Bitterblue (539)

Billed as a sequel to Graceling and a companion to Fire, Kristin Cashore has written another wonderful novel that speaks to the reader about loyalty, family, leadership, and asks the reader to question, "What happens when a leader abuses power?" Remember, "absolute power corrupts absolutely!" (I don't know to whom I should credit that quote!) The same characters appear in this novel as in the other two, and because I had become so enthralled with many of them, this became one of those books where I found myself not wanting it to end. I wonder how many of our students could look at people around them and recognize their "grace"? Both boys and girls will enjoy reading this, and although it is not important for them to have read Graceling or Fire, they will want to read both when done with Bitterblue.