This quickly became an instant classroom shelf book for me. Graceling is great for teens that need a bit of escapism and the understanding that it's ok to be different and those differences should be celebrated. The graphic novel version cuts a bit from the novel, but that makes it an easy read for struggling readers and provides a draw to students that don't typically enjoy text heavy material.
It was definitely an instant favorite, an easy read, and something that will remain on my classroom shelf.

I first read Graceling when it came out. The graphic novel retelling took me down memory lane, reminding me of just why I loved this book and this series to begin with. The graphic novel was done so well, with drawings that said so much more than the text did and brought us into the world in a way we'd been craving. I cried just as much as I did the first time I read it.

NGL I started to read this...and then went to re-read the book instead, I just love it so much. So a DNF but not a reflection of the art or anything, it was wonderful!

I didnt love this one. I found it to be very confusing even to those who are familar with the books on which its based. The art was great but the storytelling could use some work.

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and were not affected by the free copy.

I read Graceling a really, really long time ago. Not joking, it was in 2014. Apparently, I loved it, I rated it 5 stars - unfortunately, I remember literally nothing about it. However, I decided to read the graphic novel without rereading the book, to see how it stood on it's own, not compared to the novel.

The artwork was pretty good. I wish the colors were more vibrant; Katsa has one blue and one green eye, but at a glimpse, the shades were similar enough I originally missed it. I would have also enjoyed a little more engaging world building - I ended up just glossing over the maps with chunks of text explaining each of the kingdoms and rulers. I wish they had been a bit more subtle with their reveal. It was painfully obvious, ridiculously soon into the book, who the villain was.

However, it was a delightfully quick read and very, very solidly YA; originally, the design looked a little more middle grade, but the artist definitely gave justice to some of the more violent scenes. I think it will definitely help revitalize the series, and hopefully engage some new readers. I myself am planning a reread in the near future.

If they decide to do the rest of the series, I will definitely continue on. I recommend this book for graphic novel fans, YA readers, and fantasy lovers.

I honestly didn’t care much for Graceling the first time that I read it, but I did really like the graphic novel format. Something about the characters just hit in a more palatable way for me this time around.

This is definitely something I’d keep in mind for students, overall. I think graphic novels can be highly underrated sometimes and as I work with children who primarily experience reading struggles, I’m eternally grateful for books like these and the opportunity for positively engaging with reading that they provide.

I have read and love the Graceling series by Kristin Cashore. I couldn't wait to read the graphic novel and it was so well done. Gareth Hinds does an excellent job with his illustrations bringing the world and characters to life.

Good story but it felt like it was missing something. I haven’t read the novel but this made want to. This is a good intro to the series.

As a book that holds a special place in my heart, the Graphic Novel had a lot to live up to.

I read Graceling for the first time over 10 years ago, and it has had a place of honor on my shelf ever since. To hear that the world was expanding and getting a new format of book 1? I could not have been more excited!

As direct translations go, it was pretty good. I did have any reason for concern as the story matched my memory and was just as good as I remembered it. I will fully admit I did not do a reread of the original before picking up the graphic novel. But nothing seemed off to me as I was immersed in the world. The art was well done, even if it wasn't my favorite art style. As art is in the eye of the beholder, a quick glance at the first few pages will give you a great feel on the style if you are concerned.

What I loved most about this version was the idea of spreading this world to others who may not connect with traditional print books like I did. As someone who only read graphic novels for the longest time due to a reading disability, the fact that young readers like me can get immersed in such a great story just makes me so happy.

A really wonderful adaptation of Graceling. I love the original material so much, so was very happy to see how well done this was.

Graphic Novels are a great medium to get people into reading books or genres they may not have picked up otherwise. Graceling is no exception. It's a great YA novel for the modern teen. The story is fun and refreshing and the art style matches the aesthetics of the story very well. Personally I still prefer the original novel, but for a younger audience this is a great book!

This is a faithful Graphic novel adaptation of Kristin Cashore's excellent fantasy novel. Recommended for collections with a strong demand for YA Graphic novels.

I have not read the novel version of this, but now I want to. The graphic adaption left something to be desired for those who are new to the world. I was confused at different parts of the story, but the illustrations were wonderful and I'm sure the story is perfect for those who read the novel and were looking for another go around.

Well that was fantastic. A great adaptation anyone who loved Graceling should definitely read.Overall it is a great accompaniment to the novel, I hope they turn the entire series into graphics, I'm sure there is an audience for them and they will spur the book into a new generation of fans.

"Graceling" was one of the first books I ever really fell in love with, so it was such a joy to return to the story through Gareth Hinds's beautiful illustrations. While the graphic novel doesn't add anything particularly new or innovative to Cashore's original novel, it's a faithful adaptation of what has become a modern-day classic, and I'd be eager to see the rest of the series adapted.

I loved Graceling and its sequels, Fire, Bitterblue, and Winterkeep, and I also love graphic novels, so I was so excited to see that Graceling had scored a graphic adaptation. Well, at least I was excited until I read it. A graphic novel should be more than a literal illustration of a text. Not only is that all we get here, but the illustrations themselves are flat and lifeless, adding up to an unsatisfying reading experience.

I’ll reuse my plot description from my review of the novel, and then talk more about the specifics of the adaptation. Here’s an introduction to the story:

In the Seven Kingdoms, some people are born “Graced,” or in possession of special gifts, which range from the useful (cooking) to the impractical (tree climbing) to the problematic: Katsa is Graced with killing. All Graced people belong to the kings to use as they see fit, and Katsa has been trained as an enforcer by her royal uncle, who forces her to break arms and worse to keep his underlings in line. To borrow a phrase, Katsa is the Brute Squad. While she can’t imagine defying her uncle outright, she blows off steam by using her Grace for secret missions of justice and peace. On one such mission, she rescues an imprisoned noble, and encounters another Graced fighter, a prince named Greening Grandemalion, who understandably goes by the nickname Po. The prisoner was Po’s grandfather. This meeting causes Katsa to start asking questions about her obedience to her uncle, and also why Po’s harmless old grandfather was a prisoner in the first place.

While the text novel is a gripping page turner, the graphic version lacks energy. There are too many text boxes, and they are often also much too large. Lengthy monologues and narration create visual dead space, where momentum goes to die.

The art compounds the problem. The story is primarily shown in separate, sequential panels, creating a choppy visual experience which resembles a storyboard more than a finished, flowing narrative. Katsa’s fight sequences are especially prone to literal, step-by-step depiction.


The facial expressions are exaggerated and awkward, cartoonish rather than graphic. If the illustrations were a film, we’d say they were overacting – “This is my FRUSTRATION FACE. See how frustrated I am! My brow, it furrows, and my eyes, they squint! Yes, such frustration!”

I will give the artist credit for absolutely stunning landscapes. Unfortunately, I don’t come to graphic novels for landscapes.

Content in adaptations needs to be reduced to meet graphic novel page restrictions. Add the fact that so much space is wasted on step by step images of Katsa doing a backflip, and you have even less space for worldbuilding. That’s a huge loss, because Graceling is one of those novels that camouflages its plot twists by giving you so many details that it’s impossible to know which one will be relevant later. In the novel, for instance, you hear about all of the Seven Kingdoms and their rulers in balance, so you don’t know who’s behind the grandfather’s kidnapping. In the graphic novel, the way the rulers are described and illustrated and how much time is spent on each makes it rapidly obvious who the villain is. Additionally, the characters experience a magic which distorts reality, which could make for an interesting visual, but it’s shown just as literally as everything else.

Graceling is a terrific book, but this graphic novel is not a worthy adaptation.

Love a graphic novel adaptation and they are so appealing to the teen audience at the moment!

It's rare to find a good Fantasy one, but I loved the art style of this and found it much easier to digest the general plot than with the book.

I loved the art, story, and characters; this format was an awesome way to begin my journey in the world of Graceling.

This book was the graphic novel adaption I never knew I needed until I read it. That art style was superb and the pacing was wonderful. I highly recommend everyone who loved the original or is looking for a fantasy read pick it up.

I am not a huge fan of the current trend of graphic adaptations. I think it takes something really special to make a graphic adaption "worth it" when little else is changed, and Graceling didn't quite clear that bar for me. All of the wonderful elements of the original story still shine, but the art didn't bring enough new to the story to make it work as well as a graphic.