Awards and Reviews

(Praise for my latest release, Winterkeep, will be forthcoming, as soon as I get organized! (Don’t hold your breath.))

Praise for Jane, Unlimited 

An IndieNext Top Ten Pick.
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year for 2017.
A School Library Journal Top 10 Audiobooks of 2017.
One of YALSA’s 2018 Best Fiction for Young Adults.
A Tor.com Reviewers’ Choice of 2017.
One of Brooklyn Public Library’s 50 Favorite Books from 2017.
One of Barnes & Noble’s Best Young Adult Books of the Year for 2017.
A Chicago Public Library’s Best Teen Fiction of 2017 and Must-Read LGBT YA Fantasy Novel.
A New York Times best seller.

“[A] defiantly weird, genre-obliterating book — it all but rewires your brain as you read it. . . . The expansiveness of Cashore’s vision is startling. . . . [Cashore is] a vivid, inclusive writer, and everything serves an empowering subtext: Don’t let anyone tell you who you’re supposed to be, and don’t let anyone tell you what a novel is supposed to be, either.” — The New York Times Book Review
 

“This excellent, genre-bending title is a great pick for teens looking for something challenging to take them off the well-beaten path of standard YA fare.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“This is a true tour de force of genre mashups, and it will satisfy a wide range of readers.” — BCCB (starred review)

“Creation, compassion, and choice repeatedly emerge as themes in this ambitious, mind-expanding novel.” — Booklist

“Adventurous readers will find it charming, thought-provoking, and utterly sui generis.” — Kirkus

“Fans will enjoy the worldbuilding in this genre-hopping mystery. . . . [and] imaginative and witty storytelling, along with the novel’s many memorable characters.” — VOYA

“Between the understated richness of the prose and the playfulness of the narrative structure, Jane, Unlimited reminds me of nothing so much as the works of the grande dame of YA fantasy, Diana Wynne Jones. There are few words of higher praise within the genre.” Vox 

“[U]nlike anything I’ve read—mysterious, precise, and possessed of a pure, clear mood that stays intact even through the genre shifts. It’s a wild gift for readers who like books that take them to unexpected places, by unexplored avenues, reminding us of the thrillingly infinite possibilities of story.”—Melissa Albert, B&N Blog, author of Hazelwood 

Praise for Bitterblue

A New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book.
A New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews’ Best Book of 2012.
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2012.
A 2012 Blue Ribbon by the BCCB.
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best.
On the the 2013 Rainbow List.
One of YALSA’s 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults.
A Capitol Choices noteworthy title for teens.
A nominee for YALSA’s 2013 Teens’ Top Ten.
One of the CCBC’s Choices 2013.
A Boston Authors Club Highly Recommended Book.
A New York Times and a Publishers Weekly best seller.

“Some authors can tell a good story; some can write well. Cashore is one of the rare novelists who do both. Thrillingly imagined and beautifully executed, “Bitterblue” stands as a splendid contribution in long literary tradition.” — The New York Times Book Review

“Gorgeous, textured prose is filled with images of strange beauty and restrained horror. It propels an intricate narrative dense with subplots and rich in characters familiar and new. Weaving them together are all the lies: conspiracies and ciphers, fakes and false testimony, spies and thieves, disguises and deceptions, mazes and puzzles. They are lies spun from greed, shame, strategy, fear, duty—even kindness. And it is Bitterblue who, trapped in this net of deceit, must draw upon all her courage, cleverness and ferocious compassion to reveal the truth—and to care for those it shatters. Devastating and heartbreaking… those willing to take the risk will—like Bitterblue—achieve something even more precious: a hopeful beginning.” — Starred, Kirkus Reviews

“A story that transcends the genre with its emotional and philosophical weight.” — Starred, BCCB

 “Readers will gallop through [Bitterblue], eager to catch up on beloved characters and hopeful that the Seven Kingdoms can at last find peace. There are astonishing and sometimes heartbreaking discoveries…Buy all three volumes, in multiple copies.” — Starred, VOYA

 “Cashore’s imagined world is brilliantly detailed and brimming with vibrant and dynamic characters.” — Starred, School Library Journal

“Fans of…intricate political fantasies will relish this novel of palace intrigue.” — Starred, Publishers Weekly

 
 
Praise for Fire

Winner 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.

“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

Praise for Graceling
 

Winner of the SIBA Book Award in the YA category.
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.

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