Now that's more like it!

Dear Joshua,

You are a big fan of Tolkien, just like me and Justin. Justin got us into the books and I can remember reading The Hobbit on our way to Florida the first time. We were sitting in the car and I was reading Gollum’s riddles to dad. I remember you (how old were you? You had to have been super little) trying to guess the answers. It was so cute!

Well, today I have a really great fantasy book for you! It’s called Graceling by Kristen Cashore. It doesn’t have very many of the same elements as Tolkien’s world, but it’s still pretty darn good. Katsa is a Graceling, someone who has a Grace. A Grace in this world is a gift of tremendous ability. Not everyone has one and you know a Graceling by their eyes being two different colors. Katsa has the gift of killing. She can kill any person at any time with any method. She’s quite a phenomenon. She is used in her kingdom as a hit-man (hit-woman?) by the king. She doesn’t like her job and doesn’t appreciate her skill being used to solve petty crimes.

Katsa creates her own secret society to put her Grace to good use. She and her friends stumbled upon a mystery and have decided to take it into their own hands. Someone is causing a lot of trouble, namely kidnapping an elderly man for no apparent reason. Katsa meets another Graceling, Po, who happens to have a strong connection to the elderly man. Katsa and Po’s relationship unfolds into something beautiful and intimate and together they learn of a terrifying man who destroys the minds he meets. It is their duty to put an end to him.

We talked in class about fantasy books and what types of questions they raise and how those questions can be answered by fantasy. Basically, a fantasy book can ask any of the same questions a non-fantasy book can ask. We have discussed how The Lord of the Rings is similar to the Second World War, raising many of the same issues. Well, Graceling presents questions on gender, power, altruism, and relationships. Remember how I said that Frankie was about how NOT to treat a girl? Well, Graceling is about how you SHOULD treat a girl. Po is an excellent male figure, one that I think most young adults would appreciate.

It doesn’t matter what you’re vehicle is. You can write in plain old fiction or amp it up with fantasy. As long as you have some pertinent questions and make use of our higher cognitive functioning, you’ve got yourself a good book. Graceling is one you must read.