Graceling: The Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds

Graceling: The Graphic Novel is (obviously) the graphic novel adaptation of the book Graceling written by Kristin Cashore. The graphic novel has been transformed and illustrated by Gareth Hinds. The novel is about Katsa, the niece of a king and a graceling. She is one of very few people in her world to possess an incredible skill. She finds out about her powers during one of her uncle’s banquets. Kasta discovered she had the ability to kill with her bare hands. Her old life gets taken away from her and she now travels the kingdoms with her uncle threatening any who would dare to oppose him. But when King Randa ordered Katsa to force a lord to give up one of his daughters, Katsa realizes that she’s had enough of Randa’s horrible shenanigans and leaves him for good.

Katsa also meets Po, another graceling with the same abilities as her who is searching for the truth about his grandfather’s disappearance. Katsa reluctantly agrees to help him and along their journey they find out the truth about her powers. Along with a terrible, dark, secret that has been destroying kingdoms and the minds of their inhabitants.

I have a YouTube channel where I animate some of my book reviews! Be sure to check it out at: www.youtube.com/@theeccentricbookshelf.

Graceling is stunning. The world seems so well created which really makes it feel like you’re being transported into the story and into Katsa’s mind. There is a bit of a romance element between Katsa and Po which didn’t really make much sense or add much in the beginning, but later on, the relationship between the characters adds to the depth of the novel and crafts a more intricate story.

The characters and problems in the book genuinely made it feel real. All the details came together and formed more and more layers that all just kept adding to the novel making it feel real. The book was so good at making me empathize with the characters. I could feel my heart race and it felt so incredible when more and more information revealed itself and it all clicked into place. 

The graphic novel is pretty intense, so it probably isn’t for younger kids. I like more intense, but not so intense that it’s scary (because that’s too scary), books and I definitely enjoyed this one. I feel like there was a little too much romance, but not so much to make me not enjoy the novel. Overall, the details included were so incredible and the mystery element just kept me reading.