As a longtime lover of the Graceling series I was thrilled to see they were making a graphic novel adaption. The story follows a ‘graced’ young woman finding the truth and herself along the way. I wasn’t totally sold on the art style until Po was introduced, but they drew him so perfectly I can’t help but love it. I definitely think having read the novel gave me an even deeper appreciation for this adaptation, but I truly think anyone who likes fantasy would enjoy it! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with the e-arc.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for my honest opinion!

I’m sure everyone knows of Graceling by now but just in case you don’t. Graceling follows Katsa. A woman born with the grace of killing. A Grace is a special power a person can have and you can usually tell by the special color of their eyes. This graphic novel perfectly captures the important plot points, and the art is absolutely stunning. It brought this story to life in a whole new way and I absolutely loved it. Read this if you’re not sure about diving into the series and then immediately read the books after! Very much enjoyed this

I have been dying to read Graceling for quite a long while. I bought the new cover, but still haven’t gotten to it. So when I saw the option to read the Graphic Novel first, I took it. After finishing this, I am completely psyched up to read the book, because I LOVED the story!!!

Katsa is Graced. Her grace gives her the ability to fight and she is unmatched in that area. This is her journey to fight her way out of the clutches of tyrannical rulers, find love, and teach girls how to save themselves. Any fantasy book with an undertone of feminism and I am all in!

My favorite part about the story is that you can always tell when someone is Graced by the color of their eyes. They have heterochromia, two different colored eyes. I don’t know what about that intrigues me so much, but it does.

I loooooooved Katsa’s strength and her love interest Po, even more. Why do I always fall for guys in books? My standards must be way too high!😂

Thank You to Clarion Books & NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

One of my all time favorite books is Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Granted, I have only read it once and that was many years ago — back when it first came out. When I saw that there was a graphic novel version coming out, I was super jazzed for it. Who doesn’t love experiencing an excellent story all over again. Unfortunately, sometimes what is a great experience in one format is not so excellent in another.

Graceling follows Katsa who lives with her uncle who is king. She is graced – meaning she has a super natural skill. Katsa’s Grace is that she is good at killing. She has emotionally shunted herself off, that is, until she meets Prince Po and falls for him. Eventually the two travel to the kingdom of Monsea where they learn that things are a little off with King Leck.

It really pains me to say this, but the graphic novel adaptation did not work for me at all. I didn’t find the art visually appealing. Mind you I’ve been bingeing these YA graphic novels, so have a basis of comparison and I found this to not be eye catching at all. I also felt like the dialogue was super long and not snappy as comics and graphic novels tend to be. This was not at all the revelation the original was. However, I do think if you happen to be a super fan, it may be worth buying this book and adding it to your collection.

This graphic version of the beloved book Graceling was highly anticipated. The images are simply depicted but the characters were able to portray feelings through their expressions. The story has been distilled down to a basic plot that hits the essential elements yet misses some of the emotional dynamics that made the novel a favorite.

Teens who loved Cashore’s book should welcome this alternate version, even if it isn’t as thoroughly satisfying.

This was surprisingly good!!! I was unaware that there was actually a book and this was the graphic novel retelling of that, but the premise sounded awesome so I decided to read it. It was so good! Beautifully illustrated, I imagine tells the story well because it told this story very well… I devoured this in one sitting (and ended up being a little late back from my lunch break since it was just so good I couldn’t put it down!!!

I received an ARC, but my opinions are all mine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of Graceling (Graphic Novel) by Kristin Cashore.

I really enjoyed this book and have read is previously just this year. I thought the art style in this graphic novel portrayed the characters well and shows a lot of diversity which is very welcome.

I will say that based on my memory of the story this book did feel a bit rushed., especially the lead up to the second part of the book. I know that the style of the book and the style of the graphic novel is different and I think that if this hadn't been a book first it would have flowed perfectly well.

Overall it was enjoyable if feeling a bit rushed for me. I gave it 3.5 stars and rounded up to 4.

A great, and quick, adaptation of a beloved YA fantasy. Fans will definitely want to pick this up! There are some drawbacks to the graphic format--namely the grueling treks through the mountains don't have quite the same impact as they did in original text--but it is certainly worth a read.

A wonderful graphic adaptation of the novel that is enhanced with absolutely beautiful illustrations. This is the first time I've read a graphic adaptation and had it inspire me to reread the series again. Overall it's really well done and a great way in our library to get some of our 'only graphic novels' readers to get a step closer to novels. Just like the novels, the world building is wonderful. The illustrations follow pretty close to the overall feel and imagery in the actual novel. This will definitely end up in our library collection and quite possibly my own personal collection.

I loved it when the I read the original book and this graphic novel is simply amazing! Not quite how I saw the characters but it was very engaging

As a longtime Graceling fanatic….meh. I was hoping for a more manga-esque art style like Fangirl or other GN adaptations, and this style just didn’t resonate with my image of Katsa. (Po and Bitterblue were great, if not in my preferred style!)

I will still recommend it as a library professional. but it’s not going to be one of my go-to recs.

Thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for an advanced copy of this to review! Graceling is one of my favorite young adult books and I was excited to see the adaption. At first, I was a bit hesistant about it because it seems like a lot to adapt into a graphic novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Even though at times, it seemed a bit wordy, the illustrations were beautiful. I especially liked the way the landscape images, really drawing you into this fantasy world. The fight sequences are also well done. You can feel the movement between Katsa and Po, and it adds a lot to the story itself. 

My only issue with the adaptation is that you lose some of the world building from the original book. This might take readers back to the original story though, which I definitely recommend! Even though I know the story, the end was still suspenseful. Seeing it played out in illulstrations might have made it even more so. I was on the edge of my seat even though I know what happens!

All in all, this is a great adaptation that might bring a new generation of readers to this YA classic.

I received an E-ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This is a Graphic Novel of Kristin Cashore's Graceling. was adapted and illustrated by Gareth Hinds. I have never read Cashore's novel, but have now added it to my TBR list. I truly enjoyed this graphic novel. Gracelings are born with 2 different colored eyes and a Grace (an extreme skill.) Katsa's Grace is the ability to kill. Her uncle, King Randa, uses her as an enforcer to torture those who have crossed him. Po is also a Graceling, and the first person to truly challenge Katsa in a fight.
Together they go on a mission to save his Aunt and Cousin from evil King Leck. Along the way, they discover more about themselves, each other and the world they live in.
This one will definitely be added to our library, as I am sure that our students will love it.

Thanks NetGalley for this eARC!
The graphic novel of Graceling was well done, and true to the original work. The illustrations were great, and the action definitely came alive on the page.

It did feel like the relationship was a bit rushed when I read this version of the story. I honestly don't remember if I felt the same way the first time I read the Graceling novel, or if it was just because graphic novels allow some things to be sped along. I did manage to finish it in one sitting, so I think that says a lot about the story!

As a fan of the actual book I can say I adored this, the artwork and color scheme was beautiful, it made me want to go back and reread the novel, what an awesome graphic novel!

Thank you to Netgalley and Clarion Books for the advanced reader copy.

It has been many years since I read and enjoyed Graceling, so I was very interested to return to that story with a graphic novel.
Graphic novel editions of books can be tricky, as they tend to lose much of the detail and internal world that you can give a reader with words, but what you lack in detail you can make up for in beautiful art and bringing characters and places into a visual medium.
Unfortunately, I don't think this particular adaptation succeeds. The art is just on the side of being a little too weak to make for dynamic scenes, and backgrounds are often left blank or with minimum detail. A few panels are lovely, but for the most part it's just talking heads. The opportunity to render the environment and the landscape, or interesting character designs have been missed. It seems a more generic medieval setting with utterly generic characters than I remember imagining when I read the book.
Still, for fans of this series this may be a welcome addition, and the story is faithfully represented. For younger YA fans who may have missed out on reading Graceling, this is a good gateway into that world.

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Graceling, so I don't know how I couldn't love it as a graphic novel.

I thought the graphic novel did a great job of capturing the storyline and including all of the important elements. It was neat to see it in a different format.

If you haven't read the book, I suggest you do because I think it will make you appreciate the graphic novel more. It follows Katsa, who is a Graceling, and her companion Po as they go in search of the person who kidnapped Po's grandfather. Gracelings are people with special abilities such as fighting, mind control, persuasion, hearing people's thoughts, etc. What starts off as a simple quest to discover the kidnapper ends up turning into a rescue and escape plan as Katsa and Po learn that the man responsible for kidnapping his grandfather is more dangerous than anyone could have predicted.

I love the Graceling world, so I wouldn't mind seeing the other ones turned into graphic novels as well!

Overall this is an excellent graphic adaptation, but some of the nuances and details that really stand out in Graceling are lost here. Despite feeling detailed enough, there were times that the plot felt a bit rushed and some characters weren't as fleshed out as they might have been in the book. However, Hinds' gorgeous art supports the plot well and the eliminated components will likely only feel significant to fans of the full-length book.

The Graceling series was probably one of my favorites as a young adult. I remember reading and rereading them. I think what I loved about the series most was that it was a young adult fantasy series with a strong female protagonist who took no crap from anyone ever.

This graphic novel filled me with me with nostalgia. I felt like I was right back in Katsa's world and I made myself right at home remembering all the characters and revisiting the plot: in full color! I forgot that the graced had different colored eyes and it was cool seeing that in color. I enjoyed this stroll down memory lane. If you're new to the Graceling series, welcome! Open these page to find a world in which the graced (those with enhanced abilities) work for the kings and queens of the land, where one particularly graced girl can kill with her bare hands and is used to do her royal uncle's dirty work until one day she doesn't. These pages contain Katsa's journey to seek freedom and justice in the world. She has to let go of old friends, embrace new ones and cross a dangerous mountain chain twice. Along way, she makes friends and even has a romantic interlude. Katsa's quest will have you turning the pages and leave you off on a cliffhanger ending.

What I loved most: the full scale color and the beautifully illustrated landscape, the gorgeous cover, reliving my childhood through this graphic novel!

"The beloved New York Times best-selling YA fantasy by Kristin Cashore is now available as a graphic novel, with stunning illustrations by award-winning artist Gareth Hinds.

Katsa is a Graceling, one of the rare people born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she lived a life of privilege until the day her ability to kill a man with her bare hands revealed itself during a royal banquet. Now she acts as her uncle’s enforcer, traveling the kingdom and threatening those who dare oppose him.

But everything changes when she meets Po, a foreign prince Graced with combat skills who is searching for the truth about his grandfather’s disappearance. When Katsa agrees to help him, she never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that could destroy them all.

With "gorgeous storytelling" (School Library Journal, starred review) and characters "crafted with meticulous devotion" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Graceling is a beloved classic that has continued to resonate with readers for over a decade."

I love graphic novels of favorite books because I'm all about seeing if someone else sees the book the same way I do.