Bitterblue

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, 563 pages

Eighteen-year-old Bitterblue is queen of Monsea, a small country that was for decades ruled by her father King Leck, a monstrous tyrant who probably would have gotten along with Hitler quite well. Leck was "graced" with the ability to make people believe any lie he told them, and so was able to force his subjects to perform horrible deeds that only became apparent after his death. Eight years later, Bitterblue is attempting to unravel the truth of her father's misdeeds, while learning to rule Monsea in her own right.

This is the third of Cashore's Graceling Realm books, though it could only be called a sequel (an eight-years-after-the-fact sequel) to the first book, Graceling; the second book, Fire, is its own entity and could stand alone. As in Graceling and Fire, Cashore uses Bitterblue to discuss some serious topics, in this case war crimes, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and suicide. Also like her two previous novels, Cashore creates in Bitterblue a fantastic, evolving heroine, full of doubts and insecurity; it's fascinating to see Bitterblue come into her own as she grapples with past horrors and present difficulties. While good, this is not Cashore's best book (that award goes to Graceling); that said, it's definitely worth reading, especially for those that want to find out what happens to their favorite characters from Graceling and Fire, who do make appearances here.