**Hopefully this can be used as an argument for more than just Twilight fans to read Kristin Cashmore's beautiful, adventurous, and amazing novel, Graceling. But I figure if the Twilight fans get into it, that is a pretty big audience to start with.
So you've read Twilight, which is why I am talking to you. I know that not all Twilight fans are the same. Maybe you love everything that Stephanie Meyer creates, or maybe you hate Breaking Dawn (full disclosure, it's ridiculousness and Bella's character changes make it my favorite, maybe that makes me less credible). You've seen all the movies. Maybe you love every time Robert Pattinson walks on screen. Perhaps you're a New Moon fan and can't get enough Taylor Lautner. You may love Kristen Stewart and you may still be wondering my Summit did not cast you. Maybe James is still your favorite villain, but perhaps you can't get enough of the Volturi.
Now that I've accepted your many differences, I am going to make a couple of generalizations. You love the romance and the struggle and (even if you wished there had been a battle first) the happy ending. You love that this story includes supernatural elements, something beyond everyday life. My hope is that you kind of wished that Bella could have gotten it together enough to maintain some sanity without Edward. Because true love is great, but there is a little more to life. And you wish that Edward would loosen up a little. And be less of a creeper. But not too much.
I want you to read Graceling, by Kristin Cashmore. Because Bella & Edward's story (flawed as I think it was, and as perfect as you might think it was) is done and you need that kind of page turning romance and adventure. But I think you should go with a heroine like Graceling's Katsa, who is fiercely independent and does not lose that, even when she falls madly in love. Love shouldn't drag people down, it should lift them up. Katsa's love, which is written in a way that makes it near impossible to put down, is beautiful and passionate and powerful, but it is not the whole story. She is complex and her life is complicated. Sometime after her birth she developed a grace (which anyone can tell by looking at her two different colored eyes, the sign of a grace) that could be manipulated by her uncle the king. Katsa's grace is killing, but she comes to realize that she is so much more than just this one thing.
Everyone else is telling you to read The Hunger Games, and you should, because it's wonderful. But for those who really want that intense romantic element, I say give Graceling chance. And it's got plenty of action and adventure and independent chick power for everyone else.
No comments:
Post a Comment