I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw the cover of this book, but the blurb caught my attention. Let me tell you, this book is no sweet pink book, my favorite way to describe it is The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games, but even that doesn’t do Tierney and the other Grace Year Girls justice.

The writing and storytelling was phenomenal, you can feel Tierney’s internal battle as she tries to remain herself through the yearlong struggle. As the year progresses and she learns about not only herself, but what is really happening around her, the story just gets better.

Ever wonder what it would be like to live in a society where men are the supreme and women are property - chosen by men at the age of 16, in order to bear them sons? A place where girls and women are violently punished or killed for crimes they are accused of committing, regardless of if there is any proof of their wrong doing? Not a society I would want to live in! The Grace Year takes place in such a society.

Tierney is 16 years old. When a young lady becomes 16, she is sent out for her "Grace Year," because it is believed that at 16 a female comes into her "magic" and to keep society safe, these girls are sent out to a camp, where for 13 moons they must stay, fend for themselves and work to burn up their magic so that they can return and be married to the suitor who chose them, or sent out to work in the fields, or another labor house to live out her days. No one is permitted to talk abut the grace year, so the girls who are headed out, do not have any real idea of what happens in the year, just that they may wear their cloak, over their clothes, and they are given a government issued pack with the rest of what they need. Unfortunately, not all the girls come back from their grace year. While at the camp, there are "poachers" who wait for a girl to leave the camp, so they can skin them alive. The blood and body is then used by men to reclaim their youth and virility. Will Tierney and the other grace year girls be able to survive this year?

I really loved this book. I read it in just a few days, and last night I could not go to sleep until I finished the book, reading from 5 pm - 10:30 pm! The story is written with such clear characters, with every single detail and experience described so that the reader can feel like they are there with the characters, walking step in step with them. You experience all of the joy and horror that the women in the book experience, making so easy to lose yourself in the book. If you are looking for an escape from life, this is a great book to throw yourself into. If you enjoy authors like Margaret Atwood and Emma Donoghue, this book will be right up your alley.

This is the first book I have read by Liggett, but I cannot wait to read her other books. Especially if they are as good as this novel!

A Society that sends all it’s 16 year olds off for a full year alone, to fend for themselves had me fascinated. After reading the blurb of this one I really wanted to read the book. I had seen another book that is coming our soon being called “a female version of Lord Of The Flies” and wondered if perhaps this book may be something similar too.

The society in this book is definitely run by the males, their word is law. Women are there to serve their husbands every need and to accept any punishment that is doled out as thought necessary by the men. The men believe all women are born with inner magic, that rises and becomes more powerful around their sixteenth birthday. So, all sixteen year old females are cast out of their village settlements and are escorted to a special fenced of place a few days away. This year away is referred to as The Grace Year. Going away for “The Grace Year” is not negotiable you have to go! The reason for the banishment is so these girls on the verge of becoming women can release their magic into the wilds surrounding them during their “Grace Year” The girls are expected to return meek and quieter and ready to marry the person who has chosen them. When the women return from the Grace Year, that is if they return, they are not allowed to speak about it. So, each set of Grace Year Girls walks off into the unknown every year with no help, or advice on what to expect. They are given a back pack each with approved items in it so no one has an unfair advantage. The girls are however told that there are poachers all around the area they will be living for a year.
There’s lots of excitement for the upcoming Grace Year and all the pomp and ceremony that happens prior to it. The first ting that happens on the day is putting on your new dress. Tierney’s parents work hard in their respective jobs but are not well off enough to be able to afford a brand, new dress just for Tierney. June brings Tierney her own dress that she wore many years ago to her veiling ceremony when she was chosen by her now husband. Tierney is happy to have her older sister June’s dress, it’ll be fine enough for her, she doesn’t expect to be chosen as a future wife anyway. Tierney wants to remain single, which to her means being free. She also wants to work in the fields, a job that is thought as a low, not so good job as it’s hard work day in day out. Tierney is happy and hopes that when Michael becomes the head of the council, he might pull a string or two to make sure she is assigned to work in the fields. June’s dress is a deep blue raw silk dress with beautiful river clam pearls on a shawl neckline. The dress still smells of lilacs and fear. A white lilac was the flower that June’s suitor, which is the symbol of early love and innocence. All flowers have their own special meanings.

There are twelve eligible boys tasked with choosing their future wife. There and thirty -three girls to be chosen from, which to be honest Tierney is quite happy about as she thinks that means there is an even lower chance of being chosen. The girls are expected to wear their pretty dresses and parade around town to give the boys a last chance of viewing them before the choosing ceremony. The boys are expected to go into the barn with the men to barter the futures of the girls, rather like they would barter or bid for cattle. Tierney compares herself to cattle in more that one way, as at birth they are branded on the bottom of the foot with their fathers special sigil. It is an identifying mark from then on, especially if something happened to them. It has often been the only way to identify a dead grace year girl. When all the boys have made their claims and choices, the fathers go to the church where the girls are waiting to take the veils to their daughters and silently place them on their heads. The girl’s suitors are not revealed until the next day, when they will lift the girl’s veils and then they will learn who they are.

The following day the girl’s mothers and already married sisters prepare the grace year girls. The girls hair is plaited and a red ribbon attached to the bottom of the plair to signify the wearer is in their grace year. They are all given a travel cloak as when the veil lifting ceremony is over, they will head straight out for their grace year. Once the girls are suitably dressed their fathers give them a flower, chosen by their suitor. This society places a lot of emphasis on the flower each girl has too. As many years ago when people could not speak the same language, they would use flowers they were the common language everyone could use and understand. It’s not long before Tierney finds herself lined up dressed for travelling, veil in place, holding a gardenia. A Gardenia is considered an old-fashioned flower but it is the sign of purity and secret love. All the girls are in line clutching their flowers wondering who is going to life their veil. Once all that is out of the way, regardless about how the girls feel they leave for their grace year. When they return, their red ribbon will be pulled away and replaced by a black one. They will then marry their suitor and begin a married life and be expected to have children. Once the girls know who their suitors are. They girls are then hustled away to do their grace year. Friends and family watch all the girls trudge away, not really knowing what state they will be coming back, or even if they will make it back. Despite the grace year not being allowed to be spoken about there are plenty of tales, such as poachers kidnapping girls, killing them, chopping them up and then selling their body parts back to the alchemist in Garner County.
Other than the tall tales the girls are quite literally blind to where they are going, where they will be staying, how they will manage together for a year alone. To say some of the girls are petrified is an understatement with one girl throwing herself overboard from a canoe as she couldn’t bear the thoughts of what was to come. There are plenty of prejudices, dislikes, and petty bullying going on within the fenced compound the girls have to live in. This is where Tierney is quite in her element all those things her father taught her, like starting a fire, and building things. Tierney soon realises that some of the little things different members of her family have shared with her, talked about or taught her have all be in preparation for her own grace year. Sadly, as is usual with groups there are always outcasts, nastiness and bullies. Tierney finds herself alone fighting the weather and terrain around her. This grace year really is survival of the fittest both in the physical and mental capabilities.
One of the main scare stories is that of the poachers who surround the compound they girls are living in. Tierney does meet and befriends a poacher, she even considers not going back to Garner County. Tierney attempts many times to help the other girls who are ruled by the self-appointed leader Kiersten. A lot happens within the compound and those there come to learn why this grace year is not talked about.

The seasons pass and the girls just have to get on with living as best they can. When the time comes for the girls to return, the majority of them have secrets to keep, some small harmless ones, others horrific and Tierney has a secret that she will find very difficult to hide. Will her suitor still want to marry her? Will he still have feeling about her? Will he still accept her opinions on the changes that need to be made for Garner County to progress or will he resort to the old-fashioned methods of everything having to be done by the men of the county. Tierney finds herself reflecting on what she learnt throughout her grace year. To say Tierney is “before her time” would be an apt description. When she looks around Garner County, she begins seeing small signs, things she had thought she could only dream about, small signs from the other women who are also ready for some changes. Maybe life and old-traditions and ways won’t change as quickly as Tierney wanted and dreamt about but she cannot deny there are some little signs that herald small changes, that will turn into larger and larger ones over time.

My favourite female characters were Tierney, her eldest sister June who provided her with a dress when a new one couldn’t be bought. I even grew to like Tierney’s mum who appears to live the life she has been told by previous ancestors without questioning anything at all. I enjoyed disliking Kiersten, the bossy, stuck up, head mean girl that knew everything about everyone and put herself in charge, even professing she had magic that could make anyone do as she wanted them to.
My favourite male character was Tierney’s dad who had taught his daughter the tom-boy of the family lots of useful survival, hunting and gathering techniques. Tierney had actually thought he had taught her these things as he had really wanted a male child to do those things with and she was the substitute. When you read the book there’s a possibility you may wonder what I thought to a character called Michael, to be honest I did like him some of the time but I felt I wanted more from him. I guess I should stay the jury is still out on him, I kind of did like him but then there were occasions in the book I really wanted to slap him or shake some sense into him! I did love the character called Ryker too, he showed a softer more caring side to himself as well as the toughness and strength he needed to survive.

I have been quite detailed on all the traditions around the preparation for the veiling ceremony, but this book is difficult to review without spoilers, though I am doing my best not to reveal too much. Once I started reading this book, I seriously hated having to put it down! It really is genuinely addictive reading, from some of the archaic traditions, the traditions the girls love to be part of to the rather horrifying prospect of the grace year. I have purposefully not said a lot about the grace year that Tierney and her fellow 16 yr old girls endure because to start revealing small things they would begin to reveal larger things. It’s a part of the book you really need to read and have what happens slowly revealed ad the author intended it to. This is as far as I know a standalone book, which it does really work well. Though I wouldn’t say no to a catch up with the Garner County society a few years down the line to see if they have progressed in the way both Tierney and myself as a reader would wanted them to have done. I’d love them to have more contact with those that live in the outskirts and find out who is related to who. As well as wanting a catch up with the grace year girls we met in this book. It would be interesting to learn if Garner County would still be sending its sixteen year old girls away for a grace year too.

I honestly loved this amazing book. There's a really heart warming, tear jerking scene towards the end of the book. Some amazing characters and a fantastically well written unique plot.

4.5 Stars. Best enjoyed with a handful of berries and clean glass of water

I. AM. BLOWN. AWAY. Don’t let the pink cover fool you like it did me at first, although it’s a perfect representation of the world that Liggett built: pink, pretty, but also with a very gritty vibe. Things aren’t always what they seem.

I finished this book at 4 am yesterday and it’s been invading my dreams and thoughts ever since. Other reviewers have said that it’s a cross between Handmaid’s Tale and Lord of the Flies, and I agree, but it’s also got a healthy dose of MK Ultra and survival horror, but it also fully feels like this could happen in our world and this preys on the fears of many women these days–which makes this a wild and visceral experience. I’m a complete sucker for survival horror.

Tierney is 16. In our world, that means sweet 16 birthday parties, getting to drive, and finding freedom. In Tierney’s world, in ‘the county’, that means becoming a women in a society where women are seen as dangerous and only have a chance at few jobs within society: as a wife, as a servant, or as a laborer, working in factories or the fields. Otherwise, they are dispelled into the Outskirts to work a sex workers. Women aren’t allowed to wear their hair down, or dress immodestly, gossip, or even dream. It doesn’t help that society and the magic of the Grace Year have seemingly pitted them all against one another.

During their 16th year, they are sent to ‘the encampment;’, an unforgiving fenced-in island far in the woods away from the county, to dispel the magic that crawls under their skin and makes them irresistible to men. If you come back and haven’t dispelled your magic, it means death. They call this the ‘grace year’. And the grace year is like fight club: You don’t talk about it. You don’t talk about what happens there, and no one escapes without scars.

Tierney just wants to get through her grace year. She’s always rebelled in small ways against the way things are, and the last thing she wants is to become a wife. She’d rather work in the fields, where she can reach into the dirt and do something real. But even the best laid plans often go awry, and Tierney finds herself going into the grace year with a target on her back, as if avoiding starvation and the poachers, sons of the Outskirts women that hunt grace year girls down to carve up their bodies to sell back to the county in bottles–for the ‘magic’, of course–wasn’t enough.

If it seems like there’s a lot going on in this book, there is. The world building is amazing and the story is absolutely enrapturing. I went through the entire gamut of emotions with this one and when I started reading, I could not stop. I had to know if my hunches were correct. I had to know if they would make it out alive. I had to know how this would end, but I also was left wanting more.

I think when the release date hits and more people have the chance to read this, I will most likely have to post more. There is so much to say about this story, but I don’t want to give too much away. All I will say is that we have power and we need to start using it.

Kim Liggett's The Grace Year has been described as Lord of the Flies meets The Handmaid's Tale, setting up high expectations that are a fair comparison. The setting feels historical, yet something is just a bit off -- this dystopian misogynistic patriarchy takes puritanical zealotry to the next level. While Liggett's plot needs some tightening (there are a few moments of What? Where did that come from?) her story is generally well-crafted and paced. Female characters are fully fleshed and artfully drawn, while some of her male characters deserve a bit more depth. The exception is our heroine's love interest, who's mysterious introduction is slowly, but deftly revealed and exposed in layers , as he is to the protagonist. . A satisfying foray into a repressive culture where the "grace year" is anything but graceful.

Wow. I'm speechless. This YA dystopian novel is what my book dreams are made of! It's dark, mysterious, & keeps the reader questioning what‘s real. Pub date 10/8- go preorder this!

16 year old girls are sent to a remote camp every year for their “grace year.” The men in society believe women to have magical powers & must spend this year of exclusion in order to rid themselves of the dangerous magic. But what really happens during this year? No one knows; discussing grace year is strictly forbidden.

This is a haunting, page turner. I've seen comparisons of this book to The Handmaid's Tale. I can see the similarities, but this book by far reigns above and beyond. A full 5 star rating from me. I'm excited to see the buzz and traction this book gets closer to pub day, because I'm eager to talk about it! Excellent writing & story telling.

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett - a cross between Handmaids Tale & Hunger Games with a bit of a witchy feel to it, is a MUST read.

It’s a brutal, yet heartwarming love story as well as a story of survival in a bleak world! I devoured this masterpiece and wish everyone would read it! It will stay with me for a long time - and I was sucked in 110%!

I. Loved. This. Book. ❤️🖤😭

8/5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley for previding me with this ARC copy
Holy shit. That story... the cover is pink, but this is far from anythwarm and fuzzy. I wanted to keep reading to know what happens next but life got in the way and I finally finished it but ohmygods it was absolutely intense and amazing and breathtaking.

The Grace Year is more gruesome than I like, but I could hardly put it down! The story is so compelling. As details of the County’s history are revealed, the Grace Girls become more complex, and the County Citizens, Poachers, and Guards become more intriguing. I’m still thinking about the end, and am tempted to re-read the book knowing what I know now.
Thanks for the advanced reader copy!

This story of Tierney’s Grace Year, which is an almost apocalyptic, Hunger Games-esque free-for-all in which women come of age and “release their magic,” is absolutely riveting. I found myself unable to put this down, and spent a couple of truly late nights just flying through the galley I was provided of this book. Tierney is a headstrong character, and I found myself really rooting for her a ton through her trials and hazards she encounters along the way trying to survive her Grace Year. This book reminded me of how truly difficult it is to go through puberty, come of age, and make mistakes until you finally reach the point where I am now, Grown Up. Such an awesome novel, very fast-paced, with interesting character development and a heart-poundingly tense story.

Loved this book!

I stayed up all night saying "just one more chapter" . I smiled, I cried, I wish I hadn't read it yet so I could start it anew.

Is this book for everyone? Probably not. It's dystopian in nature. It's dark in places. It's bittersweet.

But if you like dystopian novels, if you liked the handmaidens tale, if you like stories of women, you will love this.

Thank you so much to net galley for an advanced copy. This didn't affect my review. Did I mention that I loved this book?

When girls turn 16 they come into their magic, an ability to tempt men and fill women with jealousy. They believe their bodies emit the very essence of youth, a "product" which poachers outside their village bottle and sell on the black market. In order to protect the village, the girls are forced to partake in the grace year, a ritual in which they are banished to the woods for one year to dispel the magic inside of them. What occurs during the grace year is forbidden to discuss, those who make it back alive will take their place as either wives, or workers among their people. Tierney "the terrible" James seems to be a constant disappointment to the village and her mother. She dreams of returning to work in the fields outside where she can feel some semblance of freedom but unforeseen events place a target on her back. As she prepares to embark on her grace year she soon discovers that the biggest threat isn't the magic or the poachers but each other.

The Grace Year is a fantastic new dystopian YA fiction that I'm giving all the stars. Warning this novel is fairly violent and feels a bit like a combination of the Salem witch trials and an all-female Lord of the Flies. The story takes place in a male dominated village where women are more or less disposable or used for their bodies (in more ways than one). Our main protagonist is a bit of a tomboy and rebel who does not wish to be married or confined, a boldness that borders on shaming her family. Although the mysterious grace years are forbidden to discuss, some secrets have been passed down between the women. I enjoyed seeing how the characters evolve throughout the story as truths are revealed. I devoured this story in a day and a half because I didn't want to put it down. This is definitely one of my top reads this year and will be added to my personal library once released.

From the first sentence you are transported to a land where women are considered an entity to be feared. The men that fear them control what they wear, what they think, what they do, and their place in society. Girls, when they reach their Grace Year of 16, are considered to possess a powerful magic. A magic that will cause men to do immoral things such as cheat on their wives.  To dispel this magic, they send these teenagers into the wilderness alone for a year. Banished to a fortress in the woods with poachers, who want to harvest  them, lurking just outside, these girls do unspeakable things to survive.
Tierney is now facing her Grace Year. She has no idea of the challenges she will face. She dreams of a girl in the woods, a girl who will save them all. What Tierney discovers about the Grace Year and about this girl  shocks her to her core.
This story is a mix of The Hunger Games, The Handmaid's Tale, and Lord of the Flies. It is a story of how one person can make a difference. It is a story of repression and of survival.
I read this in two days because I could not put this book down. I felt as though I was living alongside Tierney and fighting with her. I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

I have to say, I was completely intrigued with this book. The cover, which is very bright, doesn’t even begin to showcase the intensity that is between the pages. I am a newbie to this author, and know from here on out that I will not miss any of her future releases.

Wow, what a wonderfully haunting story. The author weaves an intricate story, full of many moments where you’re on the edge of your seat. It’s a story that makes you really think; making you want to dig deeper until the answer is there. It’s truly one of the best stories I’ve read; from beginning to end.

The writing style of the author was different. I’ve yet to read a book written this way. It consisted of going from day to day, without a page break or without a new chapter starting. It also starts off very slow, I’ll be honest here, I didn’t think I was going to continue reading because of that pace and the writing style; but shortly before the end of the first chapter, things amped up. And continued that pace through the end of the book.

This book is packed full of moments where you’re not only rooting for the main character, you’re rooting for change. You’re rooting for everything. What a wonderful story!

Here it is June and I may have found my 2019 favorite already. The Grace Year was everything I wanted it to be, possibly more.

A haunting story made rich with vivid descriptions, eerie characterization, and nail-biting suspense. With multilayered characters and intimate writing, Kim Liggett set my imagination ablaze. This is thriller at its best.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a copy of this book!!

WOAH. Going in blind, I had all the questions about what “The Grace Year” was and what the magic was, that the Grace girls possessed. Thoughtfully provoking, compulsive and suspenseful!!

“Your eyes are wide open, but you see nothing.”

It’s not what you think and it’s better than you can imagine! Don’t start it unless you’re prepared to finish it in one sitting!!

5 STARS!!

Is it safe to say this is one of the best books I have read in a long time? Honestly, I just finished it about a minute ago and I am still in shock. I am blown away.

I've read some of the reviews comparing it to The Hunger Games, and while I could see where the similarities are, The Grace Year is so unique and so different and so chilling and so eerie. It is in it's own class of Dystopian novels.

This book was everything. It was written in a way that honestly took my breath away. It was beautifully written. The descriptions were perfect. It was scary, I won't lie. I had to put it down for a few minutes here and there because it was terrifying. It was terrifying because it felt so real, yet at the same time it felt so unreal. I am having the hardest time putting my feelings into words because, like I said, I am blown away.

Tierney is everything I could want for a main character. Everything she felt and how she responded felt so real and authentic and my heart broke for her the entire book. The love she felt and the absolute hatred she felt was something I felt reading along. The other characters, you just loved them or hated them. Ryker, for example, is a character I am absolutely in love with and I just wish I had more.

I am trying to put my feelings into words, without any spoilers, because if you are reading my review deciding if you should read this book, I do not want to spoil an ounce of it for you, but just know, you NEED to read this book.

Think of every Dystopian novel you've ever read and then go beyond, because this is so much more than what you've expected from the genre. This story was captivating; I couldn't put it down. The details of the characters and their lives are thrilling and entrap you completely . I felt pensive, angry, scared, proud and then hopeful. I would read it and it's sequels again and again. 15 stars. An absolute piece of fine literature.

The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games, The Grace Year is a memorable dystopian story of the resilience of the female spirit.

When the young women in Tierney James’ county turn 16, they’re banished to a fenced-in reserve on an island where they’re expected to spend 13 cycles of the moon releasing the “magic” into which all girls of this age grow — a period called the grace year.

Before they depart, the eligible men have their pick of the women, and many of them will leave for the year betrothed to a man they barely know who has decided to lay his claim on her. Tierney has other plans for her life, and, unlike most of the young women, she looks forward to a life without a husband or children working with her hands in the fields. But when her friend Michael chooses her to be his bride, the women will depart on a tumultuous grace year filled with drama, danger, love, and murder.

During the grace year, the women are expected to care for themselves using only a county-issued pack each. There’s a well for water, but it doesn’t take long for the well water to start having strange effects on the group, who drinks from it constantly. Kiersten, who had hoped to be chosen as Michael’s bride, quickly convinces the group that her magic is real and she’s powerful enough to control them if she likes. Her manipulation coupled with the effects of the well water leads to a Hunger Games-esque story line in which Tierney is alienated from the women and no one is truly safe from each other — or the poachers lurking just outside the gates hoping to sell the girls’ dead bodies for their “magical” powers.

Liggett does an astounding job drawing the reader in to Tierney’s story, her struggle against the way of life she’s been taught, and her desire for something more than a Handmaid’s Tale-style life of docility and subservience. While I rooted for Tierney, I also rooted for the women who were afraid to speak up for themselves and simply wanted to please their parents and future husbands or bosses. The characters outside of the main group of girls added some fun suspense and romance to the story that really added to the overall plot, and I couldn’t wait to get back to this story each time I put the book down.

Liggett offers us an important new piece of modern feminist fiction, and I recommend this one for fans of dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Lord of the Flies.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.