I must confess that I am not a huge fan of young adult fiction so I kept passing over this book. I just wasn’t in the mood for another fad-driven publication with flat characters and flimsy motivations. I am so glad I finally picked up this book! Take a good look because Grave Mercy demonstrates what good young adult fiction can be like.
Robin LaFevers gives us a protagonist who develops over the course of the book, a male character truly worthy of admiration, and a substantial plot line. The setting is historical in feel (whether some of it is inspired by actual people and events is neither specified, nor important) with plenty of political intrigue, spying, and plotting. There is a fantasy element in the form of the descendents of the God of Death. The icing on the cake is a romantic sub-story. What isn’t to like in that recipe? In addition, the protagonist, Ismae, grew from a silly girl into a mature young women over the course of events.
Readers who liked Graceling by Kristin Cashore or The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley will likely also enjoy Grave Mercy. Grave Mercy is the first book in the My Fair Assassin Trilogy, with the next book coming in the spring of 2013. This time I will not hesitate and pick up a copy right away.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 7 religious exclamations; 7 mild obscenities; 4 derogatory names; 2 scatalogical words.
Violence/Gore: Report of abusive father/husband; character is severely beaten (no details); a few discussions, some extended occur about murder/death and how to inflict it (not-graphic); 3 page fight with swords, knives, etc. resulting in animal and human death (non-graphic descriptions); a frightening dream; character is cut with a knife; brief descriptions of poisons and how they inflict death; character killed by crossbow; a character falls to death; a character is poisoned; a character is strangled; 1 page encounter with knives and crossbow resulting in 2 deaths; a battle begins (no details); ~2 page scene in which character walks through the dead and dying on a battlefield (general descriptions).
Sex/Nudity: Reference to a character who has “lain with God of Death”; newlywed husband asks wife to remove her clothes; several references to “womanly arts” or “feminine arts”: a few reference to and instances of unwanted groping (no details); reference to mistresses; character poses as a man’s mistress; character makes an assumption (incorrectly) about blood on sheets; 1 frank reference to nipples; clothing partially removed (woman’s back) so a wound can be tended; characters passionately kiss/touch face/French kiss on a few separate occasions; clothes partially removed to search for something (clinical description); female character lies in bed next to an ill man; ~1 page scene where female removes all clothing and lies on top of man for a non-sexual reason although sexual tension and tones are present.
Mature Subject Matter:
Death, Treason, Assasination, Spouse and Child Abuse, War, Religion and Politics.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
General references to wine and drinking; the use of poisons to kill.