Book #5 of 2009 ~ Graceling by Kristin Cashore
People kept raving about this book, and I knew I needed something both fantastic and fantastical if I was ever going to be able to move on from City of Glass. I mean, honestly, what does one read after finishing reading the book that takes over the spot of "Favorite of All Time?" I considered and discarded several options, the first being to reread City of Bones and City of Ashes. Every time I read them, I ended up back in Glass. *grin* But anyway, I had heard wonderful things about Graceling, and lets not lie, the cover sort of called to me, so Graceling it was.
Let me start out by saying that I am having a really good reading year so far. Graceling bumps one of my top 12 books off the meme I just did, easily. The first 50 pages in, I kept thinking "I wonder if handyhunter has read this yet...this is *so* a book for her. This is very in keeping with the Girls Who Do Things genre, and the protagonist of the story is a very take charge kind of girl. By the time I finished reading it, it was pretty clear that Katsa is this generations Aerin.
Katsa is a superb heroine, and I absolutely adore Po and Bitterblue and Raffin. I'm always a character reader, and I was completely enthralled by this cast. So much so that I read all 480 pages in one sitting. Much, much love! I laughed and I cried. I cheered.
There were consequences. There was a realistic ending. There was extremely poignant prose.
I cannot wait to to read the two companion books, Fire, and Bitterblue!