Fire --- Kristin Cashore

Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 352

Official Summary:
Fire, Graceling's prequel-ish companion book, takes place across the mountains to the east of the seven kingdoms, in a rocky, war-torn land called the Dells.

Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans.

Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story.

Wondering what makes it a companion book/prequel? Fire takes place 30-some years before Graceling and has one cross-over character with Graceling, a small boy with strange two-colored eyes who comes from no-one-knows-where, and who has a peculiar ability that Graceling readers will find familiar and disturbing...

Review:
I liked this book better than Graceling. It takes place before Graceling and has only one of the same characters.
This book does not deal with Graces as much. (In fact, hardly at all.) But the monsters in this book are what make the story unique.
The story starts a little slow, but it is still entertaining. Once again, Kristin Cashore created a likable main character. However, in both Fire and Graceling, the female characters are opposed to marriage and having children. That was rather bothersome. But overall, this book was fantastic!
Audience 14+

Graceling --- Kristin Cashore

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 471

Official Summary:
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 . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Review:
Fun book to read!

A "Grace" is an extreme skill, ranging from combat skills, swimming, cooking, speaking persuasively, working with animals.... the list is endless. Katsa is very powerful with her Grace and is feared throughout the land as she does an unjust king's bidding. But Katsa does not enjoy hurting and threatening those people who bother the king. As the story evolves, Katsa and her friends try to maintain peace in the seven kingdoms while solving a mysterious problem that has been plaguing the land.

This book is great and the Graces make it even more interesting. Katsa is awesome! She is a well rounded character who is strong and smart, but also faced with some emotional difficulties. Hooray for a good, main character! Romance in this book :) But the author Kristin Cashore focuses on the plot so it doesn't get too sappy.

I really enjoyed Graceling. Cashore writes well and keeps you entertained. I highly recommend this book.

By the way.... the companion book, Fire, is even better :)