an adventure to find out that they’re even more special than they think they are.

SOME INFO

Author: Kristin Cashore

Genre: YA Fantasy

Year of Pub.: 2008

WHAT’S GOOD

The concept of Grace and the rules around Graces are interesting, especially where it concerns Katsa and Po’s Graces.

Katsa is an incredibly active female lead.

Po is a darling. Look, this guy might not a well-written character – which I will get into shortly – but as a person, he’s a rare gem that needs to be protected at all costs. In short, Po is the perfect gentleman and just the best person to have around Katsa.

NOT SO GOOD

Katsa is pretty much perfect. At first, we are told that her Grace is Killing. She later finds that it is Survival; so it isn’t a bad Grace she needs to learn to live with, it just has been taken advantage of by bad people.

She then goes on to explain in paragraph after paragraph how much better than ordinary people she is.

I can control when I go to sleep.

I know exactly what time it is when I wake up.

I don’t feel cold or heat like other people do.

I don’t get tired easily.

I can hunt, build fire and shelter in a blink.

My sense of hearing is super, my sense of direction is unmatched.

And Po is always there to reaffirm that Katsa is “the most powerful person” he has ever met.

And speaking of Po…

He is also frustratingly perfect sometimes ( I mean all the time). He always responds to Katsa’s tantrums with the patience of a god. He devotes himself to her without expecting any commitment whatsoever from her part even when they are established to be “in love”.

He is such a gem that even when he has lost his sight, he says this:

“I’m wallowing in self-pity, when I’ve lost nothing.”

Dude, you lost the ability to SEE. You have every right to mope around.

Po doesn’t even seem like a real person, but a tool to deliver the writer’s idea of a perfect man.

Katsa’s confrontation with King Leck has got to be one of the most anti-climatic exchange ever written. All throughout the book, we are warned about Leck’s special Grace: mind-altering, which makes him hard to beat.

The protagonists struggle to come up with a plan to corner him. When Katsa and Bitterblue get to Lienid, we find that their plan has failed, that Leck is already one step ahead and has the entire Lienid royal family under his control.

Brilliant.

Perfect Katsa finally meets her match. Because Leck’s Grace is the one thing she can’t beat with brute force, and Po is not there to help her. It’s going to be a battle of the mind, isn’t it?

No.

Leck threatens to expose Po’s Grace, Katsa suddenly remembers that Po’s Grace needs to be kept a secret, so she throws a dagger at Leck and kills him.

No struggle, no pain on her part. Brute force wins the day after all.

Too much horse-riding filler. They ride on horseback, Katsa sorts out her feelings and reflects on her superpowers. Those two things make up the two most lengthy parts of the book.

The romance between Katsa and Po happens out of nowhere. They travel together, nothing really happens. Suddenly, one day, Katsa realizes that she actually doesn’t mind Po sleeping next to her that much, and the next thing we know, they collapse into each other’s arms like they’ve just survived Sauron together.

Even more random than the romance is Po’s brother’s devotion to Katsa. She saves him from an arrow near the very end of the book, and immediately he’s like:

“I’ll name my firstborn child after you.”

As with most YA books, the feminist themes here are too heavy-handed. Katsa hates everything that is feminine. She also spends a lot of time telling the readers that marriage in this universe equals slavery to your husband, and that even if she has freedom after marrying Po, it would be freedom given to her by Po, not her own. And she doesn’t like that idea.

To be honest, I don’t see how it makes a difference in Katsa’s case because it’s been shown she can beat Po and everybody else up whenever she wants, and can survive in all situations. So it’s not like “freedom” will ever be taken away from her.

Unless Katsa means that she wouldn’t like it if OTHER PEOPLE view that her freedom as Po’s decision. I mean… I thought not caring what people think was the whole idea about Katsa and Po. Is it not?

While I respect Katsa’s view on marriage, I don’t see how her decision is a struggle it is made out to be.

And if this is supposed to be an empowering message to young women, then… OK, be a superhuman and you can do whatever you want, I guess.

BOTTOM LINE

Graceling is definitely worth a read. Even with all of its flaws, the story is still unique among YA fantasies. Just keep in mind: the point is not good vs. evil or action or an intriguing plot, it’s ultimately about the two main characters discovering themselves.