Playing Catch-Up

There are lots of good things about Salkehatchie, and even about having a week unplugged in general, but one downside is that I've fallen out of the habit of blogging, and I'm behind on some things I ought to tell you about.

First off, GRACELING. I read this back before I left for Salkehatchie and I meant to tell you about it then, but I didn't get there. GRACELING is a novel by Kristin Cashore, and while it took me a little while to get into it and I solved the "mystery" way before Katsa and Po did, I still really really enjoyed it.

In the fictional realm where GRACELING is set, some children are born with eyes that are two different colors. These children are "Graced" with some sort of gift, from painting to fighting, even to killing. This is the Grace with which Katsa has been gifted, and she hates it. Her uncle, a king, uses her as his personal thug. Katsa hates the crimes she is forced to commit. To make matters worse, Gracelings are considered unnatural, and as such, Katsa has never really had any friends.

In a sort of retaliation effort, she has formed the Council, a group that has spread through all seven kingdoms in an effort to protect the people from the acts of the kings. One of Katsa's missions with the Council is to rescue the grandfather of the Lienid princes. Along the way, she meets Prince Po, who has set out to find his grandfather and determine why he has been captured. Po is also Graced - with fighting. He and Katsa, two outcasts, two incredible fighters, set out to determine who captured Po's grandfather and for what reason. And the stakes may be a lot higher than either of them realized.

Reminiscent of Tamora Pierce's Lioness quartet, GRACELING was an excellent story with a well-thought out plot (even though I predicted some of it, there were definitely twists that I didn't see coming) and characters that you can't help but love. Definitely read it if you get the chance.

Also, during the week while I was at Salkehatchie, I read GLASS HOUSES by Rachel Caine, the first book in the Morganville Vampires series. The premise of the story was interesting - college town secretly ruled by vampires; actually, it was way more complicated than that, but I'm being pressured by my little brother to leave my computer and go watch Firefly - but I felt like the execution wasn't spectacular. Don't get me wrong, it was an amusing (although possibly unintentionally so) and quick read and I will probably end up reading the second one, but it felt like the drama was way over the top. Yes, it helped that Shane understood being on Monica's bad side, but the fact that she burned down his house and killed his sister was pushing it a little. Or a lot.

Finally, I've just started SKINNED by Robin Wasserman, which I will tell you all about when I finish it.

And now I need to go watch Firefly, because 1) it's awesome and 2) I think Little Brother 2 might kill me if I'm not out there in the next thirty seconds or so. Catch you later,
Bex