Tagged: katsa
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
(Cover picture courtesy of the Graceling Wiki.)
Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.
Each book in the Graceling Realm series is a little different. The first book, Graceling, is first and foremost about a Graceling’s (Katsa) struggle to remain free in a world where Gracelings are the property of kings. The second book is about Fire, a part-monster who has to struggle with the gift of her beauty and mind control that makes others suspicious of her and her motives. And finally, this third book is first and foremost about Bitterblue, a queen who really is trying to rule and heal a broken realm to the best of her ability.
I love how Kristin Cashore never paints her characters as perfect, even in the end. Bitterblue is first and foremost a flawed character and she grows because of it. She has no clue about Monsea aside from what her advisers tell her and even when she tries to gain independence they block her at every turn. She has a hard time relating to the average person even though she thinks she’s getting better when she starts sneaking out. It’s only when she truly looks inside herself and at her kingdom that she becomes the queen Katsa and Po meant for her to be.
Bitterblue is pretty much my favourite character in the whole novel, but the secondary characters are well fleshed out. Sapphire is fascinating, Fox is full of surprises and we even see how Katsa and Po have changed eight years into their relationship. There aren’t really any stock characters and that’s one of the main reasons why I love Kristin Cashore’s writing. She may take forever to write her books, but she does an amazing job with them.
I can’t in all honesty call the plot fast-paced yet it kept me up later than I intended. There are a lot of twists and turns as plots are uncovered and Bitterblue is forced to act and react to them. Everything we thought we knew about Monsea is turned on its head and there are stirrings of revolution in the other kingdoms.
Speaking of politics, that’s another one of Kristin Cashore’s strengths. In her fantasy world things don’t stagnate, they change as they do in this one. New technologies and ideas are developed, just like they really were in the Middle Ages. Tyrannical kings are toppled, new realms are discovered as exploration technology improves and medicine gets better. There are actual consequences for the actions of nobles and kings! It’s just a fascinating concept for fantasy and I’m so happy that Kristin Cashore takes her time to consider the geopolitical consequences of everyone’s actions.
If you loved the first two books in the series, you’re pretty much guaranteed to love Bitterblue. It’s that simple.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
My Favourite Heroines
There is no shortage of female leads in YA fiction, but strong female leads (that are not simply butt-kicking cardboard cutouts) are very rare. They’re not nearly as rare as good female villains because there is only one female on my list of favourite villains, but they are rare nonetheless. Here are my favourites in descending order.
1. Lisbeth Salander from the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson.
What I love most about Lisbeth is that she truly doesn’t care what other people think of her. She’s smart and independent, but she is also deeply flawed. Because of all the trauma in her childhood, she has a hard time learning to trust people and it takes a very long time for her to develop any sort of relationship with Mikael Blomkvist in the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She seems to have Asperger’s Syndrome (or something similar) and she is not afraid to speak her mind. But Lisbeth is not your stereotypical punk girl, however, because she feels insecure about her petite body and falls in love with Mikael, which causes her to sever ties with him throughout The Girl who Played with Fire. She is my favourite heroine because although the book is mostly told through Mikael’s point of view, she steals every scene she is in throughout the trilogy and Stieg Larsson gave her an incredible amount of depth. Continue reading
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
(Cover picture courtesy of Kristin Cashore’s blog.)
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.
She never expects to become Po’s friend.
She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away…
Kristin Cashore’s debut novel is a well-written, emotionally resonant, fast-paced and surprisingly addicting masterpiece. Katsa is a strong protagonist who does not just live for romance, as many YA characters do, but falls in love with prince Po by accident. Even when she has to leave Po and go off on her own, she does not fall to pieces like a helpless damsel. Instead, she rises to the challenge and brings down the villain.
Graceling is set in a well-developed world of enchanting beauty and petrifying horror. It is full of light and dark and characters like Katsa, Po, Raffin, Leck and Bitterblue reflect this balance very well. They have realistic motivations and are three-dimensional, which is more than I can say for many characters in young adult fiction. Not only is the world believable and the characters are three dimensional, the plot is intriguing. Graceling starts out like a typical YA novel, but Kristin Cashore throws in interesting and unexpected plot twists that keep you hooked until the end.
If you’re looking for well-written and very interesting YA novel for slightly older teens, Graceling is certainly the book for you.
I give this book 5/5 stars.