471 pagesKatsa lives in a world where some people are born with exceptional skills or powers called Graces. Her uncle, King Randa, rules one of the seven kingdoms of her part of the world, and he uses Katsa's Grace--killing--to terrorize people who get in his way or don't bow to his wishes. Though Katsa's ability to kill and her uncle's use of it disgust her, she feels that disobeying her powerful uncle's wishes is not an option. To redeem herself and use her power for good, she secretly creates and works with the Council, a group of fighters and accomplices who work together to save citizens in all the seven kingdoms from abuses of power. On one of her missions for the Council, Katsa encounters another young "Graceling" named Po who informs her that a king with a dangerous Grace might be behind the some of the problems the Council faces. As Katsa and Po set out to discover the truth and make things right, she discovers that her Grace might involve more than just killing and that there's more to Po than she originally thought.
I love this book! It drew me in right away and I couldn't put it down. Katsa is a really interesting character who changes and grows a lot throughout the story. I really identified with her (even though I don't have any special powers!) and I think a lot of other readers will too because she's struggling to reconcile something dark within her with her desire to be a good person and make a difference. I also like that Katsa is such a strong female character who refuses to be defined or controlled by a man, as is Captain Faun. I think it's great for teens to see characters like that in books. Although the romance part of the story is predictable, there are several twists and turns in the main plot that kept me interested and I cared so much about the characters--including the secondary characters--that I couldn't wait to find out what happened to them. The conclusion is satisfying, but I'm dying for some more books about Katsa, Po, Bitterblue, and the rest! I hear that a follow-up, tentatively titled Bitterblue, is due later this year and I can hardly wait!
Some people really loved and I can see why but this was in the wrong genre. It was fantasy with some twisted form of adult content. Really, the whole sex thing was not necessary. It didn't fit the plot at all and for teenagers, it wasn't exactly a good example. That was my biggest pet peeve with this book. It was a quick, easy read. Maybe if you didn't have anything better than it would be worth your time but for me, it was a one time read. Pass for whatever comes next in this trilogy.
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