 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Grave Mercy: His Fair Assassin, Book 1
- By Robin LaFevers
- Genre: Historical Fiction
Common Sense Media says
Violent tale of assassin nun seeking revenge on men.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Grave Mercy has many violent scenes that may be too mature for tweens. The opening pages describe the main character, Ismae, almost being raped by her drunken husband. She's also brutally beaten by her father and goes on to become a major assassin. Her victims are dishonorable men for whom she feels no remorse. There are also battle scenes with swords and daggers, and a character's horse is stabbed and killed.
What's the story?
Ismae is a 17-year-old girl who survives her mother's attempt to kill her at birth. Since that day, she's known in her tiny village in Brittany as the daughter of death, a survivor. Ismae spends her life trying to escape the blows of her brutal father and the man he arranged for her to marry. Then, on her wedding night, after suffering another torturous beating, a stranger comes to take Ismae to the convent of St. Mortain, the saint of death. There a group of nuns teaches Ismae the arts of war, intrigue, and persuasion -- all of which she must put to use as an assassin for her country, even if it means killing the man she's falling in love with.
Is it any good?
GRAVE MERCY is a wonderfully written novel that pulls readers into medieval France, specifically Brittany, with descriptive scenes of palaces, towns, and village people. Although the plotline (revenge-seeking woman becomes man killer) will attract some feminists, others may find it a bit overdone.
But the story is entertaining and filled with accurate historical details. The characters are likable and complex, and fans will be glad to know the book ends with the possibility of introducing a love story in the second installment.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about the history of the Middle Ages. What were some cultural differences between that time and ours? Do you think Grave Mercy accurately depicts the era?
Why are the men in the book portrayed as such bullies?
How does Grave Mercy compare with other medieval fantasies?
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Teen, 13 years old
May 23, 2012
AGE
MUST READ!!!
Y'ALL HAVE TO READ THIS IF YOU ARE READING THIS BOOK. SEXUAL CONTENT IS EXTREMELY PROMINENT. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this book, and it is one of the most time-worthy reads I have ever devoured. BUT readers need to know, seduction is the main element used by the assassins to trick the men so they can get close enough to kill them. Sister Beatriz discusses rouging Ismae's *cough cough* so as to complete her rouse as a coquette noblewoman. Discussion of making a poison that will "make a man's member shrivel and fall off." The tubers and roots used to make this poison are described as looking like said body part. Ismae describes hearing her father at night and calls him "loud". Blood from a wound is seen on sheets by a maid who assumes is Ismae's from her first encounters with intercourse. Ismae "lies with" Duval, and they kiss passionately (with tongue), encounters that are described as "lusty". Ismae sleeps with Duval to absorb poison from him, because she is immune, thus taking it out of him and deluding it to harmlessness. It isn't loveless sex though. The reason Ismae does it is because she loves Duval, and has to save him. She wasn't instructed by the convent to do it, it was of her own accord and decision. So I guess you could say the method in which she saved him had its... perks. My goodness that sounded terrible, but it's true. So this book IS romance. It is not "foreshadowing for the second novel" it is a passionate love story with physical encounters. And the rape scene was not even remotely as disturbing as this review makes it out to be. Violence with minor gore. The horse was not "stabbed and killed", it was a bloodless death to spare her the long agonizing death of poison. The knife used had the power to kill with a simple cut, so that is all that was used. Drinking of wine and men are often drunk. A poison makes a man appear to be in a "wine-sodden sleep". Also, its take on religion is unique. They worship the "saints", whose descriptions remind me of the way the Greek gods were worshiped. This is quite possibly the best book you will ever read, so I highly highly highly highly recommend you read it! Just wanted to give you the heads up that this review failed to do!
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Teen, 14 years old
November 16, 2012
AGE
Disappointing
well, I thought it would a lot better written. there was a lot of unnesssary death. Ismae's father was the one who wanted her dead, not her mother, for reasons never given he draged her mother to herbalist to get Ismae exsplled from the womb. after her mother and sisters die, her father forces her to marry someone only meantioned in the first chapter. she ends up becoming an assassain. after killing 2 people just becase she told too, she is sent with Duval, she still kills just because she told to. after Duval gets poisoned she figures out that she can save him by having sex. :( not what I was looking for. than on top of all the that her saint is her god.
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| Topics: | magic and fantasy, adventures, brothers and sisters, friendship, history |
| Author: | Robin LaFevers |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Historical Fiction |
| Publisher: | Houghton Mifflin Children's Books |
| Publication date: | April 3, 2012 |
| Number of pages: | 560 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 14 - 17 |
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