The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Book Review
This was a bit of a tough one for me. About halfway through the book, I put up a poll up on my @bookmarkparty IG story asking if I should continue reading or DNF. While I found the plot of the book incredibly intriguing, I was really struggling with the girl against girl aspect of it (like why are these girls tearing each other apart when they should be helping each other!?!). The results of my poll were an even 50/50 split 🤪. So I kept reading ... and I’m so glad I did! I ended up really enjoying the book.
The dystopian world in which the novel takes place evokes major A Handmaids Tail-vibes while the content of the book feels very Lord of the Flies meets The Hunger Games. The lead character of the book is Tierney, a girl who dreams of a world where women are more than just wives and mothers. The book begins as Tierney is preparing for her grace year, during which all sixteen-year-old girls are banished to a remote location in order to cleanse themselves of their “magic”, which is thought to manipulate men. It is forbidden to speak about the grace year, so Tierney doesn’t know what to expect as she is hauled off into the wild. In the deep of the woods, the girls face threats not just from the elements, but from poachers, potential ghosts and most terrifying - from each other.
Is the magic real or imagined? You’ll just have to read it to find out 😊
Although I struggled with the first half of the book, I flew through the second half. All the questions I had were finally answered and I was pleased and very surprised to see how everything played out. I also found the underlying social commentary of the book incredibly on point.
I do wish there had been more clarity and set-up at the beginning of the book. I think part of the reason I struggled with the first-half was because I didn’t understand why/how the grace year originated. I also was dying to know where and in what time period the story took place. Nevertheless, it was a truly captivating read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars
