Parenthetical.net

I sat on this review for a few weeks, because I didn’t want you to forget about it — it is fabulous, and any of you who love Alanna or Jacky Faber (or any fantasy/adventure, really — this book is perfect adult crossover material) should run to your local bookstore or library to make Katsa’s acquaintance as soon as possible.

The Pitch: (any spoilers here are revealed early in the story, or are obvious from the flap copy)

Katsa is the niece of King Randa, who rules Middluns, the central kingdom of the seven in this world. She was born with a rare and feared skill called a Grace. Some people are Graced with cooking or weather prediction; Katsa is Graced with the ability to kick the ass of anyone she meets. Her uncle uses her to bully everyone in his kingdom. Under his nose, though, she started a Council of Robin Hoods bent on protecting the common people tormented by the whims of the kings. The book opens as the Council is rescuing the father of the Lienid king from another king’s dungeon. As Katsa and her new friend Po, a Lienid prince, unravel the mystery of this odd kidnapping, it leads them to the horrible secret behind another king’s rule.

The characters feel real, the plot is perfectly paced, and I figured out the Big Secrets just a page or two before the characters — early enough to make me feel smart, and like the revelations didn’t come out of nowhere; late enough so the characters don’t seem dense. I read almost the whole damn thing in a day, and there is little higher praise than that.

Somewhat Spoilery Pondering:

Thematically, this is a book about power: what does it mean to have it? What does it mean to abuse it? When does it control you, and when do you control it? Katsa’s emotional journey has to do with answering those questions: is she a monster because of the violence she can commit? How can she use her Grace without losing control over it? Can she love someone without giving him more power over her than she can tolerate?

…Ok, enough sounding smart — on to the squeeeing! I haven’t had a crush on a fictional character in forever, but Po is mad hot. This is the sort of romance I can get into — where the romance isn’t contrived to be the center of the story, but grows out of the characters’ other actions and motivations; where there’s drama in the rest of the story that is not in service of the romance; when both characters are fully realized and flawed. (Suck it, Bella and Edward. Pun intended.)

I love how carefully considered their relationship is. Katsa is determined not to marry, nor to have children — she will not tie her freedom to another person. She isn’t the heir to anything, so she has that freedom within the realistic laws of a monarchy (she’s well aware that her friend Raffin, Randa’s son and heir, does not). She keeps her commitment even after she falls in love with Po, distinguishing her from pretty much every other fantasy heroine ever. She will not capitulate to marrying him, even when it appears to be the only way to relieve the sexual tension that has been making me insane for 200 pages. And when Po presents another option (”I’ll give myself to you any way you’ll have me”), it takes her multiple chapters to wind through all the considerations.

The issues modern teenagers have to consider are different, but I love that it’s shown here as a question to be considered. They finally Do It in the heat of the moment, yes (using fantasy birth control, of course), but it’s clear that both Katsa and Po have weighed the options and made a conscious choice.