Graceling by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I originally read this one a few years ago and was wanting to read ‘Fire’ and ‘Bitterblue’ and so decided to read this again to set the scene. And set the scene it did. I remembered about half of the story and remembered that it had all of the things I love – kick ass girls, swords and daggers, magic, surviving the elements while the evil villain is chasing you down…. and a bit of swoon.
Graceling was all this and so much more. I love the characters – Bitterblue is such a sweet yet strong little girl, Po is intelligent, brave and knows how to smile and then there is Katsa – so strong and fearless, confident and smart and yet when she breaks, you see just how vulnerable she can be. She was a fantastic character who I immediately connected with. The adventures and travels that she ends up on are full of interesting, scary, beautiful and heart-racing people and places and you can’t help but to hold your breath to find out what exactly is going to happen on the next page.
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