Graceling
Encyclopedia
Graceling is a young adult fantasy novel
by Kristin Cashore
. It is her debut novel
. The story is about Katsa, a young warrior, and her journey of self-discovery. The book earned a place on the Publishers Weekly
Best Books of the Year for 2008 and received generally favorable reviews. It was followed by a companion book entitled Fire
.
A Graceling is a person that is born with ability. Ever since the age of eight Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands. Katsa is accompied by Oll and Gidon during their quest to rescue a prisoner. Katsa aids by incapacitating all of the guards nearby, after knocking them out, placing pills in their mouths. Katsa is the fighter of their group.
Soon after Katsa arrives home her Uncle Randa, King of the Middlunds who had seen her off just that morning, and Randa’s underlord escorted them the whole city gazed at them.
As an eight-year-old girl, Katsa killed her step-cousin by accident because after he made an unwanted advance on her, she punched him so hard that his nose bone went directly through his skull and into his brain even though she barely hit him. If she had been in any other kingdom, she would have been killed or banished but she went through severe training instead. She learned how to control her own speed, force, angle, position, and intensity of a killing blow.
Katsa later meets a character named Po who is also a Graceling. He made sure that she was able to get her combat skills ready for a long journey they were about to take. King Randa and many others came to see her train but whenever she stopped to look at them, their eyes moved away. Later on at night Po and Katsa are eating together and talking about their next mission, Katsa loses her temper, jumps up and punches Po in the jaw. She then apologizes and tells him to go see Raffin to get fixed up. Katsa, Giddon, and Oll prepare to go on their mission to punish a neighboring lord but Katsa is starting to rethink about hurting an innocent lord. After the mission was over, Katsa was outraged because she found out that Po lied to her. She storms into Raffin’s healing center and screams at Po for a long time, then after that, she storms out with tears flowing from her eyes. She is then called to King Randa’s court where she makes a choice either to stay and die or to leave for disobeying King Randa. She chooses to leave, but with Po.
Katsa was then forced to make decisions, encounters danger, and has many moments that make her emotional, questions of the beliefs she use to have. Both Katsa and Bitterblue are traveling and they have to set up camp while Katsa is hunting. Katsa is attacked by a mountain lion .Katsa wins but with bad wounds. Bitterblue was worried for Katsa so she tended to her wounds. Later that night Katsa and Bitterblue boarded a boat to Po’s castle. The sailors who are Po’s guards bring them to the place to see that King Leck is already there waiting for Katsa to bring Bitterblue. King Leck and Katsa are talking, until Katsa loses her temper and throws a knife at King Leck when he is talking, striking him in the mouth and killing him. Soon after that, Katsa goes back to where they left Po to find out that while he is physically better, he is also blind. Katsa helps him recover. Later in the book Katsa and Po, go to Bitterblue's castle where they get a surprise visit from many of Katsa’s old friends. Katsa was so excited that she not only hugged them but cried for them as well, everyone sees Bitterblue crowned as the new queen of Monsea.
's William C. Morris YA Award
, is an ALA
Best Book for Young Adults, was a Cybils finalist (Fantasy/SF category), and was a finalist for both the Andre Norton
Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (the SFWA's award for YA given concurrently with the Nebulas) and the Indies Choice Book Awards (Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book category). Graceling won the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance 2009 Young Adult SIBA Book Award
. The book also was awarded:
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
by Kristin Cashore
Kristin Cashore
Kristin Cashore is an American fantasy author, whose debut novel, Graceling, was published in October 2008. The book has been nominated for the Andre Norton and William C. Morris awards, and is held in over 1000 libraries. Her second book, Fire, came out in October 2009, and is described as being a...
. It is her debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
. The story is about Katsa, a young warrior, and her journey of self-discovery. The book earned a place on the Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
Best Books of the Year for 2008 and received generally favorable reviews. It was followed by a companion book entitled Fire
Fire (Cashore novel)
Fire is a fantasy novel by Kristin Cashore, a companion book to her debut novel, Graceling. It tells the story of a young monster in the shape of a human who is hated because of her difference and supernatural abilities...
.
Plot
The story starts with an 18-year-old girl named Katsa, but Katsa is not like any regular human being; she is a Graceling.A Graceling is a person that is born with ability. Ever since the age of eight Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands. Katsa is accompied by Oll and Gidon during their quest to rescue a prisoner. Katsa aids by incapacitating all of the guards nearby, after knocking them out, placing pills in their mouths. Katsa is the fighter of their group.
Soon after Katsa arrives home her Uncle Randa, King of the Middlunds who had seen her off just that morning, and Randa’s underlord escorted them the whole city gazed at them.
As an eight-year-old girl, Katsa killed her step-cousin by accident because after he made an unwanted advance on her, she punched him so hard that his nose bone went directly through his skull and into his brain even though she barely hit him. If she had been in any other kingdom, she would have been killed or banished but she went through severe training instead. She learned how to control her own speed, force, angle, position, and intensity of a killing blow.
Katsa later meets a character named Po who is also a Graceling. He made sure that she was able to get her combat skills ready for a long journey they were about to take. King Randa and many others came to see her train but whenever she stopped to look at them, their eyes moved away. Later on at night Po and Katsa are eating together and talking about their next mission, Katsa loses her temper, jumps up and punches Po in the jaw. She then apologizes and tells him to go see Raffin to get fixed up. Katsa, Giddon, and Oll prepare to go on their mission to punish a neighboring lord but Katsa is starting to rethink about hurting an innocent lord. After the mission was over, Katsa was outraged because she found out that Po lied to her. She storms into Raffin’s healing center and screams at Po for a long time, then after that, she storms out with tears flowing from her eyes. She is then called to King Randa’s court where she makes a choice either to stay and die or to leave for disobeying King Randa. She chooses to leave, but with Po.
Katsa was then forced to make decisions, encounters danger, and has many moments that make her emotional, questions of the beliefs she use to have. Both Katsa and Bitterblue are traveling and they have to set up camp while Katsa is hunting. Katsa is attacked by a mountain lion .Katsa wins but with bad wounds. Bitterblue was worried for Katsa so she tended to her wounds. Later that night Katsa and Bitterblue boarded a boat to Po’s castle. The sailors who are Po’s guards bring them to the place to see that King Leck is already there waiting for Katsa to bring Bitterblue. King Leck and Katsa are talking, until Katsa loses her temper and throws a knife at King Leck when he is talking, striking him in the mouth and killing him. Soon after that, Katsa goes back to where they left Po to find out that while he is physically better, he is also blind. Katsa helps him recover. Later in the book Katsa and Po, go to Bitterblue's castle where they get a surprise visit from many of Katsa’s old friends. Katsa was so excited that she not only hugged them but cried for them as well, everyone sees Bitterblue crowned as the new queen of Monsea.
Characters
- Katsa
- Po
- King Leck
- Bitterblue
- Prince Raffin
- King Randa
- Oll
- Giddon
Awards and nominations
Graceling was shortlisted for the ALAAla
Ala may refer to:* Ala , a female demon in the Serbian and Bulgarian mythology* Ala , an Alusi in Odinani* Ala , a Republican-period, largely infantry, formation of 5,400 men...
's William C. Morris YA Award
William C. Morris YA Award
The William C. Morris YA Debut Award is an annual award given to a work of young adult literature by a debut author. It is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association a division of the American Library Association . It was named for twentieth century American publisher William C....
, is an ALA
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
Best Book for Young Adults, was a Cybils finalist (Fantasy/SF category), and was a finalist for both the Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Andre Alice Norton, née Alice Mary Norton was an American science fiction and fantasy author under the noms de plume Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston...
Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (the SFWA's award for YA given concurrently with the Nebulas) and the Indies Choice Book Awards (Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book category). Graceling won the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance 2009 Young Adult SIBA Book Award
SIBA Book Award
SIBA Book Award is an American South literary award given by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance , first awarded in 1999. Nominated books must be southern in nature or by a southern author, have been published the previous year, and have been nominated by a SIBA-member bookstore or one of...
. The book also was awarded:
- Publishers WeeklyPublishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
Best Books of the Year 2008 - School Library JournalSchool Library JournalThe School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
Best Books of 2008 - BooklistBooklistBooklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
2008 Top Ten First Novels for Youth - 2009 Amelia Bloomer List
- 2009 Amelia Elizabeth Walden AwardAmelia Elizabeth Walden AwardThe Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, presented by The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE , is an annual award in the United States for a book that exemplifies literary excellence, widespread appeal, and a positive approach to life in young adult literature...
Finalist - Nominated for 2010 Washington Evergreen Award
- Nominated for 2010-2011 Eliot Rosewater Award