Winterkeep (Graceling Realm)

Product Description

The highly anticipated next book in the New York Times bestselling, award-winning Graceling Realm series, which has sold 1.7 million copies.

For the past five years, Bitterblue has reigned as Queen of Monsea, heroically rebuilding her nation after her father’s horrific rule. After learning about the land of Torla in the east, she sends envoys to the closest nation there: Winterkeep—a place where telepathic foxes bond with humans, and people fly across the sky in wondrous airships. But when the envoys never return, having drowned under suspicious circumstances, Bitterblue sets off for Winterkeep herself, along with her spy Hava and her trusted colleague Giddon. On the way, tragedy strikes again—a tragedy with devastating political and personal ramifications.

Meanwhile, in Winterkeep, Lovisa Cavenda waits and watches, a fire inside her that is always hungry. The teenage daughter of two powerful politicians, she is the key to unlocking everything—but only if she’s willing to transcend the person she’s been all her life.

The Graceling Realm books are a companion series, not direct sequels, so they can be enjoyed in any order.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Set five years after Bitterblue, this novel leaves the familiar Seven Kingdoms of the early books and switches settings to the treacherous world of Winterkeep. The narrative is told from five points of view, some familiar, some new: Bitterblue, the reigning monarch of Monsea; Giddon, a disinherited lord first seen in Graceling; Lovisa Cavenda, the eldest daughter of Keepish politicians; Adventure, a telepathic blue fox; and a mysterious sea creature whose peace at the bottom of the ocean is violently disturbed. The story starts with a bang as something explodes underwater, killing many telepathic creatures who live there. Bitterblue falls overboard on her way to Winterkeep and is assumed dead. Giddon tries to discover the roots of the conspiracy tying their supposed allies to Monsea’s enemies. Lovisa realizes her parents are lying more than usual and hiding something in the attic. Adventure tries to keep his bonded human, Lovisa’s mother, from hurting people. Cashore weaves these five plots into an intricate tapestry full of high stakes, deft humor, and characters readers will root to join forces. The cast is racially diverse: Keepish are brown-skinned, Bitterblue has light-brown coloring, and Monseans are white. Lovisa is bisexual, and her narrative has a coming-of-age feel as she explores her sexuality and begins to see her parents for who they really are. VERDICT This long-awaited addition to the series exceeds expectations—with the action of Graceling, the political theater of Fire, and characters from Bitterblue, this title has something to offer all Cashore fans.—Emmy Neal, Lake Forest Lib., IL

Review

A New York Times Best Seller

★ “Cashore’s fourth Graceling novel features two strong, but very different, female protagonists . . . this gripping tale of spies, romantic tension and moral dilemmas . . . [A] magnificent addition to the series.” —
Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ “Delicately, inexorably plotted, this is a captivating novel of action and ideas . . . an accomplishment all the more admirable in that Cashore achieves it largely through characterization.” —
Horn Book, starred review

★ “This long-awaited addition to the series exceeds expectations—with the action of 
Graceling, the political theater of 
Fire, and characters from 
Bitterblue, this title has something to offer all Cashore fans.” —
School Library Journal, starred review

“Cashore excels at finely drawn characters and realistic portrayals of toxic parents’ effect on their children . . . this worthy addition to the series is sure to excite fans who, after eight years, may not have dared hope for another installment. This is both a timely primer on the dangers of a politically divided society and a good story.” —
Kirkus”While the novel will please fans by following