"Graceling": The toughest girls struggle with the simplest things...

It's time I wrote a new post. And what a surprise: another review! What can I say? I love books! I endeavor to post more of them. I know I like to read what others think of a book before I read it myself, so it's about time I returned the favour. Some of my future post may even come in Norwegian. Why? Because I will write the review in the language I read the book. If it's a translation I will have to make judgement call, I guess. ;)

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: 1st book in the Seven Kingdoms Trilogy
Publisher: Harcourt Chlidren's Books
Language: English
Print length: 481 pages
Read in e-book format: 1038 KB

In most of the kingdoms those with one iris of a different colour than the other (heterochromia iridis), also called Graced or Gracelings, are the property of the monarch. They are people of extraordinary abilities, some more useful than others, such as a talent for baking, swordplay, singing or mind reading.  Lady Katsa of the Middluns is Graced with the ability to kill. She is the worst nightmare of any who opposes her. There are no one in the seven kingdoms who can hope to best her in battle. Her social skills, however, could use some work. Katsa struggles with controlling her violent Grace and how her uncle, the King of the Middluns, forces her to use it to his political benefit. Katsa will have to cnfron her cruel bully of an uncle and discover the truth of why the old Prince of Lienid was kidnapped. A journey that leads her to discover new truths about herself and her Grace.

Katsa is one of my favorite characters of all I have ever read. She is tough, straightforward and stubborn. Most importantly: she kicks ass! What intrigued me most about her is that she struggles with the most basic aspects of social interaction. In some ways she reminds me of Dr. Brennan in the TV-series "Bones", except Katsa uses her strength and exceptional fighting skills as a shield in stead of science. The confidence Katsa has in her abilities is impossible not to like. She is unbeatable. She knows it and everybody else knows it, period.

Plenty of the young adult novels I have read have a protagonist writhing in teen angst, indecision and some boy she has a crush on. I am not saying that there is on teen angst in this book, simply that Cashore presents it very differently than other authors. Struggles are important, but some authors dwell far to long on one struggle. It is refreshing to read about a girl who dares to stand by her decisions, and trust the people around her to be true to their character.

Cashore's prose is to the point and packed with action. I can honestly say that there was not any part of the story that I found lacking or boring. Katsa's struggle to be good, her can-do attitude and her explorations into what love means are thrilling and captivating aspects of the plot. The fact that the book does not end on a cliffhanger, even though there are more books to come connected to this one, is a huge plus in my book.

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy, but also those who like a strong heroine. However, in my opinion, this book is most suitable for readers of around 15 and up. Simply because I believe you need some maturity to appreciate this book to its fullest.

In a later post I hope to come back to the companion novel "Fire". Very much worth reading as well.
Happy reading!

A book review: Touch of Power

I thought I would try something new: Short theme based posts. I say short, but time will tell...

Title: Touch of Power
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: 1st book in the Healer series
Pages: 400
Language: English

Avry of Kazan is a Healer, which means that by touching people she can absorb their wounds and diseases into herself. However, the healers are blamed for the plague that swept through the land and wiped out six million people. Now healers are being hunted down and executed. After healing a child in the city she stays in, Avry faces the gilliotine, but a band of rouges help her escape in exchange for her help healing a friend, Prince Ryne. They travel across the land toward the Nine Mountains, chased by mercenaries, facing magical danger and are mixed up in the struggle for power that insued after the plague. All the while, Avry will have to decide whether she will heal Ryne, the last man she would ever decide to heal, and sacrifice her own life for peace.

I found this book very entertaning and had a hard time putting it down. Snyder knows how to keep the reader longing for more. It is not one of the most challenging books I have read, but it does not have the sappy, muchy love talk that so many other fantasy books suffer from. The feelings are hidden between the lines, and that is something I can like and it also leaves something to the imagination. Underneath every line is a feeling of curiosity that I cannot help but be affected by and this is what I believe keep me reading.

Avry is a strong, stubborn, intelligent and kind person, many of the qualities I aspire to maintain – and what I love the most about her is her fantastic sense of humor and sarcastic remarks. it is facinationg how she can be so annoying and sharp-tounged and still endear herself with almost everyone she meats. Her traveling companions brings lovely flavours to the story: the kindhearted giant, the hyperactive inexperienced boy, the two sharptounged monkeyes and the guy who you can try to hate, but in the end is too good not to love. I could go on, but I am going to leave you to aquaint yourself with the rest.

This book deserves a six on the dice. It is everyhting a fantasy novel should be and I cannot wait for the next book to come out in 2013 – I will have to console myself with Snyder's other series (Study and Glass).

Looking Forward to a New Year

Happy New Year! The thing about the special dates of the year is that they make me think. Never a good thing... hehe. Time flies by so quickly, even when it doesn't feel that way. Even though I do like this blogging thing, I'm not sure if I'll ever figure out how to do it well. The thing is that when I have something interesting to say/blog about I either forget or I'm too busy. I am willing to make an effort again though, and try to make it interesting.

First, how about some reminiscing? It's been a while now, so I'll try to be brief... right...
I wish I could have published another post before I left the US, but I guess I'll just be able to give a picture in retrospect. Not very accurate, but there you go.

Just over New Year's, last year, my uncle took my aunt, cousin, his friend and me on a boat trip. I can't say I know a lot about boats, let's say I never found my sea legs, but that boat is fancy. With six TVs, sonar system to analyse the sea bottom and plenty of horsepower, that is not empty praise. I was even allowed to seer it for a while and crawl out to the bow stand there with the wind of a seeding boat in my face, kind of Titanic moment - without the romance... The really fun part was seeing all the bird life. I don't think I've seen so many birds at once before, and I don't think I can name even half of them. I'm not very familiar with birds, but I know I saw pelicans, small storks and what I think was a hawk (one of my favourite bird species).

When I arrived back in South Carolina, I was surprised to fin that it was below freezing outside. Luckily I had asked my parents to bring my winter coat when they came to visit for Christmas. We were supposed to start school the next day, but the weather forecast predicted snow, and classes were cancelled. Yup, "cancelled due to hazardous weather". I wasn't sure how to react to that... Here in Norway, we would never cancel classes because of snow - unless it was really, really cold. The snow came... well, we got about two inches of snow. Hazardous? HA! The really funny thing is that classes were cancelled for the next two days as well... Three days of for a couple of inches of snow.

My second semester at Winthrop was actually quite an improvement to the first. I believe I had figured out the ropes, as they say. The fact that I also could make my own schedule played a significant part as well. I was especially happy to take music classes again, though they were simpler than what I was used to from upper secondary school at home. The Americans do love giving multiple-choice tests. The other subjects I chose were also quite interesting: psychology, nutrition and fiction writing.

Advice to future Norwegian exchange students in the US: Choose simple classes and classes you have competence in for the first semester and the more difficult ones for the second. Travelling abroad is absolutely recommended. Do it while you can!

After being ten moths away from home - and not just from home, but from my own country - I have definitely felt the saying "home is where your heart is" in my bones. I made sure to get back before the seventeenth of May - nothing could keep me from home on Norway's national day. I would never let a chance to wear my bunad (Norwegian national costume) pass me by.

Coming back, it almost feels like I never left. Things are pretty much as they used to be. Now that I have been home for over half a year, my year abroad almost seems like a dream. One thing I can say with certainty: it was definitely an experience that I have grown from. I believe I have achieved my goal: improving my English and adapt to a different culture.

I know I said that little had changed when I came home. Truth, with some modifications. I have become a godmother over the few moths I have been back, a very proud one. One of my best friends got a beautiful little boy this summer and I hope he is prepared to be spoiled. A part of me is undeniably jealous of her for having a man and baby, but mostly I could not be happier for her. Seeing that she has the things I want in life, I feel hopeful that it might happen for me as well.

So, here I am hopeful for the future and nervously anticipating what is to come.
May God watch over us and may we listen to His guidance.