Review Detail

Christopher Hsu
Mrs. Poulsen
English 10B
March 12, 2012
Graceling Book Review
The perfect blend between mystery, romance , and supernatural powers can be found in the novel Graceling by Kristen Cashore. The mind-blowing book’s plot revolves around a Graced fighter Katsa, as well as another Graced fighter, Po. Gracelings, they are called, for they possess a Grace, or a special prowess at something. Because of a mysterious kidnapping of a harmless old man in which motives are unknown, the two fighters from different countries unite to find the truth about the causes of this kidnapping. Along with mystery, their growing affection for each other contributes to a variety of character changes of traits throughout their journey. The conversations between people in this book are fairly realistic, incorporating real life human thought processes behind the words. As the book progresses and the two grow more and more affectionate about each other, one can sense the hints of love and playfulness in between the once plain mysterious conversations. The change of traits in characters makes it even more realistic and appealing to the reader. It makes it that much more compelling. The fact that the author gives hints and little foreshadows about what is going to happen allows the reader to want to keep on reading. Another effect of foreshadowing is that it gives the reader some space for imagination, it allows them to guess what is going to happen and compare it with the actual outcome of the book. As one reads, the puzzle begins to piece together which gives a fulfilling feeling when reading. Another factor providing appeal are the humorous details hidden in the dialogue which adds seasoning to the highly suspenseful and romantic conversations. No book would be perfect without a certain amount of humor in it. One interesting part about this book that separates it from the others is that it states something insignificant about a person, but turns out to be one of the most important characteristics of the character, thus adding even more character arc which makes them more real. One last thing that I loved was that the descriptions of scenery in this book really appeals to the senses, the author does a great job painting the picture in your mind. She uses precise descriptions to make the book three dimensional. Considering all of these aspects, I give this book five stars. Personally, I think this novel attended to all of my desires in a book. The magical ratio of romance, mystery, and the supernatural was what compelled me the most. I would recommend this to teenagers like me and people interested in this genre of novels.