Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Genre: teen fantasy and adventure
Age Group: Young Adult
Book # and Series: no series
Pages: 480
Synopsis: Deadly Grace. 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. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away....

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Eep! I loved, adored, and will-never-stop-thinking-about Graceling! This was a exhilarating, breathtaking, heartbreaking, extremely wonderful novel with an extraordinary cast of characters. Cashore wrote a beautiful world that I just loved!

Graceling is set in a sci-fi medieval ages world. There are seven kingdoms, each with a very interesting king that Katsa explains throughout the book. The world is so different, but similar, to a medieval England. Lady's are required to wear skirts, they aren't supposed to know combat skills, and they are supposed to marry. Katsa doesn't wear skirts, she knows combat skills, and she has vowed to never marry. She's very isolated from the women of her world, but has very close friendships with many of the men.

Katsa is such a wonderful MC. She's very scared of what she can do, but also proud of it. She doesn't like to kill others or torture others for her uncle and you finally see what happens when her uncle pushes her to do something out of her comfort zone. Katsa is strong but she also cares about others more than she really knows and you see that when she's with Princess Bitterblue, Princess of Monsea.

Overall, Graceling was one of those awesome, amazing, wonderful novels. The characters made me laugh and cry, especially Po, who was beyond amazing. There are so many twists to this book, both good and bad, and they had me flipping pages like a maniac. Graceling is definitely one of my all-time favorite books!

The Cover: The sword is so appropriate for Katsa and her ability to kill. The background like a tapestry is so pretty and great for the medieval setting. And they eye in the sword really emphasizes the importance of eye color in this book.