Praise for FireWinner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award.
Winner of the Cybil in the category of YA Fantasy and Science Fiction.
A Junior Library Guild Selection.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
A Kirkus Best YA Book of 2009. (PDF)
A 2009 Booklist Editors' Choice.
One of Booklist's “Top 10 SF/Fantasy Titles for Youth.”
A YALSA 2010 Teens’ Top Ten Nomination. (PDF)
A Washington Post Best Kid's Book of the Year.
A Seattle Times Best YA Book of 2009.
On the Winter 2010 Indie Next Kid's List.
On the 2010 CCBC Choices list.
A New York Times and a Publishers Weekly best seller.One of Booklist's “Top 10 SF/Fantasy Titles for Youth.”
A YALSA 2010 Teens’ Top Ten Nomination. (PDF)
A Washington Post Best Kid's Book of the Year.
A Seattle Times Best YA Book of 2009.
On the Winter 2010 Indie Next Kid's List.
On the 2010 CCBC Choices list.
"Cashore’s prose has matured, growing piercing and elegant.... The romance... is tenderly drawn and satisfyingly slow to develop.... political machinations, physical peril, and inventive world-building.... this stand-alone prequel surpasses Cashore’s debut and paves the way for further exploration of a world in which readers will happily immerse themselves." -- Starred, The Horn Book Magazine"[T]he subtle intrigues of palace plots and even the sickening horrors of open warfare are vehicles to total immersion into Fire’s character.... Fire ... tentatively, tenderly, passionately falls in love with a family, a city, a kingdom, with the very contradictions that make them human—and, at the last, with her own place among them. Fresh, hopeful, tragic and glorious." -- Starred, Kirkus Reviews
"[R]eaders can enjoy this novel without having read Graceling.... and enjoy it they will, with its vivid storytelling, strongly realized alternate world, well-drawn characters, convincing fantasy elements, gripping adventure scenes, and memorable love story." -- Starred, Booklist
"[R]eaders will fall in love with [Fire].... More adult in tone than Graceling, this marvelous prequel will appeal to older teens, who will not only devour it, but will also love talking about it." -- Starred, School Library Journal
"[I]ts themes—embracing your talents and moving out of your parents' shadow—are similar [to those of Graceling], as is the absorbing quality of Cashore's prose.... Many twists propel the action.... tension that keeps the pages turning." -- Starred, Publishers Weekly
"Cashore is that rare gifted writer who can give a fantasy novel real depth.... One of the things Cashore does beautifully in Fire is to examine the workings of desire -- and not always as it relates to sex.... Having created an exaggeration of female experience in Fire's monster form, Cashore can be brutally honest about the realities of girls' lives." -- Los Angeles Times
"There aren’t enough words to describe how awesome this book is." -- Top Pick, Gold Star, Romantic Times
"This elegantly written prequel to the acclaimed "Graceling" blazes with the questions of young adulthood: Who am I? How do I stand in relation to my parents? What choices will define my life? Seeing those concerns played out by Fire... and a host of memorable minor characters proves as compelling as the richly detailed medieval backdrop, the tension between battling lords and the mysterious presence of [a] strange-eyed... character common to both novels." -- The Washington Post
"As a fantasy writer, Cashore sets herself apart with a passionate descriptive style... The book is also commendably realistic --almost cynical -- about romance... Cashore can also write action scenes... a good addition to the young adult bookshelf." -- The New York Times Book Review
"The bold adventure, a realistic fantasy world, well-rounded characters, a strong female protagonist, and superb writing make Fire a compelling read and one sure to win many honors." -- Starred, Library Media Connections
Winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature.
Winner of the SIBA Book Award in the YA category.
Shortlisted for the ALA's William C. Morris Award.
Shortlisted for the ALA's William C. Morris Award.
A finalist for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (the SFWA's award for YA given concurrently with the Nebulas).
An Indies Choice Book Award Honor Book in the category of Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book.
A Cybils finalist in the category of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
A finalist for the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
A finalist for the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
A 2008 Booklist Editors' Choice and one of Booklist's 2008 Top Ten First Novels for Youth.
On the 2009 Amelia Bloomer List (Recommended Feminist Literature for Birth through 18).On the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books 2009 Blue Ribbon list.
A New York Times and a Publishers Weekly best seller.
"[An] eccentric and absorbing first novel.... [Katsa] overturns every biological reality and cultural stereotype of feminine weakness, which is a large part of her charm. She is the girl's dream of female power unloosed.... Cashore plays with the idea of awkwardness, how at a certain age gifts and talents are burdens, how they make it impossible to feel comfortable in the world.... somehow in all of this struggle and resistance Cashore offers an acute portrayal of sexual awakening: ambivalent, rageful, exhilarating, wistful in turns.... "Graceling"... offers a perfect parable of adolescence, as its characters struggle with turbulent emotions they must learn to control.... The teenage characters in this novel, like some we may know in life, grow into their graces. They realize that their monstrous individuality is not so monstrous after all." -- The New York Times Book Review"An assured fantasy debut.... Katsa is an ideal adolescent heroine, simultaneously confident of her strengths yet unsure of her place in the world. Every character is crafted with the same meticulous devotion to human comprehensibility.... In a tale filled with graphic violence and subtle heartbreak, gentle passion and savage kindness, matter-of-fact heroics and bleak beauty, no defeat is ever total and no triumph comes without cost. Grace-full, in every sense." -- Starred, Kirkus Reviews
"[The] exquisitely drawn romance... will slake the thirst of Twilight fans, but one measure of this novel’s achievements lies in its broad appeal. Tamora Pierce fans will embrace the take-charge heroine; there’s also enough political intrigue to recommend it to readers of Megan Whalen Turner’s Attolia trilogy. And while adult readers, too, will enjoy the author’s originality, the writing is perfectly pitched at teens struggling to put their own talents to good use. With this riveting debut, Cashore has set the bar exceedingly high." -- Starred, Publisher's Weekly
"Cashore treats readers to compelling and eminently likable characters and a story that draws them in from the first paragraph.... Cashore's style is exemplary.... This is gorgeous storytelling: exciting, stirring, and accessible. Fantasy and romance readers will be thrilled." -- Starred, School Library Journal
"Cashore... creates believable characters with enough depth, subtlety, and experience to satisfy older readers.... An impressive first novel. -- Starred, Booklist
"With a butt-kicking but emotionally vulnerable heroine, [Graceling] should appeal to fans of recent girl-power urban fantasies as well as readers who’ve graduated from Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series." -- The Horn Book Magazine
