Grace Year

I genuinely could not put this book down. From the very beginning, the tension is relentless — you’re on edge the entire time, constantly bracing for what comes next. This is survival at its rawest, mixed with love in all its forms — fear, loyalty, hope, heartbreak — and every emotion hits hard. The atmosphere is haunting, the stakes feel brutally real, and the story pulls you so deep that the outside world kind of disappears. It’s one of those books that doesn’t end when you turn the last page. You’ll be thinking about it long after you finish, replaying moments and questioning everything. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5) A powerful, unforgettable read for anyone who loves intense, emotional, survival-driven stories that leave a mark.

THE GRACE YEAR BY Kim Liggett I bought this book vaguely knowing what it really was about but with so much hype and the fact I liked the cover, it was a must read for me. It’s a dystopian novel mixed with a little bit of Handmaid’s Tale, Wilder Girl’s and Hunger Games. Stir them all together and you will get an idea of what THE GRACE YEAR will be about. In Garner County, annually when woman reach their “magic” age of sixteen, they are prepared for a ceremony to either be veiled as a future wife by a suitor or if not chosen; they will endure a life of labor upon the return from The Grace Year. The “magic” is a viscous power to behold, it’s believed to entice men, drive women mad with jealousy and that all of the veiled and unveiled woman have it. The young women are then exhiled for one year, to a far away forest where they must rid themselves of their “magic”. They must remain in their encampment or risk their life being skinned alive by hired male poachers. The claim a small fortune for every Grace Girl they kill; not to mention they are hired by Garner County. The girls try to build up a camp with the sparse supplies they are given. But what makes it so that every year the girls turn on each other? What makes them start to go wild? Do some begin to go mad? All we know is not all return. Well this is Tierney James’ year and she was hoping to not receive a veil, but she did. She wanted to live free and work with the land and labor as she had learned how to by her father. This all comes in handy when it comes to her surviving THE Grace Year. And she’s not one to sit back and not ask questions or go in search of answers, even if it means risking her life. What she finds, she must change! And when never wanting love in the first place; she finds it and is then willing to die for that too. But can she make a change if she can’t save herself and make it out of The Grace Year alive? These are all the reasons why this book make reading it so worth while. I wasn’t all hyped like everyone else, in fact I found myself dragging through pages at points. One thing is for certain, Ms. Liggett’s writing is inspiring and symbolic. It is moving and has you emotionally invested in the living and the dead. There is so much negativity and hate in the story but you come out of it with such a sense of glory, grace and overwhelming sense of love that overpowers all!

Major The Handmaids Tale vibes. In the best way possible. Here I am comparing books to TV series, or in this case, it's also a book to book comparison. Basically, if you took Handmaid's and you lowered it to a young adult graphic level. Obviously they are unique in their own ways. At their core you have women taken back to abuse and use for men and men only. It's horrifying, gripping, and aggravating. I was taken into every emotion from the beginning. It is SO good. SO SO good. Ugh, I just, I really can't even begin to express how good the writing is. I don't think I have anything but high praise to say about it. She took a story line that was terrifying and seemingly hopeless and gave us bravery, love, hope, and beauty as well. So, I'm going to only say this. I did not read another book in 2021 that compared. We know the story line. It's bleak. A bunch of girls go out every year to spend the entire year amongst themselves on an island. Their only other companions are the men outside the border of said island that hunt them and sell their bodies (bits, not as wholes) for the only profit they know. Again, bleak. Very bleak. There is so much going on in this book but it was made easy to follow. I was hooked from the start. I literally couldn't put it down. Not even to work. I had the ebook stashed behind my register so I could sneak pages in here and there. It never left my mind, not even after finishing it. The majority of our characters are girls. We get other characters of interests but mainly our story follows the grace year girls. All of them follow their own character arcs. Some are redeeming, others meet their end. You cant help but hate some of them the majority of the book. However, because of their circumstance you can't help but feel for even the worst of them. What would you expect from girls who are young, terrified of their present and the future that awaits them if they survive. It's not a rainbow awaiting you at the end of the tunnel. If you survive, you get to come back to a husband that you did not choose; expected to bare children and be the most dutiful, complacent wife, nothing more. Some lose their minds. Others take control. Some die. None truly come out alive. As women, we can be cruel to each other, more than we should. Rooted in jealousy, misunderstanding, miscommunication, or whatever the case, we can be absolutely cruel. It is not a shock or an understatement. However, we are our biggest allies. This book showed this in all its stages and for that alone it was beautiful. (but of course there are many other reasons this book is amazing) There is thankfully romance to keep you going. It is the spark in a dark, dark circumstance. The love that is found is beautiful and hopeful. It is a slight enemies to lovers (by miscommunication) romance. In the end, it was the ultimate symbol for hope for the future. Overall: 5/5 This book was by far the best and my most favorite of 2021. It was everything I could've wanted and more. It made me feel every emotion. It made me feel them so deeply. For being such a hyped book throughout the bookish community, I couldn't find one disappointment. It held up to all its expectations. I need more from Kim Liggett and soon.

This book feels painfully relevant right now. It is about fear, control, and power... about what happens when society decides girls are dangerous simply for existing. It is also about how women are conditioned to turn on each other, and what real strength actually looks like. It left me with a heavy, thoughtful feeling. Not quite happy. Not quite sad. Just aware. I am sitting with something I cannot fully name. It is sadness. It is anger. It is love. It is hope. It is all of it at once. This one stays with you.

Me encantó este libro y ahora es de mis favoritos. Por momentos sentí que las cosas no tenían sentido pero todo se explico al final que me dejó procesando todo un buen rato.

This was very different from what I usually read, I don‘t even know how to describe it. Surprisingly great!

The book looked old and dirty despite being cling wrapped and the corners were dog eared.

This book deserves all of the stars!! I absolutely loved everything about it and it will forever hold a piece of my heart. It has now got a spot in my top 3 books of the year (The Nightingale and All My Mothers are the other two) It’s feminist dystopian fiction, which isn’t something I thought I’d enjoy but it is an amazing page turner from the very first, to last page! If you think of The Handmaids Tale and The Hunger Games this book sits somewhere in between. I adored Tierney she was a fantastic protagonist who seemed so much older than her years. She is well known in the county as being a rebel who never wants to follow suit. This ultimately doesn’t do her any favours when entering the encampment, but it makes for a fabulous story. The storytelling is exquisite yet brutal, there are a few twists and turns along the way that really add to the plot. The main characters are brilliantly written, there was a ‘bad gal’ thrown in for good measure who you’ll love to hate. The ending was everything I had hoped it would be, and more! As you can probably tell I adored this book and I think everyone should read it - I’ve already sent copies to two of my friends, who I hope love it as much as I did.

I’ve seen it compared to the hunger games but it is not like that, it’s much more brutal and hopeless. Usually I can get a book out of head pretty quickly even if it’s particularly a difficult one. But this one gave me late night anxiety, why do I feel helpless when I think about this. Is it the realisation that any kind of change is slow? That it requires lot more sacrifices than it’s fair? How do you know how much is a fair sacrifice? And how do you calculate the price? Why is it so gut clenchingly painful read about stuff that women actually go through in one way or the other? I seem to have lot of questions and no answers, i guess that what kept me awake at 3 am. The voice inside me is so loud I couldn’t sleep, so i start to write this knowing that it’s gonna be an angst filled confrontational monologue. As long as I’m asking questions, Why is it not realistic to want change sooner? To all the women who carry a red wild flower in their hearts . Quote : “my eyes are wide open and I see everything”