This is a page-turning YA dystopian story that is getting a lot of buzz and comparison to The Handmaid's Tale. The story is interesting and engrossing and Tierney, the main character, is someone who many people will love. This book has strong women and weak women and women who will rise to challenge the status quo of the misogynistic world they live in. I can tell why this one is being adapted for the big screen!

Don't be fooled by the soft pink cover! This book is reminiscent of the dystopian worlds of The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games, and Lord of the Flies. It's a harrowing and horrifying look into a patriarchal society where teen girls are banished for their sixteenth year -- their "grace year" -- to rid themselves of their magic and purported power over men. Although the setting is a patriarchal society, girls are front and center with feminist thematic elements threaded throughout. We see girls at their absolute worst and their absolute best. Liggett did a great job creating characters that I both rooted for and rooted against. For the vast majority of the book, I found the brutality and despair overwhelming. As difficult as this was for me to read, I couldn't turn away from the story. Thankfully, there were enough small kernels of hope not to fall into complete despair. The Grace Year is one of those books that will stick with me for a long time. It is unforgettable.

I think The Grace Year is one of the most unique books I've read this year. I see it being compared to The Handmaid's Tale and I definitely see why. It's like The Handmaid's Tale but in my opinion, way more interesting and fast-paced. The fantastical element of women with powers intrigued me from the start but in some parts, I thought it was overdramatized. The thing that I liked the most about this book is how real it felt. Liggett's writing made me feel like I was right next to Tierney the whole time, feeling her emotions. Another thing that I loved was how on edge and scared I was throughout the book. The Grace Year is not a story with typical horror elements, the real frightening parts were the ones that were extremely suspenseful and packed with imagery.

This book is definitely not your average YA dystopian. For one thing, there's a strong female presence for a majority of the book, and the author makes a pretty clear point of the importance of women need to support women, which I did like. What I did not like was the addition of a romantic cliche that, for me, cheapened a lot of the book's message. It's a little like being promised a strong, feminist power story, but then being given happily-ever-after romantic drama. I didn't care for Tierney, the main character, and much of the book relies on her being likable, so that also hindered my overall enjoyment of this book.

Addicted! Couldn't stop reading. The plot, the characters, the despair and craziness, love it all.
Looking for something sweet but fights for their rights? Not this book. We see the pure survival of every individual in their way, terrible and despaired but shows how deep we can go.
I love Tierney character, she's not like the others girls, she doesn't want to belong to someone, she wants freedom! Not only that, she seems very strong but at the same time we can see her weakness, just like everyone there's moment of insecurity and, because she goes against the norm, suffers alone.
The whole scheme was amazing of figure out, the County, poachers, the killings... everything was enjoyable to read!
The message that comes from this book is very feminist, strong and deep. In a complex plot shows the emerge of a woman revolution.

My initial thoughts as I read this book were - what am I reading?! I immediately felt frustrated and angry at the whole town and everyone one it. The rules in Garner County are simple - women have no voice, no power, and basically exist to bend to the whim of men. And, most importantly, never ever speak of the grace year. Girls on the verge of womanhood are believed to have special powers over men, so they are banished for their sixteenth year to release their powers into the wild. After their grueling year in the woods, they're expected to come back "purified and ready for marriage". See what I mean? Utterly ridiculous. But is it really? As I read more, I started to see some parallels with our society. Women treated as objects, women pitted against each other, rampant mysogeny. Just as it all started to seem too much and I thought the parallels were going too far, there was a glimmer of hope. There's so much more to this book that I didn't expect. Besides the thrilling story, fast pace, and amazing characters, there are messages, insights, and unexpected turns.

I've seen a lot of comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale. Since I haven't read it or watched the show, this premise was completely new to me. I enjoyed this book so much and hope there will one day be more to Tierney's story.

This book was incredible. I've never read anything like it before. I would describe it at first glance as a combination of The Hunger Games and The Handmaid's Tale. I loved Tierney. She was such a badass, constantly showing us that female protagonists can put up a fight but also feel and love and cry. I wished this had ended differently, but it ended the way it had too. I find that even in the despair you sometimes feel while reading, there is always hope. The is always hope.

“They can call it magic. I can call it madness. But one thing is certain. There is no grace here.” Need a book that will give you full body chills?! Say hello to The Grace Year.

This book knocked me off my feet and I’ve never highlighted so many lines in a fiction book in my life. The comparisons to The Handmaids Tale and Hunger Games are spot on. Plus it’s already been optioned by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be made into a movie.

In a dystopian future where girls are sent away to the wilderness for their sixteenth year we meet Tierney. She wants to lead a truthful life and dreams of a better world where women aren’t pitted against each other in the wild. The girls are sent away for “The Grace Year” so they can burn through their magic and come home purified for their husbands and marriage. But not everyone makes it home.

This book is definitely dark but has some amazing feminist themes and messages. You’ll be gutted, shocked, and unable to stop turning the pages.

It releases a week from today on 10/8 so go to your library, local bookstore, or the dreaded A word and get to pre-ordering!

Wow! This book blew me away. I read it in one sitting. It’s The Power and The Handmaid’s Tale and The Hunger Games all mixed together in a masterful work of fiction.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

I don’t normally wait for days until I write a NetGalley review. But this is a classic case of “I feel like I read a different book than everyone else.” The beginning of the book felt clumsy to me in terms of character and world building. Then there were a few points after that where I was finally beginning to get engaged, however I would get quite bored again. I think it had a lot to do with the writing style, though I couldn’t quite define it. It has an overly ominous tone that would be either too obvious or repetitive.

I don’t have problems with outrageous plots, as long as the author convinces me. But I just can’t get into this mysoginistic world where women are controlled by men with the belief that they have magic, or some evil force that the women would then willingly have removed by going away to try and survive on their own in the wild where they would face poachers that are out to kill them and sell their body parts in bottles. (Crazy, right??) Then we are given so-called twists in this set up, where we learn that the bad guys are actually the good guys and the good guys are actually the bad guys but none are really very surprising or satisfying. The fictional community is built up so small and the world building so flimsy that the reader can already see through it all.

I think it could have been a metaphor of how religion and false beliefs could affect the brain functions of a society, and it could also be a metaphor of the struggles of people with varying self-identity (different gender/sexual orientation, atheism) and I am so up for that, it just wasn’t executed well.

I did like the unexpectedly morbid elements. It really helped build the ambience of danger and the survival challenge. It doesn’t hold back in the violence and shock factor. But, I didn’t like how it got me excited for the promise of feminism and sisterhood but ultimately it’s still about finding love and the main character finding a mate of the opposite sex. I had a really hard time connecting with the main character, because as soon as she convinces me of one set of principles she goes and changes her mind. There were also too much stuff happening towards the ending. It felt like the last few MAJOR developments could have been a whole sequel in itself.

I am not discouraging anyone to read this. I do hope you enjoy this much more than I did, and based on the other reviews here it is clear I have the unpopular opinion. It was a mistake for me to pick up something like this at this point. I think I am now looking for more subtlety in this kind of theme in novels. I already got burned by The Vox, so I should have learned my lesson. Perhaps I should stop trying to find another The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s just never the same and I always set myself up for disappointment.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One of the most emotionally gripping novels. The writing was brutal and magical all in the same keystroke. The main character was as savvy and resourceful as Katniss from The Hunger Games. The world is as brutal and oppressive as The Handmaiden’s Tale. This is a must read! I highly recommend this book for fans of any genre.

I’ve just finished reading this book and Wow, I’m blown away by it!! It’s seeped in religious traditions, magic, and spooky folklore.
I believe my favorite part of reading this book is the main character, Tierney. She is fierce heroine, with a strong heart for her family, and her determination to survive and overcome the Grace Year is inspiring.
I’d recommend this book to women of all ages, but I believe teen girls particularly would benefit from reading it.
I do hope that this book is made into a movie!! Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the advanced review copy.

The Grace Year is a good dystopian read for teens and young adults that could have been great. It features a fast paced plot and memorable characters, but the execution is a little wanting.

Tierney is a strong-willed girl in a world where she isn't supposed to be, and she had so much potential, but then she went and fell in love, and well, I guess that is just a requirement in all YA books, but it could have been handled much better.

The Grace Year's best feature is the world building. I thought it was just the right amount of creepy and shocking. It really is a Handmaid's Tale for the younger set, but I think many older readers will find this book wanting.

Fast-paced thriller which really did remind me of The Handmaid's Tale and The Hunger Games rolled up togethert. I really enjoyed the story and loved the pace which kept it moving quite quickly. Tierney, the main character, is a strong, courageous heroine and, as I read, I just wanted her to stay safe and be able to make her own choices in life.

Tierney faces danger from among the Grace Year girls from Kiersten, who seems determined to destroy Tierney. Then there are the poachers who want to capture one of the Grace Year girls, skin them alive, and sell their body parts back to their family and friends. Tierney faces fear constantly.
I'm wondering if there may be a sequel to this one. I could certainly see this happening.

Thanks to Kim Liggett and St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Grace Year follows in the footsteps of The Handmaid's Tale and The Power but with some Hunger Games flair thrown in. The story is well-plotted with pieces of action, horror and survival underlying the major theme of the story. I enjoyed the patriarchal dystopian aspect of this book and would definitely recommend it for fans of the genre. Without spoiling the plot, I didn't however like some of the choices the main character made that almost seemed to contradict everything she believed in. This however, was a small aspect and it didn't effect the intense storyline or how fast I plowed through this book.

This book was spooky and mysterious from beginning to end. I really enjoyed following Tierney through her grace year, from the engagement ceremony all the way through the end of the grace year for girls her age.

This story stunned me in the first third. It is very creepy and eerie while explaining how their world works, what the rules of the county are, and how Tierney feels about her position in the community. I was getting creepy vibes from the start but once the story moves into the second third and approaches the grace year camp, things really get eerie. I got a great sense of their world, the setting, and how the characters developed over time.

The second half of the story is where the twists come in a big way and the reveals are done really well. I had some idea of how the story would pan out but I was still surprised at some twists. I really liked how there was a sense of hope throughout, even though Tierney told the reader and herself that certain things wouldn’t end well.

Overall I was really impressed with this one. It feels very cinematic and there may be a film in the works, which would be very cool to see. I would probably read this book again in a year or two, as now that I know the end it would be interesting to see how things are foreshadowed and pick up on things I missed.

I would recommend this book to anyone who also enjoys The Handmaid’s Tale, The Village, survival stories, and stories that may involve witchcraft among teenage girls.

Great book and I agree with the likability to Lord of the Rings or Hunger Games. Tierney is a great character who wants more out of life and was easy to root for throughout her development in this novel!

Intelligent, haunting and mesmerizing emotional thriller

I loved this book so much. I wanted to stop at a few points and discuss with someone but I didn’t have anyone reading it with me or a book club to discuss it with. There is just so much worth talking about. I am feeling so much and out this book right now. I just saw that it is being made into a movie and I already can’t wait. I was totally engrossed throughout the entire book and it surprised me more often than not. Almost every time I expected something to happen, something completely unexpected happened instead.

It starts out with the main character Tierney who is about to enter her Grace Year. The county is set up with extremely misogynistic laws. They say that girls have magic in their sixteenth year and that they are dangerous so they send all the girls away to a separate colony in the woods for a year, and the girls from the previous year return on the same day as the new girls leave.

Before leaving they have a ceremony where the boys from their year choose from the girls who they want to marry and they give veils to the girls fathers the night before then at the ceremony. Each father bring the veil home to his daughter and at the ceremony the boy lifts the veil and the girl see who they will belong to when and if they return. The girls not chosen will either be sent to the fields or put to service for the remainder of their lives. Tierney isn’t like other girls, she doesn’t long to get a vail and get married, she actually wants to work in the fields. She feels being married is tantamount to being owned.

One strange part of the story is the girls that go away, they are at a colony-like place surrounded by walls and woods and there are poachers outside the walls. So if any of the girls stray from the path on the way there, try to escape while they are there or get banished by the rest of the girls for some reason, are almost immediately caught by the poachers. They skin the girls alive and put all of their organs and parts into jars to be sold on the black market. The poachers won’t come into the colony for fear of being cursed by the magic.

The poachers are men from the outskirts of the county. They are generally the sons of prostitutes. People (women or girls) from the county can get banned to the outskirts as punishment. Young girls are punished if their sisters go missing during their Grace year and their bodies are not accounted for by the poachers. Punishments are harsh, obviously and doled out by the council.

“In fact, the only time magic comes up is when it’s convenient for them. Like when Mrs. Pinter’s husband died, Mr. Coffey suddenly accused his wife of twenty-five years of secretly harboring her magic and levitating in her sleep. Mrs. Coffey was as meek and mild as they come—hardly the levitating sort—but she was cast out. No questions asked. And surprise, surprise, Mr. Coffey married Mrs. Pinter the following day.”
“But if I ever made such an accusation, or if I came back from my grace year unbroken, I would be sent to the outskirts to live among the prostitutes.”

What happens during Tierney’s Grace Year is quite a revelation. I couldn’t figure out for the longest time if the magic was real or not. Also we know that in certain ways Tierney was more prepared for the year than many of her female counterparts, because she was a tomboy and worked with her father as well as spent a lot of time in the woods with Michael, but she had so much going against her. Kiersten was the leader of the girls and she makes an awesome villain. She was evil from the beginning when she teased Tierney saying she would “pray for her to get a vail”.

During the this time, I think I felt everything Tierney was feeling. The book was so well written. The characters all came alive, I could see the camp, the well, the cots, the tree it was all so vivid. I really can’t wait for it to be brought to life in movie form. I don’t like to give away any spoilers past the beginning 10-20% of the book, so I won’t go into more, but to say that Tierney finds a lot of truth about herself, her family, and her society as she is out there. It is a true physical and emotional journey and it’s awesome!

That to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC In exchange for an honest review.

I’ve had a lot going on lately and just could not concentrate on reading. It definitely was not the books fault. In the end I thought it was beautifully written with a great message and very relevant to the times we are in today. I enjoyed the main character, Tierney. Tierney is not one to bow her head and follow along. She is the badass female lead that the book needed to get its message across. Tierney wants life in Garner County to be different, she’s tired of feel like women are pitted against each other. She fights for the girls to work together and change the way the Grace Year has played out for years. I liked Tierney as a character and was rooting for her throughout the novel.
I have seen The Grace Year likened to the Handmaid’s Tale which I have not read (or watched) but I did get some feminine Lord Of The Flies vibes with a teaspoon of Hunger Games and a pinch of Lauren Oliver’s Delirium. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t what I personally needed to pull me out of my slump however I can definitely see why it has gotten so many rave reviews. I give this a 3.5 ⭐️ rating.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced e-galley.

***Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All my reviews are my own honest opinions of each selection.***

WOW! I finished reading this ARC about a week ago and it has taken me this long to process all the thoughts and emotions running through as far as this book is concerned. There are so many themes weaved together in that I am not even sure what to focus on for this review. I refuse to ruin this for anyone with spoilers so I am just going to highlight a few key points/themes.


Tierney James is a 16 year old girl living in Garner County, where the women are taught to be docile and obedient to the men. The men know what's best for everyone, especially the women which is why they have a grace year. The year the local girls turn 16 they are all banished to the outside of town to live in a camp together with no one else but each other for an entire year to rid themselves of their magic. They must get rid of it so they can't lead men astray with their charms and persuasion. Once the year is up any surviving girls are returned home to begin the rest of their lives as the perfect wives, mothers, or workers they are expected to be. The main rule is literally....."what happens in Grace Year stays in Grace Year". Unlike the rest majority of the girls, Tierney just wants to get it over and done with so she can find some sort of freedom by being assigned to work in the fields/gardens. Her best friend Michael changes all that for her in a second by forcing her to do the one think she never wanted to do.

During the grace year Tierney witness murder, torture, bullying, and some other very dark things. She also uncovers some disturbing information about her town, friends, grace year itself, and her own family that changes her whole outlook on life. The true test is simply surviving to see another day let alone a whole year. All is not dark in this story though. There are moments of real compassion, understanding and even love.

This book is set to be released on October 8 and it's already been optioned for a movie (which will surely be amazing). I give this one 5/5 stars because I found not one single thing I disliked or would change.