Batty About Books - Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Final

Batty About Books welcomes you to 

Our Final Thoughts on 

Graceling by Kristin Cashore! 

Maria (@mselke01) and I are reading together and our first book is Graceling.  Each week, time permitting, we will share our thoughts about a section of the book.  My thoughts are in blue and Maria's responses are in purple.  On her blog, Maria's Melange, you can read the other side of the story!

BEWARE!! THERE BE SPOILERS HERE!!

Previous Posts
Graceling Part 3 - page 235 - 357
Graceling Part 2 - Page 116 - 234
Graceling Part 1 - Beginning to pg 115 

First, I was so afraid after they made it through the mountains that something terrible was going to happen.  When they found an ally and and then a ship to take them to Lienid, I thought I could relax but since this wasn’t my first read...  Yes. Though I loved the book, there were some odd pacing issues. Sometimes I expected a longer build up, and then WHAM something was over.

BITTERBLUE! I loved how Bitterblue found herself on the ship.  After being away from Leck and his influence for so long, she was able to relax and even started trusting men again.  I agree! I think I’m really starting to enjoy her as a character, which makes me even happier about the new book coming out. I really want more about her!

LECK! I hoped I hadn’t remembered this part correctly but it’s probably what I remember the most! The redeeming part was Bitterblue.  She could tell he was lying and she defended Katsa when all was said and done.  Boy, that was gruesome and fitting.  I liked how his mouth was his undoing. As I mentioned in my thoughts, I found this section to be over too quickly. I wanted to know how he got there, and I felt like his defeat was just too easy. But I did like how the effects of his Grace lingered. That at least made it feel like it wasn’t just a “wave a magic wand and fix it all” ending.

SKYE! I want a book about him! He seems so fun! I wonder if he’ll show up in Bitterblue married!  He was so excited about Katsa.  I loved that he wanted to see what made her famous.  That he didn’t feel like she was some sort of monster.  How different her life would have been to grow up in Lienid! So glad you brought up this character. I really enjoyed him, and I like how he interacted with both Po and Katsa. He’s a keeper. Maybe he’ll end up with Bitterblue? I thought about that! I was trying to calculate his age - since she's only 9 now - and couldn't determine it. Will be on the lookout in Bitterblue!

ROR! So happy that Cashore showed a different side of him. Kings are NOT all bad.  I have a better feel for him now. Love how he took Bitterblue under his wing. Another positive male role model for Bitterblue. She needs them to counteract Leck’s first 9 years in her life.  Also, I keep forgetting she’s NINE! I think the thing I liked best about Ror was how he felt confident leaving his queen in charge when he left. I think that was valuable for Katsa to see as well. I love how he’s mentoring and guarding Bitterblue. Yes, he would use Po (as we’ve discussed before) but I don’t think it’s because he’s power hungry. I think he’d use Po because kings who care for their people use any tool in their reach. It would hurt Po, but I don’t think that would be Ror’s motivation. Don't know if I could do something that might hurt my daughter!!! Possibly why I'm not officially the queen!

PO! He returns. But he’s not the conquering hero. Even with this new setback, he’s still awesome.  His “saving” Grace - “your Grace shows you the form of things but it doesn’t show you beauty. You’ve lost beauty.” Would be great to have students describe what they would miss if they “lost beauty”? I would miss seeing my daughter’s beautiful smiling face most of all! I really enjoyed this twist. Again, he reminds me of Daredevil! I think he’ll realize that he may have lost one aspect of beauty, but now he’s in touch more with the whole of creation - with the “music of the spheres” - and realize he didn’t really lose anything at all.

MORE PO! He’s going home to share this latest news about himself with his mother.  Now he has two things to keep secret.  Is that possible? Won’t the pretense be overly exhausting, if he’s already having a hard time keeping things from Skye and Bitterblue? I hope he can find a way to admit to at least a part of his Grace, so he doesn’t have to keep up the act completely with his family.

RAFFIN! BANN! Have I said they need a book? They better show up in Bitterblue.  Loved Katsa’s reaction to seeing them again. These two characters are amazing. Raffin is the perfect big brother. I do hope we see a lot more of them in Bitterblue.

RANDA! No, he’s doesn’t show up but Katsa is going to see him. How will we react? Does he still feel betrayed? Will he attack her out of fear? I’m just so thrilled that she decided to say “hang it all, I’m not tiptoeing around him”. She’ll face him, and then be able to move on without fear. Love that. Maybe Randa will die and Raffin will take over. Yes! Death to Randa!

So many questions!
I know we won’t partner read Bitterblue, but I think we should do at least one post with our reactions to that one! I agree!

Tune in next week when we tackle 

A World Without Heroes (Beyonders, 1) by Brandon Mull!

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Bitterblue [!!!] by Kristin Cashore- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
.....................................................................................
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genres: Dystopia, Fantasy
Release Date: May 1, 2012

Source: ALA Midwinter
My Review:

In the third book of The Seven Kingdoms series, Bitterblue is now 18 and queen of Monsea. Her kingdom is still recovering from the rule of King Leck, and Bitterblue is trying to put it back together again. She starts sneaking out of the castle at night, and finds out about the world outside of her palace. She meets new people, and comes to the realization that she needs to find out more about the past, to fix her kingdom.

Before anything, let's just stare at that cover. *drool* It's gorgeous isn't it? And next to Graceling and Fire, it looks even better! When the books are right next to each other, you can tell they're part of a series, but they're not exactly alike either. It's a really amazing cover!

So now, onto the real book itself. In Bitterblue, we get to see characters from the past books. Katsa, Po, Giddon, Bann, Raffin, and even Fire all are in there. We get to see more of Giddon, and I really liked that we got to get to know him better. Katsa isn't in the book very much, just a few scenes, although she's important. Po was there, and played a role in the story, and I LOVED that he was in the story! We also got to experience Katsa and Po's relationship with each other from Bitterblue's perspective, which was very interesting, something I hadn't thought of when I was reading Graceling.

Let me say that I loved the last part of the book. I think it was fantastically written. We see some character growth, some unexpected things, and lots of things happen. The story twists, things come up that I wasn't expecting, and it just got interesting.

Here's basically a summary of what I thought as I was reading Bitterblue:

Beginning of the Book



Middle of the Book



End of the Book


So, in short, it got progressively better.

But there were a few things that didn't work for me. For one, Bitterblue was kind of a problem for me. She just didn't act like she was 18, and that she had been ruling the kingdom for 8 years already. She seemed more like she was 15, and had been ruling for only a few years. She never seemed 18 to me, and I don't think I ever thought of Bitterblue as 18. Her personality, her way of thinking, her attitude, it just never seemed like she was 18. 18 means your an adult, right? Well, she just didn't seem like an adult. She acted more like a child, or teenager rather than an adult.

That being said, I don't think it affected the whole story that much, except that it was kind of annoying. However, there were also some things that were predictable in the story. I don't like being able to guess things in a story, but I did correctly guess some things. There were some things, though, that I never saw coming, which was great.

The romance, also didn't work for me. It seemed way too rushed, and I didn't see any chemistry between Bitterblue and the other person [whose name I won't say, because I don't want to give anything away!] It didn't take over the story though, so I guess I should be thankful for that.

Putting those things aside, I loved the story. Alot. There was some action, some very well-developed and slightly flawed characters that I could believe, and a little mystery. It's what your looking for in a good series!

Overall, I really liked the book. I can say that I really, really liked the book. But there were a few things that stopped me from giving this book a full 5 stars. It was a good ending to one of my favorite trilogies.




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Batty About Books - Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Part 3

Batty About Books welcomes you to 

Part 3 of Graceling by Kristin Cashore! 

Maria (@mselke01) and I are reading together and our first book is Graceling.  Each week, time permitting, we will share our thoughts about a section of the book.  My thoughts are in blue and Maria's in purple.  On her blog, Maria's Melange, you can read the other side of the story!

BEWARE!! THERE BE SPOILERS HERE!!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - page 235 - 357
Graceling Part 2 - Page 116 - 234
Graceling Part 1 - Beginning to pg 115



Kathy: The first thing that jumps out at me is the mention of Po’s father and his ambition.  Po continually stresses that he is not to know about Po’s full Grace, even though they honor Graces in Lienid.  What are we saying about Kings? We have Randa, Leck and Po’s father, who stole his kingdom from Po’s grandfather, and they seem to have some issues with Power.  When you have Power, are you destined to abuse it given the chance? 
Maria: Hmmm... this is a tricky one. Po isn’t just Graced - he’s a mind reader (well, more of an empath, but still). I think Cashore gave us a nice peek into that aspect of Grace earlier in the book. I think it is his particular Grace, more than just the fact that he is Graced, that is the problem. I also am inclined to give Po’s father a bit of slack so far. Randa and Leck are unbridled jerks, yes. But I can see where being a ruler might mean trying to do what is best for ALL of your people, even if it causes harm to your own child. (Not saying I would make that call myself, but I can see some logic in it). I’m hoping that Po’s father is that kind of ruler, and that his mother is just concerned that the king will feel he NEEDS to use Po’s Grace to sort things out, and not really think through what it does to Po.

Kathy: What is the deal with Leck? What does he want with Bitterblue? What does she mean he has a thing for young girls?? At first I thought it was because she was Graced but we would know if he knew, right? Her eyes would have changed.  Is there something else? She mentioned that her mom became more immune to Leck’s Grace when he threatened Bitterblue and that she herself became more immune when he threatened her mom.  Does that happen with others? 
Maria: Leck seems to be (or it sounds like) someone that the Criminal Minds team would be chasing. He enjoys inflicting pain, and I can imagine he may also be a pedophile. All of that, though, doesn't really explain the extent to which he is going to recapture Bitterblue. Maybe her immunity will cause his downfall? Maybe there was a prophecy about her? It doesn't sound like anyone else becomes immune when threatened directly, so I’m thinking there is more to the story than just that. Maybe there is something to the Lienid blood as well that helps with the immunity? Have we seen any other Lienids react to Leck?

Kathy: Also, how is his Grace able to control others? I mean, that is one awesome but crazy Grace! He is also a very smart man, surrounding himself with a Graced inner and outer guard.  Why did he kill his wife? 
Maria: I think she threatens his control. Maybe a Lienid thing, or maybe it’s tied to his need to destroy his daughter. Maybe if she got out, she could destroy his ability to control the spin of his story? I really want to know what’s next.

Kathy: While traveling through the mountains with Katsa, we see a more motherly side to her. Will protecting Bitterblue somehow lead to a change in her wanting children? Or will it reinforce something for Katsa since she has to constantly think about Bitterblue and change her plans accordingly, even to the point of slowing down. 
Maria: I’m curious about this as well - but as I mentioned in my discussion I’m pleased to see this female mentorship build. I think the women teaching women aspect is sorely lacking in fiction, and I’m hoping that Cashore builds on this relationship.

Kathy: In addition to the way they are putting Bitterblue first, I was touched by the scene where Katsa went under the waterfall to find Po’s safe place. She asked him to turn his face away so she could get undressed.  I liked that she considered that a 10 year old might not be ready to know about that part of their relationship. 
Maria: Yes! I loved this. I don’t think Katsa was very sheltered, and I love the fact that she considered the need to shelter Bitterblue.

Kathy: And we left Po!! What does he mean that he doesn’t think he’ll get his balance back?? How is he faring??? Has he been caught? How could Cashore leave us hanging? 
Maria: Yes! I forgot to mention that. I noticed his comment about his balance not coming back as well, and jotted down a note. Can his Grace also notice what is wrong within him? That worried me a lot. I am happy he’s out of the picture for a while - so Katsa and Bitterblue can bond - but I do want him back!

This was an exciting part of the book! I can't wait to see what the last part brings.  How will Cashore bring all the players back together and right the wrongs? Will she write the wrong? Tune in next week!

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Batty About Books - Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Part 2

Batty About Books welcomes you to 

Part 2 of Graceling by Kristin Cashore! 

Maria (mselke01) and I are reading together and our first book is Graceling.  Each week, time permitting, we will share our thoughts about a section of the book.  My thoughts are in blue and Maria's in purple.  On her blog, Maria's Melange, you can read the other side of the story!

BEWARE!! THERE BE SPOILERS HERE!!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Page 116 - 234
Graceling Part 1 - Beginning to pg 115

Kathy: I love the way Po won’t fight Katsa angry.  That would make a great discussion starter or just a fun conversation - what shouldn’t you do angry? I can see kids having fun with the question after we discuss why he won’t fight her.
Maria: I loved this. I just think that the way Po interacts with Katsa is wonderful. I love how he wants to “level the playing field” with her. He respects her strength and power enough that he knows he can’t fight her without her holding back - and that he wants her not to have to hold back. I also think he knows her uneasiness with her anger. I enjoyed the scene when they fought at night, and she could finally completely unleash. Again, I was reminded of some of my favorite female fighters. Batgirl often spars with people like Black Canary so that she can go all out in her training.

Kathy: Were you surprised by Po’s grace? 
Maria:Yes and no. I had some suspicions as I was reading that it wasn’t really just his fighting style. She gave a lot of little hints along the way. When it was finally revealed, I went “Oh, of course! That makes it all make sense”. All the little tidbits about mind readers early on, and the clues about his sensitivity to those around him. They all tied in nicely together. What else makes this awesome? The female has the fighting Grace and the male has the empathy/sensitivity. Yet Katsa still has emotional sensitivity and Po still has power. They are a well matched pair - ying to yang in every way. I’m actually really glad they let the Giddon angle drop. She’ll have enough other issues to work through. Giddon made me pretty angry with how he handled everything in this segment anyway.

Kathy: I wonder how Katsa’s felt when she first decided to let Lord Ellis go - knowing she would not only be defying Randa but losing her place at the castle, such as being able to do her Council work and leaving Raffin.
Maria: Yet another thing I loved. I kept thinking to myself, “Stand up to him already!” - and then she did. I love that she has to face serious consequences for this action. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, and it always carries a price. I’m sure Raffin will come back into her life, though.

Kathy: “When a monster stopped behaving like a monster,, did it stop being a monster?”
This quote makes me think of who I am and how much of it is in reaction to what others think of me or my perception of their thinking.  How much of me is from inside of me? Great segue into a conversation on identity - what it means, how you get it, how to change or own it...
Maria: Yes! What makes us who we are? Is it who we are innately? How we act? Do our choices change who we ARE, or just how we are behaving? Katsa is awfully hard on herself, but I think it’s because she knows what she is doing isn’t moral or ethical, and she’s trying to work herself into making that break.

Kathy: I wonder why Randa doesn’t respect Raffin? Is it just because of his love for medicine? Are doctors on such a low level in their society? If so, why would Cashore do that?
Maria: This leads me to think there may be more to their mutual dislike than we’ve seen so far. There must be more backstory to it. Raffin also doesn’t seem to pursue power for its own sake, and I think that sets Randa’s teeth on edge. My guess is that even though Raffin’s Council work would make Randa angry, he’d probably also respect Raffin’s backbone more if he knew about it. It also makes me think there might be something to your thoughts about Raffin and Bann having a relationship. That would also cause the rift with Randa.

Kathy: I hate that Randa doesn’t care anything about his own niece either.  Outside of her usefulness to him, he wouldn’t care if she was dead. That is so sad! What has happened to Randa that he doesn’t value family???
Maria: I know, right?? I often wonder about the backstory for villains. One of these days I’m going to write a version of Rapunzel that reveals what the witch’s deal was.

Kathy: I would love a Grace that didn’t protected me from sickness and tiredness!! What things I could get done! The places i would go! Would I force myself to slow down and eat and rest like Katsa is doing? Or would I eventually reach the ends of myself because I pushed myself too far? I would hope I would slow down but I’m sure in the beginning, as I was discovering all I could do, I would pretty much run everywhere and try everything - if I was in my own time of course.  Being in a place where Graces are feared would put a slight damper on things!
Maria: Have you read any of the Wheel of Time series? The “magic users” in that world (Aes Sedai) can often use a similar technique to avoid fatigue, but it does take its toll in the end.

Again, check out Part 1 if you missed it! Join us next week for Part 3!

Thanks for joining us!

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Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Bellanush Review

 Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Graphia. 9780547258300. $9.99

Reviewed by BellaNush

Isabella says:

I loved this book! I just enjoyed everything about it! It was an  interesting idea. The two different colored eyes, Katsa's graceling being survival not killing, Po losing his sight! I was absolutely mesmerized by this book. :) Yes, Po losing his sight did make me sad, but it also seemed needed. So I definitely enjoyed this book and I hope others do to. I think this is a good book for people who like descriptive writing and read a lot. But I also think people who don't read a lot would enjoy it because it has a wonderful plot.

Anusha says:

I didn't like this book. No, actually I hated this book! I found it boring, annoying, dumb, insufferable, and most of all, stupid. First off, I HATED the main character! I found her really annoying, because in the beginning of the book, Katsa seems very strong and unbreakable. Then in the middle, she was breaking down and crying over every little thing! Near the end, she was just a mess. Crying one second, taking down an army the next. In love one moment, furious the next. I hated her little mood swings! They were really annoying. The author could have made her a great character, but all we got was this ignorant, annoying, stupidly emotional, mess. It's pretty sad actually.... Second reason why I hated this book was the story. The idea of Gracelings didn't appeal to me from the start, but I thought it would get better. I thought the author would make them more interesting, but no. That never happened. The Gracelings could have been great for the story, but the author chose to focus on everything BUT them. I also hated the whole medieval theme. The characters speech pattern got really annoying after a while, and I just couldn't stand it! It didn't seem perfectly medieval,or at all normal. The speech was at an annoying level in between! Overall, I felt like the book was a COMPLETE waste of my time.

What do you think?

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Review - Fire by Kristin Cashore

Readin'
Fire
Kristin Cashore
Dial Books
461 pg (ARC)
Rdg time: 6 1/2 hrs. (almost straight through)
October 2009

Writin'
Fire is a human monster, born of a human mom and a monster dad. She never met her mom and she's trying to live down her dad's reputation. She lives with Archer and Brocker. Brocker is her substitute dad while Archer is her sometimes boyfriend. Monsters can read minds. They can change the mindsof others. They can also send their thoughts into others head. This ability earns Fire a call to the King's City. King Nash, Prince Brigan, Prince Garan, and Princess Clara want her to come and help them as they prepare for war. They want to use Fire's talents to spy on their enemies.

Rithmetic'
Although this is a prequel to Graceling, it is really nothing like it! Both books have Leck - here we see him as a child - but that's where the similarities end. Fire and company know nothing of these Gracelings and though Fire and Leck have similar sounding powers - Leck's power is really basic.

Brigan is my favorite male character so far this year - move over Mr. Darcy. The book is so engaging, I had a hard time putting it down, and when I did, I kept thinking about it. The last 100 or so pages found me crying off and on - they were so beautiful and well-written. Fire reads more like a love story than an action book. Yes, it had action and intrigue. Brigan was always going off to some battle front. Fire was always guarded by 6 0r 7 soldiers. Someone may have been killed in every chapter. There was also revenge and double crossing. But ultimately we follow Fire as she learns to love herself, learns to separate love from lust, learns what it means to love someone else.

I have some concerns with some of the subject matter - rape, sleeping around, unwanted pregnancy, morning after herbs, herbs to prevent pregnancy - seemed to have been more of that in this book than Graceling. Seemed a little preachy on Cashore's part - we got her views on marriage in Graceling and Fire seemed to promote her views on sex.

Those concerns give me pause when it comes to rating this book. If it was an adult book - no hesitation - but it's for young adults - 14 and above - at least that's how it's marketed. I'm gonna give it 4 copies with hesitation. I loved this book. I actually kept going back and re-reading parts of it. I had to read something else, at 2 in the morning, bcuz I couldn't get my mind off of it. AARRGGH! BN a school librarian iz hard.