Amazing Grace

Okay, so I thought Graceling by Kristin Cashore was super cool. I don't know why. I mean, yes, it's a fantasy book. I'm gonna be clear with that. And generally fantasy books are not thought of as being cool in any way. Generally, they are considered to be a little... well... nerdy?

I, however, have absolutely no shame when I say that I LOVE fantasy.

NO SHAME!

But I will have to say that Graceling was on the lighter end of the fantasy genre. Kinda like... fantasy for people who don't like fantasy. There are no elves. No wizards. No fairies.

Just people. People with really awesome powers. Really RIDICULOUSLY awesome powers! And you don't even have to refer to them as powers. You could call them... talents? Or graces, which is what they are actually called.

Take Katsa (a name oddly similar to Katniss from the Hunger Games, which bothered me a little) for example. She has a fighting grace. She pretty much can kill anybody she wants to with very little effort. Sooooo naturally, the majority of people fear her.

She's a type character, in my opinion. She's a really strong female lead (strong physically, and later on becomes very strong in other respects). She doesn't want to get married or have children or be tied down in any manner. She just wants to be free.

And I found this to be really interesting...

BEGIN SPOILER ALERT!

Katsa constantly says how she doesn't want to be a mother and care for children. But she's actually super nurturing, in my opinion. And sure, you might be able to say that it's only towards those people who she loves (like Po), but what really struck me was when she and Bitterblue had to traverse the mountains alone.

Katsa displayed a lot of motherly qualities towards this frail, scared little girl who she had just met. I mean, yeah, she was supposed to be rescuing her, and maybe it had to do with the fact that Bitterblue is Po's cousin and maybe it had to do with her grace, but Katsa always made sure Bitterblue got everything first. She fed her first, she clothed her excessively before she even clothed herself, she carried her over the mountain even though she herself was freezing and hungry and absolutely exhausted.

And Katsa even insists on teaching Bitterblue how to defend herself instead of just doing all the work for her. She insisted on, well, "bettering" Bitterblue, something that she was never obligated to do. It seems like something a mother would do-- make sure her daughter can fend for herself when the time comes.

So yeah. It just seemed like despite all her complaints or whatever about not wanting to be a mother, Katsa seemed to show quite a bit of potential for doing a good job of it.

END SPOILER.

Graceling was well constructed in that manner of being a fantasy book but having all the "real world" problems weaving through it: feminism and marriage and first love and all that jazz. I think that's why fantasy is so great. Because it's not preachy. The main focus GENERALLY is the whole adventure and all the cool aspects of the world. And the real world problems are still there.

It kinda bothers me if somebody doesn't pick up a book just because it's fantasy. Be a little more open-minded, people! It's the same thing with YA lit and people who won't read it because it's YA. BE OPEN-MINDED. These books are GOOD! Ignore the classifications and take it for what it's worth. Ugh!

So yeah. Graceling= good. Not the best fantasy book I've read, I'd say, but I really liked it a lot. Recommended, especially for people who DON'T like fantasy!