Graceling by Kristen Cashore

Graceling is a book that fans of fantasy, realistic fiction, adventure tales, and romance will enjoy! Katsa is a girl with a very dangerous Grace: the Grace of Killing. Her uncle, King Randa, exploits her power for his personal benefit, using her as his personal political thug. But when she befriends (and eventually falls in love with) Po, a prince from another kingdom who happens to be Graced himself, she ultimately starts out on a journey to save Po's family- and learns a few things about Po, her world, and her own power along the way.

I want to start by saying that I usually despise fantasy books; I find them altogether too unbelievable to enjoy. But Graceling was different: Katsa seems real and relatable to a modern female, and Po is quite endearing. Fans of the Hunger Games will enjoy Katsa's struggle for survival in a dystopian universe, rocky romance, and headstrong personality; in fact, considering one book is set in the past and the other in the future, the two books are incredibly alike!

Beware, however, that this novel is not for the weak-hearted; it is approximately 400 pages of intensity, in more ways than one. At times I found it difficult to handle emotionally, but at the same time found it difficult to put down! I'm sure this book was meant for teenage females, and older ones (I'd say 16 and over) as well as college age women should enjoy it. That's not to say that I do not think that a guy could enjoy it; it depends on what you enjoy. Older adults may enjoy it as well. Overall, Graceling is a work of literary art and magic, and I give it ****.

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