Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

From the cover:

In a world where people born with an extreme skill-called a Grace- are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she depises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is 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.

I wasn't sure that I would like this book, it's kind of fantasy, kind of historical fiction- not my favourite choices but my guru Terri Lesesne wrote very favourably of it so I put it on my list to read and was not disappointed. I loved the notion of Graced people and how it is a blessing and a curse. One of the better books I've read so far this 2009.

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