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.

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!

Couldn't put this down. If you loved The Handmaid's Tale, you'll like this one. Same spooky "utopia" where they prepare girls for breeding. This has a bit of Lois Lowry "What's in the Woods?" type of flair to it too.

Just from the description I knew I would love this book but it surpassed my expectations. It is such an amazing commentary and look into society, bonds between women and the horrors that come out of blindly following the rules. To me it was like a mash up of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Hunger Games - a strange but wonderful combination. There were parts that were hard to read and there was definitely some gore but it was necessary and fit well within the story being told. Highly recommend!

This novel was definitely not for me. There were many graphic scenes that were tough for me to get through. Still, I recommend this for those that like dystopian fiction.

This is a strange book.The world building is lackluster and the reason for the grace year is murky.The over the topness takes away from any emotional impact.The characters seem flat and no one is likable.The distopian aspect seems dull and tired.The writing is okay but nothing spectacular.

This book has been compared to Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and especially Handmaid's Tale, but it takes these and creates a whole new narrative story of a patriarchal society controlling women, and most especially fearing the sexual maturity of teen girls. It is so feared that all 16 year old girls in the village are forced to live apart for a year in a small fenced in outpost so they can expend their magic-with the ever present poachers (camouflaged men who lurk outside the fence to kill and dismember the girls for body parts.
This book was a good read. It takes awhile to set up the small world, but once the plot gets going it moves fast between plot beats. The strongest parts were the relationships and friendships. The weakest part for me was the flimsy romance (no spoilers) where I wasn't sure what was real or not.
The ending was very good, I didn't guess what was going to happen, though it was a very mature ending. This book is just about a New Adult book more than an older YA book.
If you're a fan of The Handmaid's Tale, then you'll enjoy this book.

This book is . . . bad.

To begin with, the society is cartoonishly misogynistic. Like, women can’t even HUM without being accused of hiding magic—which is a crime punishable by death, btw. I have thoughts (that I will save for a later video) about making misogynistic dystopias this over-the-top, but suffice it to say that it’s so extreme it would be funny if it weren’t irritating. And on top of that, some parts border on, if not cross the line into, torture porn.

And even without all that, the writing itself isn’t good. The writing style feels too unpolished for a final draft, and the plot and plot twists are convenient/predictable at best and confusing/unbelievable at worst. One rivals Frozen in unforeshadowed “good person is bad person” twists, and that same twist also has an element that I either somehow missed completely or just makes no sense at all.

Then, to top it all off, the end is very rushed, and cuts off so abruptly that I thought my ARC was somehow formatted wrong and I was missing the last page(s).

I felt nothing for any of the characters, at any time, and even the character deaths had no impact. All I felt was frustration and the occasional flare of disgust, both targeted at the book for being just so bad.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exhcange for an honest review.

The Grace Year was unbelievingly addicting. I will admit that the girls were naive and downright hilarious at points in this book - but I was addicted and hooked. I just wanted to know what the hell was going to go down and who was going to end up with who (or alive).

Without spoiling anything, I fell in love with the Ryker. He's a side character but I feel like he deserved better and should've been a star (again, at least in my eyes). The MC, Tierney, was a force to reckon with. I loved her from the very beginning and until the very last page. She was always true to herself and wanted to help everyone else around her but knew she couldn't. Especially when Kiersten was involved - ugh, I loved to hate this character. It's like she thought she knew better than she did and she was definitely the cause of many unfortunate deaths.

Overall, this was so freaking good and I definitely recommended it to anyone and everyone. Seriously, go read it.

Girls are banished to an isolated camp when they turn 16. This “grace year” is a time to dispel their magic, so they can return to the village ready to marry (if they were chosen by a man before banishment) or be assigned to a workforce.
I didn’t know anything about the book going into it, but was totally drawn into the world that the author created. It’s being compared to Lord Of The Flies, and I can see that.
While there were a few parts in the book that were not perfect to me (some of the romance, a few small things were predictable) I am still inclined to give the book five stars because I enjoyed reading it very much, and am hoping there will be a sequel.
I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for my honest review

I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of The Grace Year in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.

Every year, girls are sent away before they are married to remove the magic they possess in a time they call the grace year. While away from their families and the town they know, the girls have to fight off poachers, who take their body parts and sell them as aphrodisiacs, the magic they possess, and each other. Not all of them will make it out alive.

I liked the premise of The Grace Year, the synopsis captured my interest and the cover is lovely and haunting, but unfortunately my interest started to fade as I read. The lack of historical context and world-building left me confused. There was no reasoning as to why the grace year takes place. Their town seemed to be the only one that existed and the vague mention of the North as a sort of haven wasn’t enough for me to look at it as an escape. I would have enjoyed a more thorough understanding of how the grace year started and why the poachers and townspeople exist.

Our main character Tierney (love this name!) was the sort of character who had so much potential, but just didn’t live up to what I was hoping for. At first, her forbidden dreams and impractical wishes were something to be admired, but there was no development of these thoughts; they just continued to… exist, basically. I didn’t like the love story that blossomed (it is an interesting take on forbidden love/stockholm syndrome, I will admit) and it felt mostly forced. There just wasn’t enough backstory for me to sympathize with Tierney and her emotions.

I did, however, enjoy the imagery. The symbolism of the ribbons was a great device to show how the smallest bits of fabric were used to denote the age of the girls and how their bodies didn’t belong to them. And when the girls are away from the town, the ribbons becoming symbolic of their awakening sent chills across my body. The untamed, unnatural things that befell the girls were written extremely well. And the ending felt fitting for the storyline, which I think is one of the most important aspects of writing a novel.

Overall, I would have given this story a higher rating if there had been more explanation for the grace year and more world-building.

“The Grace Year” was like The Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies meets Mean Girls. In their 16th year, girls are sent away to “get all their magic in out” so they can be good wives and workers when they return. Spoiler alert: not all of them return, or at least not the same as they were when they left. It was engrossing and infuriating and I devoured it and am still thinking about it weeks later. I would definitely recommend it.