Graceling

Synopsis (Goodreads): 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 . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

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I wish there were enough words in the English language to describe how incredible Graceling is. It has everything you could ever need in a book: Murder, mystery, adventure, action, romance...um, shall I go on? 

Graceling is easily one of my favorite books.  Ever.

In the novel, Kristin (great name, btw) introduces us to a magical world where only a number of individuals are born with graces (unique gifts/talents). Our protagonist Katsa, for example, well...let's just say her grace is giving ass-kicking heroines like Dru (Strange Angels) and Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy) a run for their money.  Not to mention she's also a strong, well fleshed-out character and I loved seeing that play out throughout the book.

While Graceling is quite the fast-paced adventure, Cashore managed to add so much beautiful detail to the story that I couldn't help but pause, every once in a while, to take everything in. I read the book on my Kindle and I felt like I was underlining every other paragraph! I just didn't want to forget how those words made me feel. Yeah, it was like that.

I think that Kristin Cashore's grace is found in her ability to articulate human experiences and emotions in a subtle, yet thought-provoking, way.  Cashore is definitely one of my writing heroes. 

Graceling's magic will suck you in and you won't want to let go. I recommend it HIGHLY.  So, stop what you're doing and go buy it.

Now.

Go!

I'll wait... :D

SQUEE ALERT: Kristin Cashore recently announced that the sequel to Graceling, Bitterblue, will be released in 2012. 

MUST CONTAIN MY ENTHUSIASM!! 

and my caps lock...