I really enjoyed reading this book. I have found that scifi books for teens are slowly becoming one of my favorite genres.
What I like about this book: the relationships that develop between Katsa and the other characters. Even though she has a power to kill she also tries to make up for that by doing good.
What I did not like: the ending seemed to occur abrubtly. I think it could have been a little more developed.
I would recommend this book for my library (medium public library). ( )

Katsa, niece to the king, is a graceling, someone born with a special talent. Her talent is for killing, something her uncle exploits to her frustration. To make amends for the wrong she does for her kingdom, she also secretly helps people - and it is this that leads her to rescue the kidnapped grandfather of another king.  During this rescue she meets another graceling - one whose fighting skills are almost as good as her own, and together they seek out the evil that is threatening the land.

I liked this a lot - although I remember feeling the ending sort of rushed towards a conclusion.

In all the Seven Kingdoms no is feared or revered as much as Gracelings -- individuals who are born with an innate talent to do something extremely well, be it to sing perfectly, outrun a horse, or even to read minds. Gracelings are immediately discerned by their different colored eyes, often to their disadvantage since most people distrust and even dislike them. Katsa is born with one green and one blue eye but has no idea what her grace is until after her seventh birthday, when she accidentally killed a man. With the unlikely grace of killing Katsa is turned into her uncle's (King Randa) personal thug and enforcer - sending Katsa off on missions to 'punish' his vassals through pain, torture or even death. For herself, Katsa views her grace as a burden -- more often than not seeing herself as a monster. That is until she begins planning and executing her own secret missions with the help of her friends to combat the oppressive reigns of various rulers. One such mission to rescue the kidnapped grandfather of another ruler doesn’t go exactly as planned when Katsa encounters another Graceling almost as talented in fighting as she is. A Graceling who will challenge every belief Katsa holds about the world around her and herself.Boy, oh boy, Katsa kicks butt. Really. She's not happy unless she's taking out an entire battalion of bad guys. She doesn't feel feminine (she even cuts off all her hair - I can totally sympathize!) but she still possesses this incredibly soft inner self which is slowly uncovered as she opens herself up to others. In her struggle to define, and perhaps more importantly, learn to control her Grace, Katsa strives to find the courage to take control of her own life. This fast-paced book practically flew by but still took the time to address even minor characters which left me feeling satisfied and thoroughly engaged throughout. Graceling is an adventure story, a fantasy, a mystery, a political suspense, a romance -- it has it all and doesn't stop for a second. I found myself thinking about Katsa long afterwards because by golly, how fun would it be to be able to KNOW you could take down anybody, I mean anybody, before they even noticed you had two different colored eyes? ( )

I am really confused on how I feel about this book. On one hand, the summary seemed very interesting, but my expectations were set a little high, and although it was not exactly disappointing, it wasn't what I was expecting. Katsa was a good female character, full of power and determination, and she was far from perfect. Her love interest was sweet, and I like how their relationship developed. There were many characters beside them, all of them with ridiculous names (Po, Bitterblue, etc.), and some of them were quite unnecessary. The plot was decent, but there was a little too much traveling for my taste. It was a good fantasy, but something was lacking that would have made it great ( )

Katsa is graced with the ability to kill, and her king forces her to use this grace to his advantage. Yet Katsa is tired of following his orders and would rather use her skills to help the citizens of the kingdom instead. During a scuffle surrounding a kidnapping, she encounters another Graceling who becomes the first person in her life who understands her and befriends her. Po, whose grace is fighting, will help Katsa hone her skills, learn about herself, and ultimately find satisfaction in her unique circumstances. Recommended for its fast pace, unusual romance, and adventurous survival. Fans of The Warrior Heir and The Hunger Games would enjoy this one. ( )