Fire by Kristin Cashore

So the newest trend in young adult books is to write companion novels: two books that are from the same series, but stand alone, and don't necessarily have the same characters. Fire is a companion novel to the book Graceling which I read a few weeks ago, and is in fact a prequel to the first novel. I loved this book, in fact I read till 2am to finish it because I just couldn't put it down. The book takes place in an alternate world (cause you know I love my fantasy books) where mixed in with the ordinary people and animals are monsters that are incredibly beautiful to look at and which use their beauty to trap unsuspecting minds so that they can eat them. Fire is the last human monster who doesn't want to use her powers to hurt people (she can read minds and use that to compel them to do things). It's a bit of a mystery, a bit of a romance, and a bit of an action/adventure all rolled into one really intriguing plot where Fire learns how to trust herself to not turn into the monster her father was. A real page-turner. I also loved the subtly woven in message that we all choose our own path regardless of where we come from or who our parents are. I heard at my book conference, that Kristin is planning a third book which will combine characters from both books. Can't wait for that to come out!