Today, I started a new book called Graceling. The main character is a girl named Katsa living in the kingdom of Middluns. In her world, people may be born with a talent called a Grace. They are marked by unmatched eye colors (hers are blue and green), and are disliked by the majority of those in the kingdoms. She fears her Grace of killing. Her uncle, King Randa uses Katsa to punish those who disobey him. She has grown to despise him. His ignorance to the needs of the people has caused Katsa to secretly has set up "the Council" in order to help throughout the Kingdom. This book starts when Girron, Oll, and Katsa rescue an old Liedin (neighboring kingdom) from a dungeon of Murgon, a kingdom that is payed to do other's bidding. It goes smoothly until she meets someone else graced with fighting. He is a Liedin as well, whom she quickly knocks unconscious. She refuses to kill him, and is troubled by him for some time.

So far, I think that this is a really good book. The characters are well developed, and are interesting to follow. I think that Katsa uses her Grace out of fear of herself. Whenever anyone gets near her, she uses it to scare them away. This makes me wonder if her character wishes that her Grace was different. I think that she is wrong to use it either way. She needs to learn to control her anger, not the talent itself. Maybe its her anger that she's afraid of? Does she do as her uncle says out of fear of herself or him?

Also, I think that the Liedin fighter will be a large part of the story. None of the other guards she disabled are dwelled upon, but he is described, and continually mentioned. Maybe he was there to rescue the old man as well, or was the one who put him there to begin with. Either way, I think that he will continue play a large part in the story.