This was one dystopian novel I actually loved! I couldn't put it down, I read it in one sitting. highly recommend.

The Grace Year was terrifying and I loved it. The story is at once outlandish and immediate. In The Grace Year's patriarchal society, girls spend their sixteenth year--the grace year--in the woods expelling the magic that tempts married men, but it's not the magic they need to fear. Liggett does an amazing job of building a claustrophobic setting while giving her characters room to grow, eventually remaking the shape of their world with the knowledge they gain. The main character Tierney has this fierce wretchedness at the beginning of the story that is fully realized as strength when she's caught in a maelstrom of hysteria and finds herself at the eye of the storm. I burned through this in hours and honestly feel like I've survived something. Please go read this. You won't be disappointed!

I received this ARC via NetGalley.

With the comparison being Handmaid’s Tale meets Lord of the Flies I thought this story would be something else.

The whole lead up and center of the story is the Grace Year where 16 year old girls are herded to this remote area to get rid of their ‘magic’ before getting married or entering the workforce.

This is where I thought we would get the most of the feminist inclusive kind of action. Here where there are no rules and supervision allowing for all the pent up aggression to rise up. And of course aggression does happen but things aren’t questioned. The main rule within the community is that they aren’t allowed to talk about the Grace Year and what happens. And growing up under these strict rules would be hard to break even now but it was so quick for the majority of all the girls to just believe the queen b and go along with whatever senseless thing she said and did. This started long before they started drinking the ‘cool aid’. I can see why some would follow and believe this.

I have a love hate relationship with dystopian I hate reading them but I love having read them. I love discussions that arise while reading and the commentary of how their society is and how it reflects our own. With this the commentary I found from the reading is how the women are treated like a commodity that only serves one purpose, birthing children. There are a lot of little lines that the protagonist thinks that speak so adequately such as, “why are men the only ones to make the rules?” and how they’ve all agreed to live like this. There are no other discussions especially with each other over these injustices and it just makes me sad.
Another topic is how society's stay in place and all the cogs and wheels that need to stay in rotation to keep these practices alive is what I found frightful.

Overall, this is a quick read that is intriguing on some level but lacks a lot of depth. This is where my disappointment comes in because I was lead to believe that this would be on the same level as the books it is compared to but it falls short.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

This is already my favorite book of the year. Maybe even my favorite book of the last 5 years.
I'm a sucker for a good dystopian and even more so for strong female characters. This book delivers on both fronts. Every time I thought I had figured something out early in the story I was wrong (in the best way!) I was attached to Tierney and extremely invested in her story. The way she kept herself and her kindness through everything she was put through was incredible.
The relationships that the characters build with each other was one of the things that I loved most about this story. There were points where I was so angry at some of the characters that I wanted to scream. There were also points where I had to stop to take a breath, and some where I had to stop to cry a bit.
The story is extremely brutal. Some of the things that happen to these girls are unimaginable and yet they feel like they aren't really all that far fetched if you think about it, and that is what makes this story so terrifying.
I still haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished, and I don't think that I will for a while.
I wish that I would have had this book as a teenager. Seeing the women in this book empower each other and not back down from the worst of it was inspiring.
I cannot recommend this book enough if you like dystopian stories, or even psychological thrillers! Kim Liggett is an artist with her characters and I'll eat up anything she puts out.

WOW!!! This book seemed really good, but I felt that the dystopian story had been a bit played out. I didn’t think that there could really be anything new out there that wouldn’t end up sounding like an echo of “The Hunger Games” et al. I don’t think that I’ve ever been so happy to be wrong in my life! This book was a fresh spin on the genre, gripping, magical, and dangerous all at once! I was blown away at how many different ways it could go and it didn’t bore, only thrilled me as I raced through the pages. This book has made it solidly in my top five all time book list, and I’m genuinely excited to read it again to see the other layers of nuance. Don’t miss this book, you seriously owe it to yourself! Author is a new hero and I’m definitely in the fan club! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my free ARC, it blew my mind!!

This book is available for 72 hours on NetGalley as an ARC and WOW! I didn’t even have to TRY to finish it because I could NOT put it down! With the flavors of “A Handmaid’s Tale,” this book had so many twists, turns, and surprises. I’m usually pretty good at predicting things but even I was shocked a few times! This is a must read when it comes out officially!

This book is dark, twisted, beautiful and awful and I can’t recommend it enough!

“The Grace Year” finds Tierney approaching her 16th year where her magic comes into full bloom and she along with the other girls her age will be exiled in order to keep the men from becoming consumed by their gifts, but with a dream she can’t shake and an overwhelming desire to survive, Tierney faces her year in the unknown and finds that sometimes the truth can be found if one simply opens their eyes.

Wow I know so many people are going to have better written reviews and god bless them because I am a wreck of emotions and I want to discuss it all without spoiling anything no matter how badly I want to!

This is one of those books that’s terrifying in the sense that we’ve all been these girls only our “grace year” happens for a lot longer and unfortunately before our 16th birthday. The entire dynamic is one that we’ve all had to deal with at one point or another and I think that’s why the ending is so beautiful because we’ve all had a moment like that too where this unspoken look shared amongst women carried so much weight and understanding and it’s something no man can take.

There’s so much poetic symmetry between this dystopian world and our reality that I don’t think I’ll be able to shake it for a long time and if I’m being honest I don’t really want to. My only question is to anyone who has read it and it concerns the final line because for me I’m taking it in a positive direction because I think I’d be even more destroyed if it wasn’t a hopeful ending but either way the strength of women is unparalleled and I will shout it from the rooftops until my dying day.

This is a book that is so important and one that I hope everyone reads and with that I leave you with a quote from another work that encompasses this novel perfectly, “here’s to strong women, may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them”.

**special thanks to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**

It has been a very long time since I read a book that I loved so much as The Grace Year. The beautiful writing and interesting premise kept me reading way past my bedtime as I devoured each word on the page.

The county has a lot of rules and traditions but nothing is as bad as the Grace Year. On the sixeenth year of their lives the girls of the county must be banished to keep them from tempting the men of the town with their magic. These girls are then forced to live on an island while facing starvation, the elements, poachers who want nothing more than to kill them and worst of all, each other. Tierney has always had dreams of a girl with a small strawberry mark below her right eye a girl who would change the world. As her own Grace Year begins she isn't at all prepared for what is in store. Tierney and the girls slowly adapt the world they must live in for the next year. Some choose to embrace the Grace Year, learn to give into their magic let it run through them. And others are more practical. But as Kiersten becomes the clear leader of the group (whether by fear or loyalty), more girls decide to join her and release their magic. Tierney finds herself trying to survive alone against all odds. She then meets Ryker one of the poachers trying to kill her and everything she has been raised to know changes.

I haven't read a good YA dystopian novel in. Forever. The blurb was interesting and I'm so glad I decided to read it
Thanks Netgalley for the Arc

Reviews on Goodreads are outrageously enthusiastic.
At least the ones I saw.
So when I received a ‘Read Now’, notice from Netgalley - I thought - what the heck ...
Personally- I’m less enthusiastic about this book - than the reviews I’ve read - yet I can understand the book’s appeal.

This is a quick read: A Young Adult dystopian novel. It’s been compared to “Handmaid’s Tale”, and “Lord of The Flies”, and “The Hunger Games”.
Fair assessment.

Sixteen year-old girls spend a year in the forest in order to rid themselves of magic before marriage or entering the work force. Some interesting camp scenes. Obstacles include keeping inner thoughts at bay.
Hard work - rebuilding rain barrels, clearing the trails, weaving rope are less an obstacle than one’s own thoughts.

“All the Women in Garner County have to wear their hair the same way, pulled back from the face, plaited down the back. In doing so, the men believe, the women won’t be able to hide anything from them - a snide expression, a wandering eye, or a flash of magic. White ribbons for the young girls, read for the grace year girls, and black for the wives. Innocence. Blood. Death”.

Tierney is the main character. She is one of five girls born into her family..
the closest to the boy her dad never had. We quickly learn, that Tierney is not a girlie-girl. She’d rather work than be a wife.

Complexities of female relationships are at play....with a message that society will flourish if women band together.

Every woman that I know has experience how cruel other women can be to one another with petty jealousy - envy - cattiness and cruelty.
Women connections can break us to the core -
or they can fill our souls in ways no other type of relationship can.

Teen girls might absolutely love this book. I felt a little old for it - but the author opens up an emotional world showing ways to navigate confusion, anger, empty and guilty feelings - ways to deal with our inner rebel - and the value of women empowering women.

I guess I’d conclude that this book is a combination of the fierce and tender... taking us, the reader, on a daunting journey inviting us to look at the brutalities and beauty for both men and women.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Kim Liggett

I am a huge fan of The Handmaid's Tale from when I had to read it for me English Lit class in college. I am a huge fan of dystopian novels and The Handmaid's Tales was right up my alley. The moment I learned about The Grace Year and that it was pitched for fans of The Handmaid's Tale, I knew it was going to be a must read for me. I've read Kim's previous novels and loved them so I knew this one was going to be for me. I want to say that loved The Grace Year, but I sadly didn't. The Grace Year wasn't a horrible book, it has The Handmaid Tales vibes and a strong feminist message that I did enjoy, but other then that there really wasn't much more that I loved.

My English professor once said that if a novel doesn't make you angry for the injustices it serves, then it didn't accomplish what it was written to do. The Grace Year made me angry for the injustices that woman face. Not even just in this novel but in real life. Tierney's story is of a girl who dreams of a better life where society isn't the way it is. That woman have their freedom and they aren't just used to produce children and serve their husbands. She dreams of a world where woman aren't stripped of their rights and aren't pitted against each other in the wilderness for a year when they turn 16.

I did enjoy the mystery surrounding The Grace Year until the girls go on their Grace Year. I wasn't sure what to expect because the biggest rule in The Grace Year is that, no one can talk about it. So, Tierney isn't sure what to expect. The girls chosen to be married and sent on their Grace Year are sent away to loose their "magic" and powers that are used to seduce men and cloud their judgment.

The ending of The Grace Year left the book a little open ended in my opinion. I came to two different interpretations for how The Grace Year ended. I'm curious to see how other reads are going to take to the ending the and twists that happen in that last half of the novel. Overall, there were bits of The Grace Year that enjoyed and others that I didn't. I think this book wasn't my cup of tea because I as expecting something different. But I can see the appeal and how other readers are going to love this one.

Accidental download as detailed in notes to the publisher. My apologies for confusing your stats. Full review will be on the other version of this title.

I finished this book yesterday, after starting it that day, and my mind is still reeling. This is such a fascinating dystopian novel. I would also place it in the category of psychological thriller. From the very first page, I was hooked. It is honestly one of the best YA fictions I have picked up in awhile.

The main character, Tierney, is a very intriguing character. She is much different than the other girls that live in their county and she wants very different things. She wants untethered freedom. When she is claimed before going on her "grace year", a year where the girls are to discover and use up all of their magic before coming back to be married or begin working, she feels anger and betrayal because she does not want to be "claimed", unlike the other girls.

From the get go, she has an enemy in the leader of the pack. This "mean girl" is dangerous because of her powers of manipulation among the girls and Tierney spends most of the book as an outcast. Once the girls arrive at their camp, the mental games start and you can really observe how much of a psychological element there is in the novel.

I admired Tierney's bravery and kindness. She didn't feel like one of the girls, but she also respected each of them as a person. In their society, women are seen as nothing more than pets to men. Many of the girls turn on each other and do outrageously crazy things in order to hurt another. Tierney sees how absurd it is that they turn on each other, no matter what their circumstances. Yes, they are oppressed by the men in their society and how they treat each other is one of the only things they have control over, however, they chose how they react. While many girls chose to be hateful, Tierney does not. She is an example that one's situation and circumstances are no excuse for cruel behavior. In bringing this example to real life, some people are cruel whether they are severely oppressed or in complete control of their life with every opportunity in the world given them. Some people will always be vindictive or find excuses for cruel behavior. Tierney takes the lead and shows kindness. She shows that they do have a choice and does her best to help them realize this fact. We can all chose kindness and form bonds together. Sometimes those who seem to need it the least and refuse it the most, are the ones in the most need of such comfort and friendship.

I loved the characters. They were each so unique and complex. I loved watching the relationships develop as it breathed life into the story. I accurately speculated how part of the ending would play out, but there were certainly some parts I did not see coming as well. The book was extremely well done. Liggett is a fantastic author and I am eager to see what she comes out with next! In the meantime I will be reading the other books she has already written, but I hope to see a sequel to this one! Her ability to masterfully weave an impressive plot and characters together into a meaningful story and message is intoxicating. I seriously could not put this book down and I'm willing to bet that you won't be able to either!!

3.5 stars. I didn't find this as unique as many others claim it to be - it's very Lord of the Flies meets Hunger Games and Handmaid's Tale. It starts of quite well but then it lost me more and more and I really didn't like where the story ended up going. I also wouldn't call this feminist at all, more like Mean Girls dystopian edition.

Loved this!! I read it in one day - couldn't put it down. It is a feminist Hunger Games. Kim Liggett doesn't shy away from some very shocking and powerful material.

What a phenomenal story. The depiction of female relationships was so spot-on. I think what I enjoyed the most was that this was focused more-so on how women cut-down/harm one another far more than men. It is so true. We do attack each other in the most appalling ways when we really should be banning together to invoke change! The Grace Year is such an important story. Why are we still so cruel to one another? Life is cruel enough. We should be building each other up; supporting one another. It reminds me of a quote from Mean Girls: “(Women) shouldn’t call each other ‘sluts’ and ‘whores’ because then it gives men more of a reason to call us ‘sluts’ and ‘whores’.” What made this storyline Brilliant was definitely the MC: Tierney. She saw the cattiness of Girls and women long before anyone else did. Her bravery. Her courage. Her everything. What an amazing character!

I devoured this in 2 sittings; I couldn’t put it down. I will be recommending this one to all of my female friends! My only feedback/‘issue’ had to do with the transitions. I get that the story was broken up into the 4 seasons; however, sometimes it confused me because within one part, the time line would skip around. Once I got accustomed to the author’s transitions, it was easier to follow. All in all, 4.5 stars!

I wanted this book so bad but it was not what i was expecting tierny lives in a dystopia world where when you turn 16 you go into the woods and get rid of your magic. I was not into the world or the magic or the main character but if you like stuff like that then this booknis for you

The Grace Year has been one of my most anticipated books of the year and from the synopsis the perfect dystopia novel that I’ve been needing. The story follows Tierney James, a teenage girl coming into adulthood in a superstitious and patriarchal society. She is preparing for her grace year, a tradition in which all the girls of the town are sent into the woods to be rid of their “magic.”

Now admittedly, I initially had mixed feelings about this book when I started reading. The start of the book is slow as Tierney establishes the world to the readers in what felt like a very stereotypical young adult dystopia, bringing several other novels to mind. I found myself hoping that this book wouldn’t turn into a “chosen one” savior story and I was rewarded for my patience. The Grace Year becomes quite the page turner with a story that took directions I didn’t expect.

The grace year girls are well written and memorable, and the madness that seeps into the camp as the girls come into their magic was genuinely terrifying, more so than the monsters and the poachers lurking in the woods. The more that Tierney discovered about her world, the more I found myself cursing at how cruel and sinister everything was. The power system in the novel is distressing in the way that it divides and breaks everyone.

The book was not without it’s faults, and Tierney was an extremely frustrating protagonist. She thinks the worst in others and acts brashly and aggressively in a poor attempt to create red herrings. Certain romantic aspects I found cheesy, underdeveloped, and unnecessary. As for Tierney’s character development and her state at the end of the book, it is questionable at best and felt sudden with no build up.

Overall I really enjoyed The Grace Year, it did not disappoint and will easily be one of my favorite books that I read this year. I liked that this book brought something original to the table and didn’t turn into an overnight feminist revolution, because in reality that’s not how meaningful change happens. Tierney may not be the chosen one of every other young adult fantasy novel, but her story is the kind of story that we need about why we need to stay united in the face of adversity.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"All the women in Garner County have to wear their hair the same way, pulled back from the face, plaited down the back. In doing so, the men believe, the women won't be able to hide anything from them - a snide expression, a wandering eye, or a flash of magic. White ribbons for the young girls, red for the grace year girls, and black of the wives. Innocence. Blood. Death."

Oh my, this was captivating. I enjoyed every minute of it, the development, the prose, the characters. There few a few times where I felt like the time skips should be divided into chapters, and the pacing felt a little bit off, but I was still enthralled with the story, so it's just a small thing for me. Every bit of it had me hooked, and while the twist wasn't that shocking, it also wasn't predictable (for me).

[ After thinking about it some more last night and this morning, I will say that I felt as if the pregnancy kind of came out of left field and I had to reread a few parts twice, to make sure I read it correctly. However, that did not hinder my overall enjoyment of the book. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, it's a great book, kind of like a cross between the Handmaid's Tale, Lord of the Flies, and I also felt some Hunger Games vibes. I definitely recommend it to fans of dystopian/fantasy type books.

*An early copy received from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review*

In The Grace Year, 16 years old girls have to spend a year in the forest in order to rid themselves of ‘magic’ and prepare themselves for their assigned roles in life. In this suspenseful page-turner, there are obvious elements of The Handmaid’s Tale, Lord of the Flies, Hunger Games, and other YA dystopian novels with strong female leads.

There are interesting, and sometimes disturbing, glimpses of female rebellion and societal uprising as the girls struggle to survive. While Tierney, the main character, searches for independence and the right to choose her path, she repeatedly has to rely on the help of the men around her. Tierney was introduced as a character that often rebels against her expected role; however, the novel takes a disappointing turn with a rushed/inexplicable love story that becomes a centralized part of the plot. The love triangle waters down Tierney’s character (and my overall rating).

*3.5