Graced with Love: Lienid

Sunday, October 18, 2009

School's in Session!

I'm so excited! My school continues to expand. Now in addition to traveling to all seven kingdoms I have a home campus in Lienid. I have 30 on-campus students so far. I hope things will keep expanding from here. I don't want any little girl to feel helpless.

Bitterblue is campaigning for a campus in Monsea; she has already enrolled 5 students. Pretty soon I'm going to have to expand my staff!

~~ Katsa ~~

We've Moved

Po and I have moved from our secluded cabin-- we'll never disclose the location so stop asking-- to Po's castle in Lienid. It's beautiful and not very castle-like at all, which we love. It's more like a manor. Everyone has been very nice and I'm almost used to appearing in public without people staring at my eyes, hiding their children from view, etc.

Po is all settled in and his family is glad to have him back. I wish I could spend more time with him, but my self-defense classes for young girls keep me busy traveling throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Can anyone blame me for teaching lots of classes in Lienid? :)

Our door is always open, so come visit us soon!

~~ Katsa ~~

What is a Graceling?

A Graceling is someone with a special ability, like fighting or mindreading. This ability usually manifests itself in childhood, but the timeframe is different for everyone.

A Graceling can be identified by his or her eyes: they will be different colors.

Being a Graceling is generally considered to be something of a curse. People are wary of you, children are afraid of you, and most kings will force you to live in their castles and work for them. When you're a Graceling, you're often viewed as little more than a secret weapon.

If you or someone you know struggles with a Graced life, there is help. Call the 24-hour support line (800-598-4258) and speak to someone who has been there.

A Note from Megan

Graceling
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008
471 pages
4P, 4Q

I loved Graceling. I finished it in one sitting and immediately began recommending it to friends and family. Graceling is Kristin Cashore's first novel. Her second novel, Fire, is a prequel to Graceling.

*spoiler*

For this blog I chose to focus on Katsa's school of self-defense and Po's blindness as a result of his fight with King Leck. Both Katsa and Po are Graced. Katsa's Grace presents itself as superior fighting ability, but events in the novel lead her to discover that her Grace is actually the ability to survive. After rescuing Bitterblue from King Leck's clutches she realizes that someone needs to teach young girls self-defense and so, in an effort to make up for all the terrible things she did as her uncle's assassin she travels the Seven Kingdoms and does just that.

Po's Grace also presents itself as a superior fighting ability, but his true Grace -- known only to himself, his mother, Katsa, and Raffin-- is the ability to sense the thoughts, movements, and location of everything around him. It is this Grace that allows him to hide his blindness from his family after his fight with King Leck. He has kept his true Grace a secret because he wants to be able to have normal human relationships.

Graced with Love

Sunday, October 18, 2009

School's in Session!

We've Moved

About Me

Our place in the Seven Kingdoms

What is a Graceling?

We keep tabs on these people:

Katsa's favorite sites

Po's favorite sites:

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A Note from Megan

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