Graceling

by Kristin Cashore

       Katsa is a Graceling, one of a number of people in the Seven Kingdoms who are born with special abilities, or Graces.  The Graces can be anything and everything, from being graced with cooking, to giftedness in treating horses, to having a Grace to kill--like Katsa.  Graced people are feared by the general population and often exploited by the rulers of the Kingdoms.  Katsa lives with her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and she uses her Grace at his command.  Katsa hates the tasks of killing and intimidation that her uncle sends her to do, but she fears him and feels she has no choice.  Her way of rebelling has been to organize a secret Council with her cousin Prince Raffin, which undertakes missions of mercy throughout the Seven Kingdoms--a Council which her uncle the King must never learn about.

       In the middle of a rescue mission, Katsa first meets Prince Po, a graceling gifted with combat skills, though his skill can't compare with Katsa's.  She never expects to meet him again, and certainly never expects to be his friend.  But circumstances throw the two together again on a mission to discover the reason for the kidnapping of Po's grandfather.  This quest leads them into more danger than they could have imagined, and cements their friendship forever.

       This debut fantasy novel of author Cashore, is filled with appealing characters and tension-filled adventure.  The companion novel Fire is also in the LVJH library with a new cast of characters except one.  With the publication of these two novels, new author Kristin Cashore promises to be a favorite young adult author for years to come.   Reviewed by Mrs. Sams.