Graceling by Kristen Cashore

So Graceling is a novel set in a semi-medieval world.  This is a fantasy novel, and in it some of the characters have special graces, whether it be good at swordsmanship, swimming...ECT. This novel follows a young girl named Katsa whom everyone including herself believes to have been graced with the skill of killing. I won’t say too much about the story I will let you read that for yourself. However it’s about this young girl helping to find the mystery of a kidnapping.

The novel keeps you thinking trying to solve the mystery as well. At times it can be a bit predictable but it does have some very good twists in the book.

The structure of the novel itself is not all that impressive, that is where Cashore loses a lot of peoples interests. There are a lot of awkward sentences, and descriptions that don’t flow. There is usually a quite basic descriptive vocabulary through this novel, and sometimes seems to be a whole heap of adjectives all strung together to try create something and failing. However I do giver her credit, this is the first book this author has ever written and I believe it to be a good start for her. Cashore has some great ideas that she puts into books, I just seemed she was tiring a bit too hard and wasn’t able to completely make it. I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the start of her career and with a bit more work on structure and editing she will be a great author.

The major theme in this book is of course feminism. Reading this book you get quite an idea that the author herself is a feminist. You see this through the main character Katsa, who is opposed to everything that is deemed girly. The messages that I believe that Cashore was trying to show her readers is that you don’t need a man and that women are just as capable as men and are not as fragile. That women can stand up for themselves.  However she does have a love story within the novel but is not the dominate part, so she can also be implying that you don’t have to be alone but the women doesn’t need to depend completely on the man. She does force her ideas of feminism quite strong through the book; it is quite in your face and not just a subtle message. At times she does go a bit too extreme with it. She really does use very chance she can to show how feminist the main character is and tries to show people her views. It would be more appropriate if it was less intense and was just a theme that you get through the book instead of having the author try cramming these beliefs down your throat.

However one may argue that Cashore was unable to consistently keep Katsa’s beliefs the same. In some reviews I have read, people have said that her character is being all strong and says that she doesn’t need a guy however when Po leaves she cries because he left which contradicts Katsa’s independence. However I believe what Cashore was trying to accomplish which people may have failed to notice is that Katsa did not cry because of Po leaving yet because of the fact that she cared that he left. She is so determined to not have to rely on someone and not need someone as she had been hurt before and she was upset with herself when she found that she cared for Po. So in truth I do not believe that Cashore contradicted herself with her character Katsa. Cashore keeps her ideas throughout the book the same but she does let her characters grow while still maintain the sense of feminism and not relying on the guy.

I think that if you like a fun light read, if you like strong female characters, mystery, and don’t mind not having a major love story then this will be a good book for you. This was a book I read towards the start of my obsession with reading, it really is a great novel if you want something easy to read. If you are only just starting to read then I would defiantly recommend it.

Also I feel that most people should, as even though there is some structure problems and some people believe her to over indulge in the feminism, she really does improve through her other novels which spin off this one.