Today I've got my english assignment for you.
I had to do a book report for my class and I thought I'd just upload it here.
Not my usual review style but maybe(hopefully) you'll like it anyway.
So, here we go:
Graceling
"Graceling"
is Kristin Cashore's first novel and what a great debut it
is!
Published in October 2008 by Harcourt Brace & Co it was praised for many things - perfectly pitched writing, a kick-ass heroine, the unbelievable world Cashore built around the protagonists.
Published in October 2008 by Harcourt Brace & Co it was praised for many things - perfectly pitched writing, a kick-ass heroine, the unbelievable world Cashore built around the protagonists.
And
-in my opinion- the latter is the most impressive one.
„Graceling“ tells the story of a girl living in a world -unknown to us- where some people are born with an extreme skill called a Grace and these people are feared and shut off from society.
„Graceling“ tells the story of a girl living in a world -unknown to us- where some people are born with an extreme skill called a Grace and these people are feared and shut off from society.
The
main protagonist Katsa was eight years old when her Grace was
discovered when she killed her cousin in an act of selfdefence.
Since then, her uncle and guardian King Randa has claimed her his Graceling killer.
He trained her and used her as his weapon to punish people and arouse fear. Though the idea of killing displeases Katsa she thinks because of her Grace it is her duty.
Attempting to use her skills for what is good, she formed a community called the Council
whose members support the citizens and work against the injustice that exisits all over seven kingdoms.
On one of those missions -to rescue the kidnapped father of the king of Lienid- Katsa encounters another Graceling in the courtyard and is surprised to find him able to match her in a fight, but in the end she knocks him unconcious and completes her mission.
The Lienid boy appears at King Randa’s palace a few days later and introduces himself as Prince Greening Grandemalion but tells her to call him Po named after a tree in Lienid.
They contract a friendship which involves a lot of hand-to-hand combat due to the fact that no other fighter is worthy of their skills.
After a while Katsa takes Po to his grandfather who is hidden in the palace. The prince decides to stay in Randas territory a little while longer to monitor his grandfathers healing and to research why anyone would kidnap the father of the Lienid king.
In an argument with Po about him lying about his true Grace, Katsa realises that she has full control over her actions and that she doesn't have to be Randas Graceling killer.
Just after she stood up to King Randa Po and Katsa leave his palace and attempt to find out who kidnapped Po's grandfather.
On their journey the two of them fall in love and the prince helps Katsa realize that her true grace isn't killing, but survival.
Po and Katsa begin to suspect that King Leck of Monsea, known for his kindness to the weak and to animals, may be a fraud.They believe he has a Grace that allows him to deceive people and control their thoughts which makes him extremely dangerous.
As soon as they arrive in Mosea they watch as Leck murders his wife and Po and Katsa rake the whole forest for Bitterblue, Lecks daughter who is in great danger because of her father.
Po later tries to assassinate Leck, who is protected by only graced guards, but is chased off after he kills one of the guards. Po is injured by a fall into an icy lake as well as shot with an arrow, making him unable to ride a horse and therefore unable to escape from Leck. After Po's urging, Katsa takes the princess Bitterblue to Po's castle in Lienid leaving Po behind.
Since then, her uncle and guardian King Randa has claimed her his Graceling killer.
He trained her and used her as his weapon to punish people and arouse fear. Though the idea of killing displeases Katsa she thinks because of her Grace it is her duty.
Attempting to use her skills for what is good, she formed a community called the Council
whose members support the citizens and work against the injustice that exisits all over seven kingdoms.
On one of those missions -to rescue the kidnapped father of the king of Lienid- Katsa encounters another Graceling in the courtyard and is surprised to find him able to match her in a fight, but in the end she knocks him unconcious and completes her mission.
The Lienid boy appears at King Randa’s palace a few days later and introduces himself as Prince Greening Grandemalion but tells her to call him Po named after a tree in Lienid.
They contract a friendship which involves a lot of hand-to-hand combat due to the fact that no other fighter is worthy of their skills.
After a while Katsa takes Po to his grandfather who is hidden in the palace. The prince decides to stay in Randas territory a little while longer to monitor his grandfathers healing and to research why anyone would kidnap the father of the Lienid king.
In an argument with Po about him lying about his true Grace, Katsa realises that she has full control over her actions and that she doesn't have to be Randas Graceling killer.
Just after she stood up to King Randa Po and Katsa leave his palace and attempt to find out who kidnapped Po's grandfather.
On their journey the two of them fall in love and the prince helps Katsa realize that her true grace isn't killing, but survival.
Po and Katsa begin to suspect that King Leck of Monsea, known for his kindness to the weak and to animals, may be a fraud.They believe he has a Grace that allows him to deceive people and control their thoughts which makes him extremely dangerous.
As soon as they arrive in Mosea they watch as Leck murders his wife and Po and Katsa rake the whole forest for Bitterblue, Lecks daughter who is in great danger because of her father.
Po later tries to assassinate Leck, who is protected by only graced guards, but is chased off after he kills one of the guards. Po is injured by a fall into an icy lake as well as shot with an arrow, making him unable to ride a horse and therefore unable to escape from Leck. After Po's urging, Katsa takes the princess Bitterblue to Po's castle in Lienid leaving Po behind.
Leck
arrives at Po's castle before Katsa and Bitterblue, where he has
charmed the entire royal family of Lienid.
Although initially confused, Katsa realizes that Leck is about to tell everyone about Po's real Grace which is perception. She then pulls her dagger out of it's hilt and throws it straight at King Leck who dies. That breaks his spell and makes Bitterblue Queen of Monsea.
Katsa eventually goes back for Po, and discovers that the fall has blinded him. However, his Grace allows him to sense the world around him, letting him see where his eyes cannot. The two return to Monsea for Bitterblue's coronation.
“Graceling” is set in the seven Kingdoms Wester, Nander, Middluns, Monsea, Lienid, Sunder and Estill.
Where these kingdoms are meant to be or in which century the story takes part is unknown to the reader.
This is why the reader feels transfered into a completely different world which leaves a lot of room for own ideas and perceptions.
A thing worth mentioning is the map that is present in the book.
This map shows the seven kingdoms and their surroundings so the reader can follow Katsa,Po and Bitterblue on their journey.
The very same map will be attached to the report further down.
Although initially confused, Katsa realizes that Leck is about to tell everyone about Po's real Grace which is perception. She then pulls her dagger out of it's hilt and throws it straight at King Leck who dies. That breaks his spell and makes Bitterblue Queen of Monsea.
Katsa eventually goes back for Po, and discovers that the fall has blinded him. However, his Grace allows him to sense the world around him, letting him see where his eyes cannot. The two return to Monsea for Bitterblue's coronation.
“Graceling” is set in the seven Kingdoms Wester, Nander, Middluns, Monsea, Lienid, Sunder and Estill.
Where these kingdoms are meant to be or in which century the story takes part is unknown to the reader.
This is why the reader feels transfered into a completely different world which leaves a lot of room for own ideas and perceptions.
A thing worth mentioning is the map that is present in the book.
This map shows the seven kingdoms and their surroundings so the reader can follow Katsa,Po and Bitterblue on their journey.
The very same map will be attached to the report further down.
The
main characters in the novel are Lady Katsa, Prince Po, Princess
Bitterblue and King Leck.
Katsa is an eighteen year old girl with dark hair and a blue and a green eye.
Both her parents died when she was young so her uncle King Randa became her guardian.
This is why she was raised in his palace.
There she was trained so she would be useful to the king and do the dirty work for him.
When Katsa turned sixteen she founded the Council to use her Grace for something good instead of punishing people for Randa.
During “Graceling” Katsa -at last- finds the courage to stand up to the king and leaves the court with Po to search for answers about the kidnapping of Po's grandfather.
Katsa is a fiercely independent woman who does not like being restrained. She will often seem stern and very serious, not laughing much at all. Her grace makes other people believe she is a born killer incapable of showing mercy. By her own admission, her grace is hard to control due to her intense emotions occasionally getting the better of her.
Katsa is an eighteen year old girl with dark hair and a blue and a green eye.
Both her parents died when she was young so her uncle King Randa became her guardian.
This is why she was raised in his palace.
There she was trained so she would be useful to the king and do the dirty work for him.
When Katsa turned sixteen she founded the Council to use her Grace for something good instead of punishing people for Randa.
During “Graceling” Katsa -at last- finds the courage to stand up to the king and leaves the court with Po to search for answers about the kidnapping of Po's grandfather.
Katsa is a fiercely independent woman who does not like being restrained. She will often seem stern and very serious, not laughing much at all. Her grace makes other people believe she is a born killer incapable of showing mercy. By her own admission, her grace is hard to control due to her intense emotions occasionally getting the better of her.
However,
she has a very kind heart, as shown by how she started the Council
just to help all the people of the seven kingdoms who have been
wronged by the seven kings. She helped Bitterblue learn to defend
herself and decided to help other girls across the country with
self-defense lessons.
Katsa seems to have a certain level of dignity and respect for life, as she says that she tries to avoid killing when she can. She was disgusted by her past actions to others, occasionally refering to herself as a "murderous dog" or "monster".
But once she stands up to Randa she wonders if she really is a monster, now that she's not killing for him anymore( “When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?” )
Katsa seems to have a certain level of dignity and respect for life, as she says that she tries to avoid killing when she can. She was disgusted by her past actions to others, occasionally refering to herself as a "murderous dog" or "monster".
But once she stands up to Randa she wonders if she really is a monster, now that she's not killing for him anymore( “When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?” )
She
has a good sense of leadership, which has allowed her to be regarded
as the leader of the Council. She seems to be fearless for the most
part and has no problem doing potentially dangerous missions as
making her way through Grella's pass to save the princess.
However, while she can be seen as a very analytical and perceptive combatant, she is oblivious to the emotions of others, including her own.
I really enjoyed her character even though on a personal level, I still disagree with some of Katsa's views.
Katsa namely thinks that relationships and marriage would take her freedom and that once you unite with someone, your partner controls you.
A pararaph which expresses just this is the following one:
“If she took Po as her husband, she would be making promises about a future she couldn't yet see. For once she became his wife, she would be his forever. And, no matter how much freedom Po gave her, she would always know that it was a gift. Her freedom would be not be her own; it would be Po's to give or to withhold. That he never would withhold it made no difference. If it did not come from her, it was not really hers.”
However, while she can be seen as a very analytical and perceptive combatant, she is oblivious to the emotions of others, including her own.
I really enjoyed her character even though on a personal level, I still disagree with some of Katsa's views.
Katsa namely thinks that relationships and marriage would take her freedom and that once you unite with someone, your partner controls you.
A pararaph which expresses just this is the following one:
“If she took Po as her husband, she would be making promises about a future she couldn't yet see. For once she became his wife, she would be his forever. And, no matter how much freedom Po gave her, she would always know that it was a gift. Her freedom would be not be her own; it would be Po's to give or to withhold. That he never would withhold it made no difference. If it did not come from her, it was not really hers.”
Po,however
seems willing to spend the rest of his life with Katsa, whether she
will or will not marry him.
And it is more then obvious that the two of them love eachother.
Po is described as a dark haired young man of no more than nineteen or twenty with sundarkened skin and one silver and one gold eye. Katsa often states that he is beautiful or handsome. His ears are pierced, he wears a pair of gold hoop earrings at all times and has ten rings on his fingers. His upper arms are adorned with a pair of tattoos that he tells Katsa are meant to be found attractive, and to be seen only by the woman he will marry.
He is initially believed to be graced with hand fighting, but it is revealed that his true Grace is perception. He is able to sense the world around him and the thoughts of others, but only when they are directed at him. These senses come to him automatically and he has no control whatsoever with his ability. Po was forced to hide his Grace's true nature at an early age by his mother for fear that others would be tempted to use him for their own gain.
The prince is generous and kind and isn't ambitious for power as some of his brothers are.
He seems to care a lot about his family seen when he travels through the kingdoms to find his grandfather.
Katsa teases him about being conceited throughout the book (“He leaned into the light, and brightness and shadows moved across his body. He was beautiful. She admired him, and he flashed a grin at her. 'Almost as beautiful as you are conceited', she thought at him, and he laughed out loud.”).
He looses his eyesight at the end of book which seems to have broken his spirits at first but with Katsa's help and his Grace he get's used to being blind with time.
Bitterblue is the 10 year old daughter of King Leck and Queen Ashen and therefore the princess of Monsea.
She was able to break out of Leck's spell because of the way he abused her and her mother and because of that and because the King killed Ashen, Bitterblue wants him to die.
At first she is shy and doesn't trust anybody but after a while she takes to Po and Katsa and in the end the three of them act like family around eachother.
Bitterblue claims the throne of Monsea at the end of the novel and with the help of King Ror of Lienid she unchains her people from Leck's magic.
She is the main protagonist in the sequel, "Bitterblue".
King Leck is the main antagonist in “Graceling”.
He is not the legitimate heir of the throne, but because the former king became his guardian and he and his wife didn't have children on their own, Leck became king after he poisened and killed them.
Leck wears an eyepatch so no one could see his different coloured eyes and identify him as a Graceling.
He is cold and cruel, possibly even sociopathic but this can't be confirmed.
No one outside his family knew he was evil because Leck convinced everyone that he was a caring and loving King.
At the end of the novel he is killed by Katsa who throws a knife at him.
And it is more then obvious that the two of them love eachother.
Po is described as a dark haired young man of no more than nineteen or twenty with sundarkened skin and one silver and one gold eye. Katsa often states that he is beautiful or handsome. His ears are pierced, he wears a pair of gold hoop earrings at all times and has ten rings on his fingers. His upper arms are adorned with a pair of tattoos that he tells Katsa are meant to be found attractive, and to be seen only by the woman he will marry.
He is initially believed to be graced with hand fighting, but it is revealed that his true Grace is perception. He is able to sense the world around him and the thoughts of others, but only when they are directed at him. These senses come to him automatically and he has no control whatsoever with his ability. Po was forced to hide his Grace's true nature at an early age by his mother for fear that others would be tempted to use him for their own gain.
The prince is generous and kind and isn't ambitious for power as some of his brothers are.
He seems to care a lot about his family seen when he travels through the kingdoms to find his grandfather.
Katsa teases him about being conceited throughout the book (“He leaned into the light, and brightness and shadows moved across his body. He was beautiful. She admired him, and he flashed a grin at her. 'Almost as beautiful as you are conceited', she thought at him, and he laughed out loud.”).
He looses his eyesight at the end of book which seems to have broken his spirits at first but with Katsa's help and his Grace he get's used to being blind with time.
Bitterblue is the 10 year old daughter of King Leck and Queen Ashen and therefore the princess of Monsea.
She was able to break out of Leck's spell because of the way he abused her and her mother and because of that and because the King killed Ashen, Bitterblue wants him to die.
At first she is shy and doesn't trust anybody but after a while she takes to Po and Katsa and in the end the three of them act like family around eachother.
Bitterblue claims the throne of Monsea at the end of the novel and with the help of King Ror of Lienid she unchains her people from Leck's magic.
She is the main protagonist in the sequel, "Bitterblue".
King Leck is the main antagonist in “Graceling”.
He is not the legitimate heir of the throne, but because the former king became his guardian and he and his wife didn't have children on their own, Leck became king after he poisened and killed them.
Leck wears an eyepatch so no one could see his different coloured eyes and identify him as a Graceling.
He is cold and cruel, possibly even sociopathic but this can't be confirmed.
No one outside his family knew he was evil because Leck convinced everyone that he was a caring and loving King.
At the end of the novel he is killed by Katsa who throws a knife at him.
Kristin
Carshore's style of writing is a really pleasant one to read.
I really love how it flows, how the sentences connect.
As well as that she has some romantic, some funny and some serious paragraphs in her book.
Unfortunatly the action was lacking a little.
The only real fight scenes were the friendly ones between Katsa and Po and even the death of King Leck at the end was everything but nerve-racking.“She dropped the child,snatched the dagger from her belt and threw. Not because she remembered Leck must die. Not because she remembered the truth of Po's Grace. But because she remembered that Po did have a secret [...]
She must stop him; she must silence this man, before the ruinous words were said.”
This quote is not just to clarify my point of view but to show some used rhetorical devices as well.
In this paragraph alone you can find a couple of anaphoras, a parallelism and an antithesis.
Rhetorical devices appear throughout the book but heap on important scenes and paragraphs like the one just given.
All in all I believe that “Graceling” is a read-in-one-go.
I really loved the world one could imagine oneself into and it has likeable and well elobarated characters.
If I had to list the books weaknesses I would probably name the way women are depicted.
Either they are kick-ass, fearless heroines or they are helpless, weak creatures who can't think for themselfs.
And maybe this is something that Carshore wanted to express in the book as well because there is a great deal of feminism in it.
Another thing I would list are the sequels of “Graceling”.
I would have loved to read more about Katsa, Po, Ror and all the other charcters instead of the new characters that the sequel “Fire” features.
But despite that I would recommend the book to my friends due to the fact that it carries you off into a completely different world full of Gracelings, love and adventure.
I really love how it flows, how the sentences connect.
As well as that she has some romantic, some funny and some serious paragraphs in her book.
Unfortunatly the action was lacking a little.
The only real fight scenes were the friendly ones between Katsa and Po and even the death of King Leck at the end was everything but nerve-racking.“She dropped the child,snatched the dagger from her belt and threw. Not because she remembered Leck must die. Not because she remembered the truth of Po's Grace. But because she remembered that Po did have a secret [...]
She must stop him; she must silence this man, before the ruinous words were said.”
This quote is not just to clarify my point of view but to show some used rhetorical devices as well.
In this paragraph alone you can find a couple of anaphoras, a parallelism and an antithesis.
Rhetorical devices appear throughout the book but heap on important scenes and paragraphs like the one just given.
All in all I believe that “Graceling” is a read-in-one-go.
I really loved the world one could imagine oneself into and it has likeable and well elobarated characters.
If I had to list the books weaknesses I would probably name the way women are depicted.
Either they are kick-ass, fearless heroines or they are helpless, weak creatures who can't think for themselfs.
And maybe this is something that Carshore wanted to express in the book as well because there is a great deal of feminism in it.
Another thing I would list are the sequels of “Graceling”.
I would have loved to read more about Katsa, Po, Ror and all the other charcters instead of the new characters that the sequel “Fire” features.
But despite that I would recommend the book to my friends due to the fact that it carries you off into a completely different world full of Gracelings, love and adventure.
Heni
