I have to give credit where credit is due. The whole topic was not exactly my cup of tea and will probably be the last horrific filled book that I'll be reading for a while and yet despite my desire to not want to continue reading, the author kept me going to the last page. So much kudos for the author and story writing. That's how you truly earn the 5 stars.

I don't even know where to start with this book. I'm normally not a huge YA fantasy/dystopian reader unless they came out when I was younger. I came very close to not even reading this because of how much I assumed I wouldn't even like it. Man, would that have been a HUGE mistake. I read this book in two days!!! Stayed up til 2am to finish it because I couldn't put it down.

I felt the characters and the storylines were very well written and believable. It is really hard to describe my feelings for this book without giving major plotline away so I'm just going to leave it at THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ!!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5 out of 5) This book will definitely go down as one of the best books I have read this year.

1.5 stars, rounding up. I seem to be a bit of an outlier, but I didn't like this book very much.
It had so much promise, but the writing was all over the place, starting out well and then veering too far to purple for my taste, and with some puzzling technical issues. A lot of the details make no narrative sense, the main character is a moron, and the whole thing ultimately reinforces many of the sexist beliefs that it purports to undermine. It's like fake feminism, intended not to piss off... I don't know... like, antifeminist sectarians or something.

I was drawn to this book based on the idea that it would be a thinly veiled critique of real-life society: a closed-off county transparently blaming teenage girls for their own objectification, and pitting them against each other in the wild. This would allow the exploration of relationships between the girls, and ultimately, perhaps, lead them to understand where the blame truly lies, and lead them to seek freedom elsewhere.

I must admit that, in general, I'm kind of fed up with books that show extremely, triggeringly (that is totally a word!) misogynistic societies for the sole purpose of having female characters potentially undermining them. I mean, it is 2020. Why are we still only just here? It's fantasy, all you writers; Why not fantasize a world where misogyny just doesn't exist??? But there are recent books of this "Undermine-It" ilk that I have enjoyed very much, which all had a bit more going for them besides this shared basic concept, and I was hoping this book would be one I could add to this list. Unfortunately for me -- and regardless of what the "official" description would have one believe -- this is really not that book.

One of the things that this book has going for it is that in it's particular iteration of Patriarchy, pitting women against each other is almost like a beneficial side-effect, while the main point of the “myth of magic” is the ability to blame women for men’s own worst qualities. Most of the men actually seem to believe the magic is real. Self-delusion is how they absolve themselves of their poor treatment of women, and of their sexual attraction to teenage girls. Sounds familiar! Self-delusion is how real people often absolve themselves of sexism, and this book’s world parallels that, just to an extreme degree.

Otherwise, sadly, this book does not have much else going for it. It does present a closed-off county transparently blaming teenage girls for their own objectification, but that's only the first half. The second half sees the main character, Tierney, finally sent out of her village for her Grace Year, quickly separated from the other girls and secreted away with an inappropriate man in an imbalanced romance, waffling around over whether the other female characters are worthy of saving. There's a late-stage turnaround where Tierney gains some extra understanding of the other girls, but it feels like too little too late -- especially after all that purple romance prose -- and is followed by a huge eye-roll of a conclusion. Additionally, the plot does not always follow its own narrative logic; holes abound.

I am not sorry I read this book, and a few of the images will stay with me. But I would not recommend it, ESPECIALLY not to the YA audience for whom it's intended. It is so far off the mark, I fear it would leave teen readers despairing that the only answer to overt sexist oppression is subtle sexist oppression.

This book was a mix of Lord of the Flies, Hunger Games, and The Handmaid’s Tale for me. It was disturbing but in a very entertaining, I can’t stop reading sort of way. The girls are sent away to an island for the “grace year” in order to burn out their magic and return home a year later docile wives. If they make it out alive. Tierney’s story is one of courage and strength. 4 🌟🌟🌟🌟.

I wasn't so sure about this book, but I ended up really liking it! While it was slow at parts, I was very invested in Tierney's story and unraveling the truth about the grace year. This book is a great conversation starter and a real thinker.

Kim Liggett is one of my favorite authors, and The Grace Year is Kim at the very top of her game. Brutal, breathtaking, a sort-of feminist fairy-tale with teeth that will tear your flesh, The Grace Year is everything I want in a book. I ached for these girls, who are all being tortured solely because of their gender, manipulated and made to turn on each other in the hopes that they won't learn to recognize their own power. A must-read for the #metoo era.

WHAT A STORY! Several times I thought I knew what was coming next, and NOPE! Kim Liggett has my heart! I absolutely adored this story of survival, horror, and strength. I definitely don't have the ability to give this book the review it deserves, but just know that it is amazing and life changing and beautiful. It bares the darkest of humanity and still redeems some of those dark people. This was phenomenal and I'll definitely be reading everything by Liggett now! It is a hard read, but so worth it! You'll love this beautiful story. Go read it - now!

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc from the publisher but then bought my own copy when the book came out. Support your authors! All opinions are my own.




Book: The Grace Year




Author: Kim Liggett




Book Series: Standalone




Rating: 5/5




Diversity: f/f romance mentions, possible lesbian or bi character




Publication Date: October 8, 2019




Genre: YA Feminism




Recommended Age: 16+ (nudity, sexual content, sex, Suicide TW, death, violence, animal death, gore)




Publisher: Wednesday Books




Pages: 416




Amazon Link




Synopsis: No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.




In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.




Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.




With sharp prose and gritty realism, 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.




Review: Holy cow this book was absolutely amazing! I loved the story and the plot kept me intrigued from start to finish. The writing was absolutely fantastic and the characters were amazingly well developed. The world building was also well done, the book definitely passes the Bechdel Test and I can’t say enough good things about this novel. It’s definitely one of my top reads this year!




The only issues I had with it is that sometimes the writing was a bit unclear. The author writes the book almost in a prose like manner, but that means that sometimes her meaning is really unclear. I didn’t know, for example, that something happened to the main character until towards the end of the novel and I feel like that could have been better explained. I also feel like the ending was unclear as to what happens to our main character.




Verdict: Definitely recommend this feminist novel!

I don’t have sufficient words to express how great yet horrifying this book is. I’ll start with the horrifying - the poor women in this book. The things they go through, the things that happen to them - all unspeakable. I’ve never read The Handmaid’s Tale, but I assume they have at least some things in common. Now for the good - the authors writing style is amazing. The story flowed so well, and it was very easy to read. The characters are all so interesting - even if you hate the character (and there are quite a few of these,) they did have many other facets. The plot itself - oh my god. So good, so clever, so horrifying at times. I would definitely recommend this book!

Amazing! The Grace Year pulled me in from the very first sentence and wouldn't let me go. I couldn't put it down. Even after I finished reading I couldn't stop thinking about it. It did remind me somewhat of The Hunger Games and maybe a little Lord of The Flies in some ways. I really wasn't sure how it was going to end and I really really hope that ther will be a sequel. Best dystopian novel I've read all year! Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy. This is my voluntary and honest review.

With all the comparison's to <i>Handmaid's Tale</i> and <i>Lord of the Flies</i>, I went into this book expecting something different than what I got. <i>Grace Year</i> really is a female version of LOTF and I really didn't enjoy the book. I kept reading because I had to know how the story ends because I can't just skip ahead 15 chapters, I had to know how we got there. Part commentary on the power of peer pressure, I will admit that part was done well but overall, the entire story just fell flat for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

The premise of <i>The Grace Year</i> immediately caught my interest. It’s been a while since I’ve read a dystopian YA novel and I was hearing only good reviews from friends. Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me.

Part of what makes a great dystopian novel (at least for me) is the world-building - how did this world end up this way? Why are these people behaving the way they are? I want to understand why this society is so broken. And in this book, I felt like that was missing (at least in the typically dystopian sense). Overall, The Grace Year felt more like a historical fiction or contemporary novel instead of dystopian. Additionally, while the messages contained in this book were incredibly powerful, I felt like the prose kept me at a distance from the characters and the story. It doesn’t allow you in and I struggled to connect to Tierney and the other girls. Finally, the love story just didn’t work for me, it felt out of place in this book.

Despite all of this, I did love how Liggett deconstructed a misogynistic culture and showed how truly damaging it is. The underlying message of this book is so incredibly important that I wish I’d been able to connect with the other aspects more. Although this wasn’t the right book for me, I would recommend this if the synopsis intrigues you. Additionally, I have very high hopes for the movie adaptation because I think this book will translate beautifully to the screen.

*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wonderful book!
Really liked reading this fresh and outstanding book. It was a real pleasure to read it.
Thanks for the publisher for the opportunity to read this in advance

This is the best book I've read in AGES. Gripping story, rich characters, and action from cover to cover. Will recommend far and wide.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

In a dystopian world, in an area knows as The County, girls are banished from their community during their 16th year. It is believed that at that age a girl's true magic will be revealed.

These girls apparently are so dangerously magical that they threaten to steal husbands from wives, driving the wives crazy with jealousy in the process.

The girls are sent to live together in a fenced-in compound in the woods. Once there they must completely survive on their own, navigating their powers, for a full year.

This year is known as the Grace Year. When the year has passed, the survivors return to the community, get married, have babies, take care of their husbands and live happily ever after.

Tierney James has always dreamed of a better life, but when her Grace Year arrives she knows she is helpless to stop it.

Shipped off with the rest of the girls, she decides to try her best to motivate them all to work together in order to survive. It doesn't have to be that bad, does it?

Unfortunately, not all of the girls play nice together and a true Lord of the Flies situation unfolds. This is their first time truly on their own, without any adult supervision, and it shows.

These girls get brutal real quick!

Before she knows it, Tierney is literally on the brink of death, with seemingly no allies.

How will she ever make it through her Grace Year alive?

This was definitely an interesting examination of women's rights, relationships and roles within society. The dystopian world, both inside and outside of the County, was harsh and compelling.

There was a lot of drama amongst the girls and definitely some savage moments.

I want to reread this someday when things calm down a bit. I felt like with all the unsettling things happening in the world currently, my mind was wandering quite a bit.

I feel like I may be able to get more out of this story when I can concentrate better. Some of it felt very surface level and I do think that is more due to my mental state at the moment than the book.

Absolutely if you are interested in a YA-version of The Handmaid's Tale meets Lord of the Flies, you should pick this up.

That's pretty much a perfect description of this disturbing tale. Although I wasn't crazy about the romantic elements, I think overall it is a solid story.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. My apologies for taking so long to get to it!

It's a bit hard for me to talk about this book. On the one hand, I really liked some of the messages in here and the basic premise was super promising, but the delivery just didn't connect with me.
The first half of the book builds an interesting world and I was super ready to get into the grace year and discover the magic. Things took a turn then and while the way the story went was different than I expected, I still thought it was mostly well executed.
What I really didn't enjoy was the romance in this book and the ending. I think overall this book would have worked very well without the romantic parts added in the middle since they were very rushed and I didn't see any reason for them. Then the ending happened and I actually rolled my eyes. The last 10% of the book kinda made me want to give it two stars, but there was so much good in there as well.
I just really wish I could have enjoyed this more and it would have concentrated more on female friendships and well magic.

The Writing was amazing, Love the way the author writes but the plot was not for me. yes I would recommend this book to others. I will also continue to read the authors work. The Characters where defined but again I was not a fan of the plot

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett reveals the secret of the year all young women must experience when they turn sixteen. No one who hasn't yet experienced their Grace Year knows what it holds. No one who returns ever speaks of it again. The only thing anyone knows is that it is the only way for young women to diffuse the magic inside them and be "pure". Once they return, if they return, they are married off to the men who have chosen them. If they aren't chosen, they are sent to the work houses, or worse, to the outskirts to try to survive on their own. Tierney is determined she will make it back, though she prefers an assignment to the fields rather than marriage. There are plenty of obstacles to that desire, but the biggest is the year standing before her. She will have to find a way to sustain herself on the island to which she and the other girls are banished. If she can avoid the poachers, men who hope to capture and dismember the girls, and keep warm and fed she might have a chance. It is only once they begin their journey that she realizes that it will be the other girls who may be her biggest hurdle.

A little too much like a female version of The Lord of the Flies, this book means to be a feminist dystopian novel, but it just didn't seem to shake out that way. Hoping to examine the way women and girls play into the misogyny of men who take their power, it looks too much like Mean Girls on steroids (and maybe a little acid). The pacing is also very odd. It moves slowly, slowly and then suddenly it slaps the reader with a huge scene with tons of information as if the author knew where she wanted to go, but not always how to get there.

I will say that by the time I was about two-thirds of the way through the book I was enjoying it more, but it wasn't my favorite. It was dark in ways I didn't enjoy and without enough light to redeem it. The ending was abrupt without being satisfying. There is a little hope, but it is too far down the road to be comforting.

I was hesitant to read a book dubbed The Handmaids Tale meets Lord of the Flies because I absolutely disliked The Handmaids Tale, and I only read Lord of the Flies because I was forced to in high school. All that aside though, this book really surprised me and took me on quite a roller coaster ride.

This is a very quick read and is very fast paced so it keeps you engaged the entire time. The writing style is incredibly unique and it has a creepy, haunting vibe to it which I very much enjoyed. This kept my attention which can be hard to do so if I have anything nice to say about this book it's that it's quite the page turner!

I loved this book. This totally reminds me of The Handmaid’s Tale and I’m only basing this off based on the Hulu series and not the book, because I haven’t read it...I know. I am very into the show, so I was very into the book. The mystery behind the supposed magical powers they got and what happens when the mean girl is the first one to get her powers really turns into a dictatorship. Tierney the main character is sent to be married off, but she doesn’t believe in those views and wants to run away. Her boy friend who also is sent to be married off ends up picking her and saving her from a marriage that she won’t have to dread from. The guy is so nice to do that considering who his dad is in their town. A lot of crazy stuff goes in the forest the girls stay in for months so they can get rid of their magic. Even a secret affair that results in a pregnancy, even though it’s just the girls in the forest or so they thought they were the only ones there.