Do not start this book before bed, I made this error and stayed up through the night to finish it in one sitting!

Similar to the other reviews this has a Handmaids tale vibe but I also got The Village a bit.

The story is focused on Tierney and her “grace year.” A year never discussed before nor after, when all the teenage girls go out to a designated area of the woods and must fend for themselves.

The book was thrilling and a great read. One of the best in 2019 thus far.

The publisher, St. Martin's Press, kindly offered me an advanced reader copy (ARC) of The Grace Year by Kim Liggett via NetGalley. Yet, this is an honest review of the book expressing my humble opinion.

The Grace Year is deliciously addictive and the very definition of 'page-turner'. Addictive prose. A tornado of plot twists. And a unique story-line that keeps you guessing at the edge of your seat.

The book is a speculative thriller, perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and Naomi Alderman's The Power. I adored The Power, so I was very excited for The Grace Year, and it obliterated my expectations. Fast-paced and with a wonderful heroine, The Grace Year is definitely one of the best books of the year, and an excellent example of its genre. There are so many plot twists, and it has an ending I couldn't have guessed. I've read many books, and this ending is one of the most delightful, exciting, and unpredictable I've ever seen. I didn't always agree with Tierney, the main character, but I always understood her, and that's rare.

Kim Liggett is a masterful story-teller, and I can't wait to read more of her books. She's an author to watch out for.

I urge you to buy this book immediately. You don't want to miss out on this. Trust me.

I devoured The Grace Year, and I'm certain other readers will, as well. Outstanding speculative thriller. Intricate, elegant, and effortless world-building. And a prose that keeps you craving for more.

5 stars – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Author: Kim Liggett
Publisher: St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books

This wasn't my favorite, personally. I just like my feminist novels to be contemporary and this story takes place in a dystopian world and has major Handmaid's Tale and The Hunger Games vibes. Those are both books I love so it was interesting to see them at play again. It took me a bit long to get into this story but when I finally did, it was a quick read and an important one. The writing is really unique, beautiful, and it really fit the tone of the novel.

This story really got me thinking and I just know teen girls will probably love this one and hopefully be changed by it.

I haven't read The Handmaid's Tale, but this has been compared in great lengths to it. The first 25% of the story hooked me. I loved how Tierney wasn't afraid to show her differences to the county; she has a guy as a best friend, she doesn't want to marry or have children, and she is adamant on how she wants to work in the fields the rest of her life. She refuses to be part of the sexist society they live in and doesn't care about the hatred it bestows from the residents.

Things change when Michael, her best friend, gives her a veil, proclaiming her as his property from that point forward. She didn't know Michael had been secretly in love with her and it destroys her because even though she shared her dreams of freedom with Michael, he still enslaved her to a future she never wanted.

Thus the Grace Year begins when all girls of a certain age are shipped off to an enclosed area in the middle of the woods to burn off their "magic". Things change upon arrival which I wasn't a fan of. The boldness and independence that Tierney encapsulated in the county quickly diminished. One by one the 31 girls turn against her, led by ringleader Kiersten who is vindictive since Michael chose Tierney as his wife instead of her. And Tierney just lets herself be abused and pushed around by these ridiculous girls that she wasn't afraid to stand up to back in the county. I know how personalities can change outside of familiar situations so I can only believe that that is what happened to Tierney.

The girls banish Tierney from their camp and leave her to wander the land and forage for food and water. Instead of rejoicing over departing from her crazy camp mates, she occasionally stumbles back to the camp just to be harassed and almost killed. I was waiting for her to reach her limit and snap back at the girls, but that never happened. Despite how the times they attempt to kill her on top of the nonstop abuse, Tierney kept trying to redeem the girls and would sweep in to save them before they met their demise. And each time she was rewarded with them trying to kill her. I guess that shows how strong and determined Tierney is as a person, but if I had been in her shoes I would have let the girls kill each other with their tainted water supply and leave them for the poachers to dispose of.

I enjoyed the inclusion of Ryker (the one and only good poacher), but the way it was written I did not. Their relationship went from enemies to info dumping life stories to instant love within days (I'm ignoring the weeks where Tierney was severely injured (due to her camp mates almost killing her) while Ryker nursed her back to health). I would have preferred to nix the chunk of Tierney wandering around the woods (after being banished from the camp) delirious from tainted water withdrawals because it took up too much of the story. With that cut, more time with Ryker could have been inserted to make their relationship more believable.

Some twists I saw coming while others were shocking to read, especially at the end. There's a death (that I honestly believed wasn't really a death because come on, no one stays dead in books, TV shows, and movies anymore, but alas, this character remained dead) and then a major revelation, and even though I saw coming it was still a shock because of the impact it had on the whole story and the society that was constructed. That way it was handled was also another shock since I expected Tierney to be burned at stake.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC. This will be a story that sticks with me.

This was an intense read. Packed with drama and tension, The Grace Year is like Mean Girls meets Survivor. There are so many levels, so many shades and shadows that the girls are hidden in and from, that there is no way any of them could not come back changed, whether for better or worse.
As I read the story, what kept floating through my mind was how cultish the Garner County of The Grace Year is: how secretive people are, how the girls are only given enough information and knowledge to barely survive (but to return only as broken vessels), how dissent is violently discouraged. Scary to think of how easily people can be duped in a closed society.
But the heroine of The Grace Year, Tierney, is the one who questions, the one who wonders if the “truth” that has been fed to her is really the truth, the one who dares to believe that there is more to life than what those in power have told her all her life. What a wonderful heroine for young people to have! Someone to remind them that the established norms are not always what is best for you and that you should always search for the truth yourself.
The only issue I had with the novel was that the “chapters” were very long with no real breaks, making it difficult to find a place to stop or to figure out where exactly I was when I did stop. But, that is a minor issue in what was otherwise a well-written, emotionally powerful story.
The Grace Year releases in October of this year, so pre-order your copy now and know that you’ll enjoy it when it comes in!
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this novel for review purposes. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my very own!

The Grace Year is a good entry for the YA Dystopian genre. In the beginning it did remind me of a Lord of the Flies with girls. The difference is Lord of the Flies is a study of human nature, The Grace Year isn't. There is a reason behind what the County does as well as why the girls act as they do, and it is more than just human nature. I know others have likened it to The Handmaid's Tale, but I can't respond to that comparison. I received an ARC from Netgalley for my honest review of the book. I hope by the actual publication there are some changes to the formatting. Since it is about a year in the life of these girls, having it broken into seasons makes sense. However, there should be some kind of page break or indication that time has passed, or the scene has changed, instead of just continuing on paragraph after paragraph within those seasons. An extra line space between these paragraphs would be helpful when there is a change. Upon opening the book the author has you jumping into the middle of a whole new "world" and it takes several pages until the reader becomes comfortable that they actually understand what is going on. Stick with it, it is a moving tale. #TheGraceYear #NetGalley

WOW....I stayed up all night reading this book because I could not put it down! It is a mixture of everything that is my favorite in a book....strong women, danger, intrigue, passion, moments that take your breath away, worlds that are created entirely different from anything we've ever known....I could go on and on. This book WILL BE the next "big" hit. I have already told about 20 of my students to put it on their TBR list and I have already pre-ordered multiple copies of it. The world created by Kim Liggett hooked me immediately and never let me go. I am still thinking about this book and pondering on the many fascinating themes and ideas it presented. There are so many amazing plot lines in this book, it is one that will stay with me and continue to toil over in my mind endlessly. I cannot recommend this enough and I am so excited to see where she takes us with hopefully more to come! HIGHLY recommend!

I'm still not quite sure on my feelings for The Grace Year. It's very feministy and very dark. And it definitely wasn't the story I thought it was going to be. The cover is very misleading even if it is pretty. The Grace Year is an important and thought provoking read.
***I appreciate Netgalley and St. Martin's Press (Wednesday Books) for the opportunity to read it.***

I might be the minority in this.....I liked it but I didn't love it.

The concept and being billed as The Handmaids Tale meets Lord of the Flies is pretty spot on, but I was hoping for more drama. That might be the only way I can explain it. Right as I was getting into certain parts it would jump a month or months ahead and I just wanted to know what happened during that time frame. If it was divided into chapters per month of The Grace Year I feel like I would have been more invested.

It was fast paced and I loved the world and story. I'd love to read more about future Grace Years or (especially) past Grace Years.

Thank you to Wednesday Books, Netgalley and Kim Liggett for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I started recommending this book to friends before I even finished it. One of my favorite reads of 2019! Strong characters and beautiful prose. I love that the dystopian setting didn’t overtake the story. Usually the protagonist annoys me in these types of stories, but I LOVE Tierney!

This story is told in a world where girls are said to have the power to lure a grown man from his bed and draw the ire of every wife around them. These girls are sent away during their 16th year to release this powerful magic so they can return as purified ‘safe’ women who are ready for marriage. This event is called the grace year which is greatly dreaded but never talked about. It is clear something sinister takes place, as not all of the girls make it back alive.

This is a world where men are afraid of women simply because they exist. Men have all the power in this world and women are held at fault for anything bad that happens.
To me, what makes this book is so powerful in that it focuses not only on men’s fear and hatred of women and their power but also women’s fear of other women. It opens up this dialogue of why/how women know the system is broken but they refuse to stand together to change it. As well as what can happen when they finally do.

Tierney, our main character is, of course, non-conforming and independent. This is instilled in her by her father as he taught her to fish and hunt and really fend for herself. She is the middle of 5 siblings and is vehemently against becoming a wife like her older sisters. Through Tierney, we get to experience a powerful lesson on love and relationships. I feel as though sometimes, especially in ya novels, you see girls who are strong and independent but still allow a guy she likes to tell her what she wants or manipulate her into what he thinks she should want. And I really think this is something that younger girl need to be exposed to going forward.

Every sentence reveals some new twisted fact about this world and every time I think it can’t become even more intense it does. I hang on to every word. The first book I’ve read in a long time where I’m not looking at the ‘time left in the book’ and waiting for it to be over.

Overall I think that this is an absolutely amazing new release and you DEFINITELY do not want to pass this up!

5/5 stars

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a heavy read for me. It's well written but very dark. I liked the commentary on "mean girls" that runs throughout and how women need to support each other rather than tear each other down. I've seen it noted that this book is like a mashup of The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies but what both of those novels did better was world-building. I couldn't discern what caused the scenario presented in The Grace Year; was it set in the future or an alternate dystopian world altogether. I will post links to my blog review closer to the publication date.

"The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between." This sums up this book very well! It's a dark tale with lots of twists and turns which kept me wanting to read!

I really like unique YA dystopias, and this was a good one. The main character felt important without being “the chosen one,” in fact she seemed to choose her role as a world changer herself instead of being thrust into the role unwillingly. Other reviewers were spot on with their comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale, and also how the author skimmed over a lot of time that we should have seen. But I liked the romance, and thought that it could have been explored more, considering their respective places in the society. It’s a really good book, but I think more could have been done with it.

3.5/5 There have been a lot of these dystopian girl power types of books since The Handmaid's Tale TV series has come out. For me, this one is just so-so. The world is never fully developed and a lot of the main characters don't seem to have a lot of motivation for doing the things they do other than just stating that that's the way it's done. All in all an interesting read, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table.

I’m a sucker for young adult dystopian novels and this one was definitely satisfying.

The entire time I was reading it I kept thinking it was a cross between The Hunger Games and The Handmaid’s Tale and then I saw that others were calling it a cross between Handmaid’s and Lord of the Flies and that’s even more perfect.

Be warned: this book is violent and jarring. Some of it seems far-fetched, some of it seems as if it’s happening as we speak. It’s all equally horrifying.

I love the message behind this book. I love the idea of women standing up for themselves and discovering their true magic and this book has such a feminist plot. It’s quite wonderful.

However...

I have some major issues with the plot. The author chose to skip big chunks of time and skim the details when I would’ve liked way more detail about the day-to-day during the grace year. I also feel like the love story part was unnecessary. Shrug.

That said, this book made me feel. It made me feel terrified, stressed, worried. It made my heart pound and I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. So in my eyes that is a four star book.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Wow! This book was outstanding! It was a riveting story that was very well written. The characters were well developed and Tierney was strong and powerful.
All in all, I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy to review!

I’ve read a lot of truly amazing books lately, and The Grace Year by Kim Liggett was one of them. I first heard about this book on Twitter, and after looking it up, saw it was being marketed as The Handmaid’s Tale meets Lord of the Flies. After reading it, I can confirm that this comparison holds up, and you should add The Grace Year to your TBR piles immediately.

I always find that the most difficult reviews to write are for books that I absolutely loved. It’s hard to find words to explain how wonderful they are because all I want to do is scream “THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! IT MADE ME CRY AND KEPT ME UP AT NIGHT AND EVEN THOUGH I FINISHED IT WEEKS AGO I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!! YOU NEED TO READ IT RIGHT NOW!!!” Anyone who’s asked me about The Grace Year has received that type of answer. For the sake of this review though, I will dive a little bit deeper.

The Grace Year takes place in a small, seemingly isolated community that is referred to as Garner County. Men reign supreme here, and women are treated as little more than objects. As young girls, they wear white ribbons in their hair to reflect their purity and innocence. Then, once they turn 16, they enter into what is called their “grace year.”

Before that happens, though, they are forced to get dressed up, are paraded through town, and then presented to eligible men (AKA, those seeking wives). The men get to choose who they want as a wife, and those who do not receive a suitor are destined to a life of hard labor. After this weird (and downright disgusting) ceremony, the girls trade their white ribbons for red ones, and are banished to endure their grace year.

“But Lizz, what the heck is a grace year?”

Basically, all the girls are brought out to an encampment in the middle of nowhere, where they have to survive for 12 whole months. And no, this isn’t like some fun extended summer camp situation. They’re sent there because it’s believed women possess an evil sort of magic, one that they use to control men, and they need to rid themselves of it before they’re married off or join the work force.

The belief in their magic is problematic enough, but it’s coupled with the fact that while they’re staying in the encampment, they’re also being hunted by poachers. Yes, poachers, the same way humans hunt animals. Why? Because it’s believed their magic lives in their skin, and if consumed, can give the user prolonged youth, beauty, and a little bit of magic for themselves. So, yes, the girls are being hunted and skinned alive because the society in this book is absolutely nuts.

The story follows one girl in particular, Tierney James, who, from a young age, is skeptical of the grace year, the men who rule over her county, and the society in which she lives in general. She doesn’t want to be married off, she doesn’t believe she possesses any form of magic, and she certainly doesn’t want to follow any of the societal norms being shoved down her throat.

Needless to say, Tierney isn’t going to be quiet, and she certainly isn’t going to follow suit either. As I’m sure you can guess, all of these factors come together and result in one badass story.

I don’t want to give too much away, as the release date is still a few months out, but if you’re looking for a book full of feminist themes, strong female characters, a dystopian setting, or something that will make you angry and want to fight for equality, add this title to your TBR.

The Grace Year will be available on October 8, 2019, and can be bought wherever books are sold. Thank you to the publisher for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley.

Definitely an intense, dark story. The story to me felt like a combination of The Hunger Games, The Handmaid's Tale, and the YA book Conversion by Katherine Howe. The main character, Tiernery, realizes the truth behind the forced isolation of herself and her peers by their community. Once she does she rises against it.

I enjoy books with great character development, This book was definitely more plot based. Otherwise, this was a fantastic book! This would be a great read for those who are interested in the Salem Witch Trials or for those who like dark, twisty plots.

The Grace Year is a pretty intense book. Don’t let the pink cover fool you. But overall the storyline and characters didn’t resonate with me. The story takes place within one year and yet so much happens that I found some parts too unbelievable. I appreciate the unique plot but I wanted more development between the characters. It was all about the main character, Tierney, who I didn’t connect with. I would have liked to learn more about some of the other characters and their relationship with her. I could see this making a good movie or mini series though. There is plenty of action which is entertaining.