Untraceable (The Nature of Grace Book 1) by SR Johannes

356 Pages
Publisher: All Night Reads
Release Date: November 1, 2011

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Teens, Young Adult, Survival Tips

Grace is a sixteen-year-old whose father, a Fish and Wildlife officer has gone missing. Everyone has given up except Grace. She continues to go deep into the woods looking for clues. Her relationship with her mother is broken. She is required to see a counselor for her obsession with her father. Even the chief of police is done with her. She meets Mo, a teenager from England, living in the woods. She falls hard for him. She hears two guys, Al and Billy, talking about hunting bear and since it wasn’t bear season it was illegal. She follows them and they catch her. Good thing Mo is nearby to help.

The story is fast paced, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. There is a strong female character, and each chapter has survival skill tips. If you like young adult mysteries, you may enjoy this book.

My Side of the Mountains meets Wolf Boy...strong heroine and quick read! Passion and fast paced story blends a little otherworld magic with the story of a young girl learning grit and strength from the world around her. Excited to read the next books in the series!

Grace is a teenage girl who was taught survival skills by her father who was a wildlife enforcement officer, but who has been missing for 3 months. Everyone else seem willing to write him off as dead, even though his body was never found, but Grace refuses to give up on finding him alive.

"Dad used to always say, nothing is untraceable. Everything that touches this earth leaves a special imprint, a unique mark that proves we existed in some way - no matter how invisible we may feel."

What seems like a pretty simple premise for this book takes off in many different directions, which can seem a bit dizzying at times. I didn't have a problem with the writing itself, I just wasn't sure what type of book this one wanted to be. I didn't really connect with Grace either because she just didn't seem like a very nice girl, although the stress of searching for a missing parent could certainly explain some of that. There were some pretty distressing descriptions of animal abuse that I wasn't able to read, so I just skimmed over those. Again, I feel like this book switched genres a lot.

All in all, the writing was good, I just personally didn't connect with the story much. I felt like the ending went way off course, so I won't be continuing with this series.

3/5 stars.

Grace has been the outdoorsy type her whole life living in the Smokies, her dad being a ranger taught her everything he knew, but her worst fears come to life when her own father suddenly disappears. She knows that her father is extremely skilled and knows the ground the live on like the back of his own hand so she has to use all her knowledge to find him.

The story gets wild when everyone tells her to forget her obsession with finding her father, and she starts to wonder if there's a deeper reason behind his disappearance, a conspiracy of some sorts perhaps. Layered with quirky characters, deceit, broken hearts and betrayal on top of a mystery that encompasses Grace's entire existence and the need to find the truth, she not only puts her heart on the line but also plunges into deeper realms of a forest she thought she knew.

Great story, fast pasting, intriguing characters and good build up of dread made this for a intense but really enjoyable read. The connection of Grace's dad going missing and his motto that nothing is untraceable was quite brilliant, and I cheered on Grace to prove him right so that she could get her dad back.

I didn't finish this book. I stopped part way through with the intention of coming back to it, but after 5 years I think it's time to declare it a no-go and move on.

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating. I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating. I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book. There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

With the exception of the protagonist, I enjoyed this book. It was well-written with a compelling plot that moved fluidly from one event to the next with little to no filler between each scene. Furthermore, I liked the mystery and the suspense that gradually mounted throughout the book. This was perfectly balanced with humor and romance, which led to a quick-paced read that didn't get bogged down in detail or finding obscure clues.

The main character left a little something to be desired, especially since she didn't want to admit that her dad had passed away. I couldn't understand many of her motivations throughout the book, and her relationships with other characters were also difficult to ascertain. It seemed as if her determination should have waned as some point throughout the book, or, at the very least, wavered slightly. That would have led to a much more redeeming conclusion and believable tale.

**My thanks to NetGalley and All Night Reads, for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

I am currently kicking myself as to why i have let this book sit on my kindle for so long, mind you, for the last few years i have been reading less and less of the Young Adult genre.

Grace is 16 and her father has been missing for the last 3 months, presumed dead, but Grace will not give up looking for clues.

Grace is a very strong young woman who is being let down by all those left around her. Her friend Wyn seems to want more from her than she wants to give him, but she does not feel the spark for that kind of relationship any more.

This novel has so many twists and turns and so much happening that you never get bored and you never see what is going to happen next. All of my guesses were wrong for a change which was very enjoyable as it certainly was not predictable.

I look forward to reading book two t see what happens after it has all calmed down for a while.

This book drew me in rather quickly. I found myself having a hard time putting it down. Would definitely read more by this author.

I was unable to connect with this book unfortunately so decided not to review

This book wasn't for me but thank you for letting me try it.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review. Unfortunately I am unable to give you a proper review. I apologize for the inconvenience.

I truly enjoy this book, it kept me reading till the end. I would certainly be reading more of this amazing author. I suggest you read it, you will certainly won’t be disappointed. I read the summary and got very interested. Thank you for the opportunity I will look forward for more from this author.

I like a good YA about strong females...but this one just didn't deliver for me. Grace is suppose to be really good in the woods, smart...but she's not. But she thinks she is. And then, when at the end of a chapter when she meets who I assume is going to be the love interest, well, I just wanted to gag. I've got too many books on my to-read list to keep going with one that I just don't care for the characters in, so I abandoned it.

Judging from other reviews based on this novel, it seems this book is either a hit or miss. Unfortunately, Untraceable was a total miss for me. I couldn't relate to the MC at all. While it sounded really cool that Grace took the case of her missing father into her own hands, the execution really isn't. This book lacked realistic aspects and it just made Grace seem like a Nancy Drew wannabe and a special snowflake--totally annoying.

This book had me rolling me eyes from beginning to end. Definitely not something I'd recommend.