"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).