Graceling

It took me almost no time at all to fall in love with Kristin Cashore's main character, Katsa, in Graceling. In this book for young adult readers, Katsa is a strong -- both literally and figuratively -- sharp-minded young woman who practices a well-developed sense of ethics, knows herself, and knows what she wants (and more importantly, what she doesn't want). What a wonderful role model she is for the female teenagers who are Cashore's target audience! How much better it would be for a 13-year-old to read about this type of young woman than about some swoony female who falls for a vampire because he glimmers in the dark!Katsa has a "Grace" -- a special innate ability, as is evidenced by her eyes, one green, one blue. Her Grace reveals itself when she is 10 years old and a cousin makes sexual advances on her: she kills him. Swiftly, efficiently, and without thought, she smashes him in the face, pushing the bones of his nose into his brain. Everyone concludes that she is Graced with an ability to kill, though it also evidences itself with an uncanny ability to fight, to anticipate the movements of her enemies, and to avoid sickness. Still, others born with different-colored eyes are graced with such things as an uncanny ability to dance, or to swim like a fish; a Grace for killing is frightening to most, and her Grace therefore tends to isolate Katsa.The logical thing for Katsa's king to do in response to a child Graced with killing is to banish or kill her, even if she is his niece. But King Randa of the Middluns thinks instead of the use to which he can put her as an assassin or at least an enforcer, and keeps her close. He is not an evil man, but he is certainly greedy, and Katsa learns to hate the use to which he puts her. When he sends her to hurt one of his lords who has refused to offer up a daughter to an unsuitable marriage for which King Randa would receive the dowry, she must make a decision about whether she intends to live the rest of her life as a king's instrument of power.But that is only the beginning of her story. Katsa soon finds herself traveling with Po, a young prince from another country, to find out the story behind his grandfather's kidnapping. Katsa tries her best not to fall in love with Po, because she has sworn never to marry or bear children. She falls nonetheless, but still manages to remain true to her decisions about how to lead her life, and how to make her life one with room for fully realized love.This is what most impressed me about Katsa. Imagine: a woman who wants to remain wholly herself, for herself! Have you ever read about such a character in young adult fiction before? Heck, how often have you read about a female like this, of any age, in any fiction? I was even more amazed when Katsa was thrown into contact with a young child, a girl of 10 who needs her protection, and still doesn't change her mind about bearing children of her own. Even today, one is considered unnatural for making such a choice. Cashore's decision to write of such a woman in a medieval setting it strikingly imaginative.Katsa's quest becomes, as so many quests do, a voyage of self-discovery, though not in the traditional sense (that is, she does not change her mind about who she is, but instead discovers more about what she is able to do). In this story, she is the hero rather than the rescued. She does the rescuing. It does not make her male counterparts any weaker, but only makes her stronger.I fear I am making Graceling sound like a feminist polemic. It is not. It is an exciting and well-told tale about a pair of fascinating characters, Katsa and Po, and the challenges they face. The supporting characters are equally well-drawn; Randa's son Raffin, for instance, is essentially a scientist who seems to have missed inheriting his father's greed and cruelty. Still, I find Graceling remarkable mostly because Katsa is such a strong character.I wish I'd had this sort of role model to read about when I was a young teenager. For me, Little Jo from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women was about the only example I ever read of a girl who wanted to do something with her life besides get married and have babies -- and even she wanted to write in addition to getting married and having babies. The idea that a woman could eschew the role of wife and mother was never presented to me. Thank goodness girls today know that that's a choice, and that women like Kristin Cashore are writing characters who aren't afraid to make that choice.

Here we go again, I thought. A spunky girl whose name begins with "Kat" with mad archery skills, no clue all the guys are in love with her, and what have we got? Katniss. Very original.But I was wrong. Kristin Kashore's Katsa is original. For one thing, she precedes Katniss. (Graceling was actually published two years before The Hunger Games). Second of all, while I love Katniss to death (she definitely ranks among my top heroines--accompanied by Lyra, Hermione, Viola, Cassandra from I Capture the Castle, and Skye from Girl Walking Backwards), Katsa's definitely got her own things going on.Take her magical ability, for instance. Katsa is a Graceling--a human being with a special ability, which is marked by two differently colored eyes (one blue, the other green). Only unlike other Gracelings, whose talents are swimming, storytelling, etc., Katsa's is killing. Because of this, she becomes the henchman of her father, King Randa, and must punish "wrongdoers" throughout his kingdom. At the same time, Katsa also runs a secret society behind her uncle's back: The Council, a group of people who carry out virtuous missions throughout the kingdoms. It is on one of these missions that Katsa meets Prince Po, a silver-hooped Graceling (he has silver and gold eyes), and the story really starts to get good. After looking into a kidnapping, Po and Katsa find themselves on a quest to to save a young princess and her people from their Graceling King, a young, eye-patched ruler with the dangerous gift of persuasion.One thing that makes Graceling stand out among other young adult fantasy books is its use of character development. In the beginning, Katsa comes off as tough and fearsome in a fight, but overall, a bit bland. But as the story progresses and she gets to know Prince Po (he's the only other person who can make her sweat in a fight, so they begin training together), she starts to change and consequently, becomes a lot more interesting. Po also changes as we learn a secret about him (don't worry, no spoilers--I'll just say his Graceling power is not what you think it is), and later on as he and Katsa develop a relationship. Also, on that front, I don't think I've ever read a young adult novel that's ever captured such a realistic dynamic between a boy and a girl who become lovers. Whether Po is teasing her about ruining her horse (she rides ridiculously hard), or she's asking him about the rings he wears on his fingers, or about what it's like back home, you really feel like you're witnessing two people in the midst of the exciting process of getting to know one another.I also really like the twist on Po's Grace. I'm not going to give it away, but suffice to say that it definitely makes you think about what it means to get to know a person. I would finish an exchange of dialogue between Po and Katsa and still find myself thinking about it afterwards and what I would have done in that situation. And that is when you know a book is good. I also really liked what Kashore does with Po's character. Even when you think all is well and finished, a new factor enters the equation that definitely challenges and changes Po. Kudos to Kashore for taking that risk, because it definitely pays off. Instead of alienating us from Po, we find that instead of being perfect, he's real. And that just makes us like him more.I also found the main villain pretty fascinating--the fact that simply by speaking, he can manipulate people. This definitely made me think about how all their Graces could be in a way, extensions of real-live talents: the ability to fight really well or be really good with words. I guess the question then becomes, what does it mean to have a natural ability that hurts others? Does it mean that we should accept that "with great power, comes great responsibility" and therefore use our ability to protect other people? And do these abilities define who we are? Or is Katsa to some extent, also the girl who resists what she is?Anyways, the fact that a young adult book has made me think this much says enough. That aside, there are some things this book definitely could have done better. For starters, the plot. I'm pretty lenient with books that use their first half for development/setting up the conflict. As long as we get there eventually. With Graceling, though, I never really felt that action happened. I mean this is a book about two Gracelings with mad fighting skills, and they never even fight the bad guy. What happens instead is a kind of skirting of climactic fighting. Minutes after meeting the Graceling King, Po and Katsa run away (although for a good reason), and then it's survival in the freezing mountains until finally Katsa and the Graceling King reunite, and when we're least expecting it, she kills him. As realistic as this felt, it left me disappointed. It's not that I wanted fighting, so much as more interaction. I wanted the good guys and bad guys to be in each other's space more. There's also the fact that the Graceling King had a lot of potential. With his clever ways and manipulative charm, he definitely made for an intriguing character. If only he could have been developed a little bit more.All the same, the characters all very compelling (even the minor ones), and Katsa and Po's relationship is so real (one minute they're kissing, the next they're arguing), I couldn't help but want to keep reading. Po especially makes for a unique male protagonist, especially after what happens to him at the end. He has this one line that I just love: "Everything's trying to form one picture. And I can feel my place like I couldn't before. I mean, I'm still overwhelmed. But nothing like before" (459). Sensual and yet in a way that's completely honest, he definitely makes for a different kind of lover. So whether you're gravitating towards Graceling for its lovely lady killer, its gentle, silver-hooped hottie, or if you've ever wondered about what it'd be like to have a special power (although I assure you, you have one), please do yourself a favor and read it. Maybe it won't blow you away, but it will definitely make you think.