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lildawnprince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
sapphicsoilscientist's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Animal death and Violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Incest and Pedophilia
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
➽ I finally read Graceling and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I tried reading it about two years ago and had to put down the book, as I was bored and uninvested. Imagine my surprise when I genuinely enjoyed it this time around! I think listening to the audiobook really helped, as my library had the full cast version (I think there’s a different version with just one narrator?), that brought the characters to life vividly. The audiobook had me really engaged and looking forward to picking up the book again!
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
gillian_aftanas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death and Abortion
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, and War
Animal attack. Near drowning.shadowspinner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Incest and Pedophilia
ducklingh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Incest, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
the main character has numerous fight scenes which are detailed, but not overly gorey, main character is forced to hurt innocent(ish) people,crufts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
There's a lot to compliment about Graceling:
- The narrative hooked me from the start! I ended up reading the entire book in a matter of days. That's pretty rare for me!
- The fantasy setting is easy to absorb and understand; for example, the realm's kingdoms are mnemonically named (Wester = west, Nander = north, Estill = east, Sunder = south, Middluns = center, Monsea = mountains).
- Exciting, dynamic fight sequences, especially the unarmed combat passages.
- Interesting Good vs Good conflicts, where there's real tension because both sides have a point. e.g.
Po concealing the truth about his Grace. - Nice subversion of romance tropes when
Katsa's childhood friend Prince Raffin doesn't end up as Katsa's romantic interest. - The protagonist is exceptionally powerful, but so are the forces against her, so the stakes of the story felt balanced.
- The elements used in the later parts of the story are all foreshadowed and introduced near the beginning.
Graceling sticks to the fundamental writing principles that make a book fun to read. It's just a well-written story, plain and simple. I've docked half a star because the climactic showdown scene at the end could be improved by stretching it out longer, and there are one or two other issues, but this didn't detract much from my enjoyment overall.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse and Incest
Stacks of violence, especially from our killing-Graced protagonist.There are a few fade-to-blacks between the romantic leads.
Some people suspect that a villain is abusing children.
radreadswithrachel's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Grief