Wow! This book was a combination of the Handmaid's Take and the Hunger Games, but so much more intense. It pulled emotions out of me from start to finish. Thank you!

Thank you to Netgalley for the Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book was absolutely terrific. One of my favorite of 2019.

I'm really torn on my feelings about this book.

Like almost everyone else who's reviewed this, yes, it reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale and Lord of the Flies. And I think if it hadn't been so evocative of those two books I might have enjoyed it a lot more. Unfortunately, it was a first person narrative, which I don't usually care for, and even outside of that, I wasn't nearly as taken with the prose as other people were. My ARC was also formatted strangely, which didn't stop me from reading it, but I was desperate for some line breaks along the way.

There were so many moving parts in this story that were confusing at times and overwhelming at others. I wish some of it had been done away with. Like, the underdeveloped second love interest and a lot of what was done with her parents. So much happened that I was having trouble keeping track.

That said! I read this in basically one sitting. I stayed up later than I would care to admit to finish it because I was drawn in enough to keep reading and I was curious to see where it went. I really feel like I was taken somewhere else by the narrative, which I always appreciate. I want to like this more than I did, but it definitely grabbed me and I like that about it.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Genre:
Young Adult + Dystopia

Synopsis:
Every year the girls who turn 16 years old are sent to the wild to expel their magic. When they return they are expected to be purified & ready to go with the husbands who chose them just before sending them to the wilderness area. The year that a girl turns sixteen is her Grace year and she will have to participate in the event. Tierney James just turned 16 and we follow her story in this event.

Book Structure:
The book is around 416 pages. There are no chapters, the whole book is divided into five sections. Four sections are the seasons of the year and the last chapter is "The Return" when the girls who made it return from the wilderness area. The narration is told from a first person's perspective.

Pros:
- An interesting and appealing theme to the young adult section. The book has apparent themes taken from The Hunger Games and The Handmaid's Tale. If you loved the dystopian stories in those books there is a chance you will enjoy this one too. I have read both, I like them (Gave them both 4 stars) but they are not my favorites.

Cons:
- I feel the biggest disadvantage of this book is the lack of character development. The characters were just names, there was hardly any physical description to the girls who joined the Grace Year event or even the love interests of Tierney James. There were many girls in the event with no backstories. In addition to the protagonist, I only think Kiersten and Gertrude will be remembered and are significant to the story. All the other girls were just names with no character at all which is a big bummer. From Nowhere a girl suddenly talks and as a reader, you wonder who is she?? Why the author did not at least tell us about these girls before participating in the event? Rachel, Ellie, Molly, Helen, Nina, Tammy, Hannah, Meg, Lucy, Becca, Patrice, Martha, Vivian, Dena, Jenna, Jessica, Amy, Katie etc! phew! they are many, I am sure I must've missed more. All these casts were just props with no colors!

- A book more than 400 pages and yet feels lacking in terms of character development is not something that one can overlook. Better editing would have removed all the unnecessary parts and added something for the reader to root for. I personally did not feel any emotion to any character in the story. I was indifferent to whatever was happening. The author decided to make the event itself the core of the story forgetting that a field without strong playing characters will hardly standout.

Final Thought:
There are aspects I like about the book. The premise is somehow interesting and the great reviews on Goodreads were the reason why I picked up a free ARC copy when this was made available in the "Read now" section of NetGalley. My opinion might be among the minority but to me, The Grace Year does not live up to the hype and does not elevate more than being an average book so I'm going with only 3 stars out of five. The book will be released on October 8th, 2019.

Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for providing this free ARC in return of this honest and unbiased review.

Wow wow wow! What a rollercoaster ride. I didn't really expect to get sucked into the story so thoroughly, but it grabbed me and I couldn't put it down. It was a mashup of epic proportions and I love it. I know my patrons will too, so I will get several copies for my library. Thank you

5 stars!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing this ebook arc of this book.

Wow! This book blew me away. I could not stop reading and when I did sit it down I just wanted to pick it up again to find out what was going to happen next. The mystery had me hooked and the writing was amazing. This book releases in October 2019 and I can not recommend it enough. This is definitely going on my favorites list this year.

I read a review that said that this was their favorite book of the year. I went on GoodReads and was super disappointed that it wouldn't be released until the fall. How can you publish/email about a book when it's not available?! NetGalley to the rescue! I was able to get an advance copy.

This book reminds me a lot of Handmaid's Tale for the younger set. I thought the society described in the book was horrifying. I wouldn't call this the best book of the year although it was fast paced and engaging. I felt there was too much backstory missing. I wanted to know more about the reason this county ended up like this. I teach teens and I could see a lot of them really getting into this title.

It is believed that girls have magic: They can drive men mad and women jealous. That is why, coming into their sixteenth year, each girl is sent away to the wild to release this powerful magic. After a year, when they return, they will be ready for marriage. This is the grace year. No one speaks of it. As Tierney James' own grace year draws closer, she quickly realizes that the brutal elements and the poachers in the woods are not the most dangerous thing she'll face. The greatest threat may be the girls themselves.

This book absolutely blew me away. I devoured it entirely in one day, almost entirely in one sitting. Don't let the pink cover with the girl's pretty profile fool you—this novel is harrowing, sometimes bloody, filled with madness, and will likely make you angry at some points.

I absolutely loved the world-building. We're taken very quickly into Tierney's world, which is both familiar and very strange. It's extremely patriarchal, with girls learning early to seduce the boys and men who may choose them as wives upon their grace year.

I really loved Tierney. She's a bit of an outsider and refuses to wed, but she doesn't whine when things go poorly. She's self-reliant and very resourceful, which is clearer once the girls are on the island for their grace year. Although she is trapped, she is not helpless and finds many ways to assert her own agency and make her own decisions.

There are some truly outrageous and gut-punching plot twists throughout the story—at least two that completely caught me off-guard.

If you're interested in a mash-up of The Handmaid's Tale, Lord of the Flies, and maybe The Hunger Games, this is definitely for you!

YA fiction is hit or miss for me, even with acclaimed titles. This one was a hit. I enjoyed the characters. There was little slap-worthy angst. Like other dystopic novels, we wonder how they got to where they did and it's often hard to fathom the choice to keep silent. But the book lets us safely examine aspects of our own society that are echoed here even as we comfortably puzzle over its strangeness and secrets.

Wow. A mash-up of The Crucible and The Handmaid's Tale with a dash of Mean Girls.

The most unique thing about this book is the passage of time. It takes place over the course of one year, but the pacing of the story and how it all fits together makes the story just fly by. The ending was unexpected and brought tears to my eyes.

This is a 5 star read. Ever since I read Hunger Games years ago, I've been looking for a book which packs as much punch - suspense, thrills with just enough philosophy to make you think about what you're reading and how it relates to your own life. This is that book.

This book does not stop. It is paced so fast. In fact that may be one of the problems. Another reviewer pointed out the only issue with this book is structural. Nothing a good edit couldn't fix. I read an uncorrected proof, so I'm hoping they do fix the jumps and continuity errors. Just little things.

The plot, the characters, the story, it is perfect. The world seems real. Everything you read here has or does happen in one way or another in some form. In that it is like it's thematic mother story The Handmaid's Tale. It doesn't feel so very farfetched.

Yes it is derivative of its predecessors such as Lord of the Flies, Hunger Games, The Handmaid's Tale, The Scarlet Letter, Mean Girls. But that's a good thing. Those stories are classics. This is that level. So much so that I couldn't believe I haven't heard of Kim Ligget before. Where has she and her writing been all my life?

I really loved the ending. I love the whole thing! Another reviewer said she hopes they don't upset the ending by making a sequel. I could go either way. It's perfect in itself but if there were to be a sequel, maybe a jump ahead to the next generation.

Ah! My head is still swimming with all the great quotes. The characters I love. I won't spoil anything. But read this book!

It comes out in October this year. I received an uncorrected proof from Netgalley. Sign up for Netgalley people, it's worth it for early access to amazing books like this!

I got from this book what I hadn't from Wilder Girls, namely, wild girls. The Grace Year is a feminist horror that actually delivers on its premise.

Some other reviews have already pitched this novel as a The Handmaid's Tale/Lord of the Flies/The Hunger Games, and they are absolutely correct.

The story is set in a The Handmaid's Tale-like backward unspecified county where men, of course, had made their paradise by, of course, oppressing women in various ways. One of the methods of this complex system of subjugation is the idea that young women, as they approach their maturity at about 16, come into their "magic" which manifests, of course, in their ability to seduce grown men. Thus the girls have to spend their 16th (grace) year on an isolated compound where they will spend their magic, and come out of the experience cleansed and compliant and ready to maintain the status quo of this "paradise."

What happens during the grace year is where the comparison to Lord of the Flies comes in. This is the wild part, and it truly is, only it is much smarter than the wildness of Wilder Girls.

The only hiccup in The Grace Year is the appearance of a major male character in a middle of the story. It changed the tone of the narrative, and his presence felt intrusive, but ultimately I found my peace with his role.

Now for The Hunger Games angle. It's not only that The Grace Year is in many ways a survivalist tale. But it also has the same gripping, unputdownable, tense quality. I get easily bored by books (that's why I DNF so much), but The Grace Year kept me entertained and excited all the way through.

Yes, the elements of The Grace Year are not entirely original, but reading this novel was one hell of a wild ride. Pacing of it was masterful, IMO. Unlike many of the YA novels I love, this one has a wide commercial appeal, IMO.

The ending was good, so I am begging for no sequels. PLEASE.

I tried reading this book three times and could not get past the first 10%, I am sure others will love this book, but it was not for me. It has a slow start,

This was so good I could cry!

Well actually... I did cry a little bit here and there...

The only other book I've read by Kim Liggett is "The Last Harvest", which was a book I reaaaallly enjoyed reading. I've been meaning to read her other novels, but always forgot to pick them up. When I got this ARC and saw she wrote it, I immediately became so excited. The premise of this novel sounded just as thrilling and disturbing as what I expected from her.

BUT DAMN I did not expect this book to hit me as hard as it did.

This is such a powerful book in so many ways. Not even 15% in and there are already strong themes of misogyny and power going on here. The writing is fast-paced without cutting back on quality, the characters are so well developed, and the ending is absolutely perfect. Even Michael, who appears in the beginning and ending chapters is well developed. The romance and friendships seemed so real, the paranoia surrounding the girls' magic, and the social systems controlling the outskirts was excellent.

I personally loved how Thierney developed throughout this entire thing. She's such a real and raw character. She has faults, she has dreams, and she knows what fate may bring to the other girls in the county if something doesn't change. He relationship with Ryker and Michael were both very well done. I would go into more detail, but I'm afraid they both play a much larger role than one may expect.

The ending is amazing though. It has drama, it has the scent of change, and it was open-ended. While I'm not the biggest fan of open endings, this one definitely benefits from it. I even got a bit emotional... My favorite part was that there wasn't any fighting. No blood, no war, no nothing. It was completely realistic all throughout, and the end seemed like something that was plausible in the real world.

This is seriously such an amazing book. I knew I would like it, but I didn't think it would be 5 stars for me. It deserves that and more imo. I highly recommend checking this out. It may be a bit rough for individuals who may have gone through some type of domestic abuse in life. Even if that may apply to you, I would still highly recommend reading this little by little.

Wow.. one of the best books I’ve read this year. It reminded me of other dystopian books but it managed to establish its own identity. The main character, Tierney, was a fantastic character. I loved reading this book and was sad when it ended. I hope there is a sequel! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

This book has/had so much potential. I enjoyed the premise but the overall execution left me seriously wanting. I wanted MORE details. Details about how society got to the point of the camp, how the camp was founded/started, the inner goings-on of the camp etc. I also wanted MORE from the main character, she seems to be a tough cookie but once in the camp she winds up being a real pushover...which bums me out. I know i'm not the target demographic for this book so maybe that is why I'm feeling cheated....I think younger girls will devour this book and love it..for me though it was just ok.

The Grace Year...I have so many things I want to say about this book, so let's start with a summary.

I've heard this called a modern Handmaid's Tale meets Lord of the Flies. I can't say that assessment is off base. The story centers around a girl named Tierney. Tierney has recently turned sixteen and will be embarking on her grace year. Each year, the community sends the girls who are of age out into the wild wild woods to get rid of their "magic," which seemed at first to be a metaphor for sexuality. Go out into the woods with a group of girls and see what happens? Go out into the woods and get rid of your wild nature before it's time for you to become a wife. Tierney, however, has no desire to become a wife. She wants to work. She wants to be FREE. Tierney goes out into the woods with the other girls of her year, and they start out trying to work together and be different from those that went before them, but as the season moves on, the girls begin to unravel. Tierney realizes, through a string of (spoiler free!) events that the magic they are supposed to be getting rid of in the woods may not be all that it appears to be...

I like Tierney as a character, up until the point in the book where I didn't. I can't specifically say what I don't like, as I avoid spoilers on this blog, but I can say that she began the story as a strong female protagonist who wanted to be free, and she ended it not in the way I thought she would. I wanted her to have everything she wanted, and while she obtained that to some extent, she made choices that limited her ability to obtain it fully.

The other girls in the story were well written as well, though many got relegated to the background fairly quickly. The dynamics in the camp really shine a light on how women attack each other on a regular basis. Liggett did a fantastic job keeping the plot moving as the girls went at each other, but then a romance appeared mid-book and it sadly sank the plot ship. It wasn't needed for me, and it didn't work. Not only that, but it took away from what was important.

And that ending. That ENDING. What is that ending?? Is it one thing? Is it another? If you've read and want to discuss, hit me up in the comments below. (If you've not read, don't look at the comments!)

I struggle with what to give this book in terms of rating. The beginning is tight, but as the story reaches the conclusion, the prose begins to fall apart, as does the cohesiveness of the narrative. I think that for a younger reader, this might be less bothersome--and I also believe the message of this book regarding relationships between women to be important. For that, and for the strong prose in the first half of the book, I'll give this one three stars. But know that I wish I could give it more!

(And this is not a dig to the book at ALL, but if you receive a review copy from Netgalley, beware--it is not broken up into chapters at all and you are reading one continuous block of text! A distracting format, to say the least!)

**I received a copy of The Grace Year from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Grace Year is expected for publication on October 8th, 2019, by Wednesday Books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kim Liggett and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

I normally don't read dystopian books, but I really enjoyed this one. The girls in this book are legit crazy. If you like Hunger Games, The Handmaid's Tale or Lord of the Flies, then you'll like this book. I'm passing it on to my 16 year old daughter to read next.

I can't wait to read the next book Kim Liggett comes out with!

2 stars--it was OK. I seem to be in the minority here--most people seem to love this book--so I'm likely an outlier.

This is sort of a mix of The Handmaid's Tale and Lord of the Flies, but then in the middle it turns into a YA romance. I didn't really care for the romance, which seemed flat and distracting from the book's plot, and the love interest character(s) were bland and/or patronizing. The themes seemed muddled and unclear as well. (Sexism is bad? Well, yes, but then why have your main character be rescued by men over and over? Girls should be respected and should make their own decisions? Yes, but then why have an annoying "mean girls" subplot with no resolution or growth?) The beginning of this book reminds me a lot of Gather the Daughters--but that book seemed more consistent to me.

I'm also unsure about the psychology of this book. It seems to be that leaving girls alone and forcing them to fend for themselves and form their own hierarchy would make them more independent, not malleable.

Ah well, I'm clearly not this book's target audience! The positives: It was generally fast moving and interesting, and the writing was fine. There were some horror elements that created a nice spooky atmosphere. (Being vague to avoid spoilers here.) And though I wish for stronger, more consistent ending, I enjoyed the reveal about certain identities.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

Yes, I binged this book. yes, I got physical goosebumps at places. But at other times I was frustrated with the pacing decisions--the pre-grace year plot felt slow and not focused on aspects of the story I wanted to know more about, the whole plot was so predictable, and it just felt so YA ... I guess a lot of the YA I read feels more like it can cross over into an adult audience, but there was something about this one that didn't quite do that for me. It was still an interesting twist on the dystopian genre, the main characters are fairly well-drawn, and it kept my attention.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!