Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why do you think Graceling is divided into three parts: The Lady Killer, The Twisted King, and The Shifting World?
- It's been said that in Graceling, Kristin Cashore completely subverts traditional gender roles. What evidence do you see of this over the course of the book?
- Some people have claimed that Graceling has an anti-marriage message. Do you think that's true? Why or why not? What elements of the book could cause people to believe it's anti-marriage? How about passages, events, or characters that may be pro-marriage? Can you find any of those?
- Katsa is born with a Grace, but is she also born with an identity? What is it that ultimately determines who Katsa is and what she will become? Is her nature—her identity—something she was born with or something that has evolved over time based on her experiences in life?
- Both Graceling by Kristin Cashore and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins were published in 2008. Aside from the fact that they are both first books in a trilogy, what other similarities do you see between the two books? And what do you make of the fact that these books came out at the same time and both became instant bestsellers? What does their appeal say about society and pop culture in the early 21st century? Could these two books have been bestsellers in 1950? 1960? 1970? Why or why not?