A speculative thriller in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power. Optioned by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be a major motion picture “A visceral, darkly haunting fever dream of a novel and an absolute page-turner. Liggett’s deeply suspenseful book brilliantly explores the high cost of a misogynistic world that denies women power and does it with a heart-in-your-throat, action-driven … heart-in-your-throat, action-driven story that’s equal parts horror-laden fairy tale, survival story, romance, and resistance manifesto. I couldn’t stop reading.” – Libba Bray, New York Times bestselling author
Survive the year.
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.
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The Grace Year seethes with love and brutality, violence and hope. It is a remarkable and timely story of the bonds between women, the cost of breaking those bonds, and the courage it takes to defy a patriarchy intent on crushing feminine strength. Everyone should read this book.
This was a great combo of The Handmaid’s Tale and Lord of the Flies, with a little touch of The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 1). While there were occasional moments where I found it lacked subtlety, overall it was so captivating that I read it in one night. It has a fantastic message about the power of women helping women! Thanks, @goldenjo for loaning me your ARC!
The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 1), The Grace Year is a memorable dystopian story of the resilience of the female spirit.
When the young women in Tierney James’ county turn 16, they’re banished to a fenced-in reserve on an island where they’re expected to spend 13 cycles of the moon releasing the “magic” into which all girls of this age grow — a period called the grace year.
Before they depart, the eligible men have their pick of the women, and many of them will leave for the year betrothed to a man they barely know who has decided to lay his claim on her. Tierney has other plans for her life, and, unlike most of the young women, she looks forward to a life without a husband or children working with her hands in the fields. But when her friend Michael chooses her to be his bride, the women will depart on a tumultuous grace year filled with drama, danger, love, and murder.
During the grace year, the women are expected to care for themselves using only a county-issued pack each. There’s a well for water, but it doesn’t take long for the well water to start having strange effects on the group, who drinks from it constantly. Kiersten, who had hoped to be chosen as Michael’s bride, quickly convinces the group that her magic is real and she’s powerful enough to control them if she likes. Her manipulation coupled with the effects of the well water leads to a Hunger Games-esque story line in which Tierney is alienated from the women and no one is truly safe from each other — or the poachers lurking just outside the gates hoping to sell the girls’ dead bodies for their “magical” powers.
Liggett does an astounding job drawing the reader in to Tierney’s story, her struggle against the way of life she’s been taught, and her desire for something more than a Handmaid’s Tale-style life of docility and subservience. While I rooted for Tierney, I also rooted for the women who were afraid to speak up for themselves and simply wanted to please their parents and future husbands or bosses. The characters outside of the main group of girls added some fun suspense and romance to the story that really added to the overall plot, and I couldn’t wait to get back to this story each time I put the book down.
Liggett offers us an important new piece of modern feminist fiction, and I recommend this one for fans of dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Lord of the Flies.
Intelligent, haunting and mesmerizing emotional thriller
I loved this book so much. I wanted to stop at a few points and discuss with someone but I didn’t have anyone reading it with me or a book club to discuss it with. There is just so much worth talking about. I am feeling so much and out this book right now. I just saw that it is being made into a movie and I already can’t wait. I was totally engrossed throughout the entire book and it surprised me more often than not. Almost every time I expected something to happen, something completely unexpected happened instead.
It starts out with the main character Tierney who is about to enter her Grace Year. The county is set up with extremely misogynistic laws. They say that girls have magic in their sixteenth year and that they are dangerous so they send all the girls away to a separate colony in the woods for a year, and the girls from the previous year return on the same day as the new girls leave.
Before leaving they have a ceremony where the boys from their year choose from the girls who they want to marry and they give veils to the girls fathers the night before then at the ceremony. Each father bring the veil home to his daughter and at the ceremony the boy lifts the veil and the girl see who they will belong to when and if they return. The girls not chosen will either be sent to the fields or put to service for the remainder of their lives. Tierney isn’t like other girls, she doesn’t long to get a vail and get married, she actually wants to work in the fields. She feels being married is tantamount to being owned.
One strange part of the story is the girls that go away, they are at a colony-like place surrounded by walls and woods and there are poachers outside the walls. So if any of the girls stray from the path on the way there, try to escape while they are there or get banished by the rest of the girls for some reason, are almost immediately caught by the poachers. They skin the girls alive and put all of their organs and parts into jars to be sold on the black market. The poachers won’t come into the colony for fear of being cursed by the magic.
The poachers are men from the outskirts of the county. They are generally the sons of prostitutes. People (women or girls) from the county can get banned to the outskirts as punishment. Young girls are punished if their sisters go missing during their Grace year and their bodies are not accounted for by the poachers. Punishments are harsh, obviously and doled out by the council.
“In fact, the only time magic comes up is when it’s convenient for them. Like when Mrs. Pinter’s husband died, Mr. Coffey suddenly accused his wife of twenty-five years of secretly harboring her magic and levitating in her sleep. Mrs. Coffey was as meek and mild as they come—hardly the levitating sort—but she was cast out. No questions asked. And surprise, surprise, Mr. Coffey married Mrs. Pinter the following day. “
“But if I ever made such an accusation, or if I came back from my grace year unbroken, I would be sent to the outskirts to live among the prostitutes.”
What happens during Tierney’s Grace Year is quite a revelation. I couldn’t figure out for the longest time if the magic was real or not. Also we know that in certain ways Tierney was more prepared for the year than many of her female counterparts, because she was a tomboy and worked with her father as well as spent a lot of time in the woods with Michael, but she had so much going against her. Kiersten was the leader of the girls and she makes an awesome villain. She was evil from the beginning when she teased Tierney saying she would “pray for her to get a vail”.
During the this time, I think I felt everything Tierney was feeling. The book was so well written. The characters all came alive, I could see the camp, the well, the cots, the tree it was all so vivid. I really can’t wait for it to be brought to life in movie form. I don’t like to give away any spoilers past the beginning 10-20% of the book, so I won’t go into more, but to say that Tierney finds a lot of truth about herself, her family, and her society as she is out there. It is a true physical and emotional journey and it’s awesome!
That to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC In exchange for an honest review.
This book WRECKED me (in the best way) and I still haven’t recovered. This book will be living rent free in my mind for years to come. THE GRACE YEAR is a speculative YA thriller that serves as an incredible allegory for the consequences of patriarchal societies and the dangers of internalized misogyny. It explores the easy trap of woman against woman violence to perpetuate power to males. Moving, gut-wrenching, intricate, and intense, I highly recommend this book. It made me questions my concepts of violence, of misogyny and its internalization, of what freedom actually feels like
A fascinating dive into a world where women’s rights and roles are so limited that a ritual supposedly invented to “burn through” the magic of girls before they become women brings out the brutal, dangerous side of those girls as they seize the only power they’re ever given. Hard to read at times but immersive and propulsive — truly a page-turner to the very end.
This book blew me away. It even gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears. I was gripped from the very beginning. It’s been a long while since a book was able to keep me up until the wee hours of the morning. I just couldn’t stop reading. The world building was superb. The characters were deep. The story had me gripped until the very end. I can’t wait to get my hands on another Kim Liggett book!
In a world where girls are magic and sent away for their Grace Year at 16 to get the magic out, surely anything is possible. While they’re not allowed to discuss what happens during that year they’re sent away, when the village gathers to watch and see who has returned home from their year, it’s on the girl’s faces and it’s in the way some of their loved ones don’t come back.
Liggett has given us Tierney, a strong and assertive girl who has never fit into the mold of expectations. She knew she wouldn’t get a veil and be stuck in a marriage for the rest of her life, so she made other plans, plans that didn’t involve being a subservient wife. Thankfully, her father has tried to prepare her the best way he can for the year she will be away, even if she didn’t know that was what he was doing. She’s prepared for things to get dark, but she isn’t prepared for how fast things start to break down. I didn’t love how Tierney let herself be so obviously bullied, I knew she had to do her best to get along, especially because of the clique mentality that was going on, but I thought she should have found her gumption a lot sooner.
This was such a fun read because there were girls you loved and girls you loved to hate. Liggett has created such a fun scenario with fun characters to back it up. I loved all the little details that have gone into not just the girls going through their Grace Year but the villagers and the poachers. There was an underlying romance happening that added a bit to all of the madness going on (I’m not just talking about to the girls, but the whole “women are property” as well). I’m not entirely sure if the setting in this county is that of the whole world or just this county, because it could either be a simply weird cult setting, or some dystopian, alternate world situation and we’re not given that info. Either way, this was a really fun read.
Okay, so you know that whole process you go through when you decide to read a widely popular book? It usually starts out with seeing seemingly endless posts on social media about how great a particular book is. You start off by maybe thinking the cover is interesting and by the thousandth time you’ve seen a post about the same book you’re determined NOT to read it, but that 1,001st review is the one that pushes you over the edge and convinces you to cave in and put a hold on it at your library. Sometimes those books turn out to fall far short of all the hype, but every now and then you come across a book that actually lives up to all the high praise it’s been getting. Well, The Grace Year by Kim Liggett definitely falls into the latter category!
So the premise of the book is that all the 16-year-old girls in this community are sent to an island for their grace year, presumably to dispel all of their “magic” that can supposedly lure men to commit sins. I’ve seen countless reviews describing this book as a cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and Lord of the Flies, and that description couldn’t be more accurate. I highly recommend checking out the book’s trigger warnings on The StoryGraph because there is a lot of graphic content.
The novel tackles so many toxic messages that are both explicitly and implicitly perpetuated by the patriarchy (both in the book and in real life). Honestly I feel like I could reread the book right now and probably take away many more valuable messages. Perhaps my favorite message portrayed in the book is that women don’t need magic to reclaim our power. So often I see authors turn to magic in order to put a feminist spin on their book, but what hope does that give women who are living in the unmagical, and frequently sexist, real world? Yes, I know the magic is supposed to symbolize the power women have in real life, but isn’t it so much more moving to read a story where the women make a difference in society without magic? Isn’t the bond between those who are opposed stronger when we can see the magic of that bond, without the necessity of superpowers? I would argue that it is and I think Kim Liggett would agree.
I don’t want to give away too much of the book so you can discover it’s greatness on your own, but if you’re looking for a dystopian novel that highly focuses on feminism, has a little romance, and a lot of gore, then this is the book for you!
W-O-W, I was wondering what all the hype around The Grace Year by Kim Liggett was about and now I definitely know. This is one book that lives up to all the hype you have heard plus more, and I cannot BELIEVE I waited so long to read it! This is in the young adult genre, but please don’t let that scare you away if you aren’t a YA reader. There are so many important themes in this novel and you sure as hell don’t need to be a young adult reader to appreciate them. There are so many wild things that happen, and twists that totally blew me away. I loved the strength and resilience that Tierney shows throughout the novel and she is easily one of the heroes of the story. It reminded me a TINY bit of The Hunger Games in the way that these banished girls just completely go after each other. There isn’t a ton of gore, but there are enough disturbing and chilling things that happen that I would in no way call this a light read. I loved how dark and gritty it was, and in some ways, it was heartbreaking as well.
I ended up listening to the audio of The Grace Year, and UGH, I loved it SO MUCH. The narrator is Emily Shaffer and she actually interviews Liggett at the end, so clearly if you listen to audiobooks that is how you need to read this book. It was such a pleasant surprise, and I not only loved Shaffer’s narration but her interview with the author as well. It made me feel like I was at an author event and post-Covid you know that is a huge thing. This book pubbed before the pandemic hit but somehow still manages to relate a bit to that kind of environment. Above all, it really does speak to the times we live in (not in relation to Covid) and I was in tears listening to the interview with Liggett. Before that though there was the end of the actual novel, and I loved it and it gave me chills. What more do you need!! If you haven’t read The Grace Year yet you are missing out and need to do so ASAP.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Wow…that was quite the story. I’d been putting this book off for ages because I was afraid I wouldn’t like it, but it was, in fact, really well done. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was absolutely fantastic, so if you like audiobooks, I HIGHLY recommend listening to this over reading it.
While not much is given to us about this world or why Garner County is the way it is, I feel like a little mystery serves the story well. The grace year is a terrifying and horrific year in the life of the young women of this county. I hated to turn this off (luckily, I listened to the vast majority of it on a 6-hour train ride to DC and back) and was on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen next.
That said, I do wish the ending had given us a little more of a conclusion. The way it ends leaves things very open for a sequel; however, I’m not sure if one is in the works. Did the women ever break free of the iron fist of the men? How did the grace year girls after Tierney’s group fare? Were there ANY positive changes for the women? I would love to know.
Overall though, I really enjoyed this book and am so glad I finally got around to reading /listening to it. This was one of my favorites of the year so far!
This book really surprised me. It is very dystopian and along the same lines of a Society like The Handmaid’s Tale, but a different story all together.
a little bit Hunger Games-ish but novel and interesting. Well done!
I really liked this book it is definitely a page turner. I do agree with everyone when they were comparing this book to the handmaid’s tale and the hunger games. I have not read the lord of the flies so I wouldn’t know about that. It truly was a good book. I liked the characters. The world building was good as well. There was a lot going on I wouldn’t mind reading a second book for this series. Happy reading everyone!!
This story is absolutely killer in the first and second act. Sharp as a razor and so surprising. The world building is horrifically effective-handmaid’s tale but medieval or at least cut off from the whole world. The girls of this society are considered dangerous and full of magic that must be expended in a year in the deepest woods where they might be grabbed by poachers and skinned for parts that their neighbors might buy as youth potions. I’m not doing it justice. Her world building is perfect.
The only qualms I have are in the final act. I don’t want to be a spoiler but she loses agency as the book goes on which is… disappointing. If there’s a sequel in the works then it is completely understandable in the bigger story arc, but it it’s a standalone then the end was an easy way out.
However, Tierney is relatable, not so strong as to be a Mary Sue character, and not a savior but a voice of reason. She is a wonderful character with faults that made me like her so much more.
I cannot tell you enough how much I love this book. It deals with so many different issues that may not seem relevant to us but completely are. Issues like the complex relationship between women, never judging a book by its cover, and always standing up for what you believe in only skim the surface of this powerful book.
Kim Liggett is brilliant in her telling of Tierney’s story not only in the development of her character, but in the way the plot ties together seamlessly. Liggett’s prose is heartachingly brilliant and written in a way that it stays with you long after you close the book. At least, that’s what happened for me!
Favorite quote: “I’ve dreamed of you my whole life.”
With fantastical and horrifying elements, The Grace Year tells a harrowing story reflecting the very real way girls are perceived, used, and oppressed
“The things we do to girls. Whether we put them on pedestals only to tear them down, or use them for parts and holes, we’re all complicit in this. But everything touches everything else, and I have to believe that some good will come out of all this destruction.”
This book was beautiful and surprising all the way through. Whether I was startled by a turn I never saw coming or amazed at the way the author weaved real issues and views into the story, I was gripped by the tale being spun. There were moments, while reading, in which I had to stop and consider the truth — the reasons girls turn on each other, the way some men objectify women, how fear can rule a person and also be tool of subjugation for the people instilling it all at once.
“We hurt each other because it’s the only way we’re permitted to show our anger. When our choices are taken from us, the fire builds within. Sometimes I feel like we might burn down the world to cindery bits, with our love, our rage, and everything in between.”
This book will make you question things. Is what we know true? Who said? What makes it so? Who does it harm? There is a lot of tragedy in this story. Still, I am happy with out it all turned out, even if not all problems are solved. As much as we might want to change the world right away, things are often changed by small steps forward. Standing together in hope and quiet rebellion, one person at a time.
“I’m no more or less important than a small seedling trying to burst through the soil. We all play a part on this earth. And however small, I intend to play mine.”
I really grew to care for Tierney, the other Grace Year girls, and the other vital people I met along the way. The end of the story leaves them bittersweet, but full of hope.
“What burns in you burns in all of us.”
You know those books that are so hyped up that you start thinking they can’t possibly be as good as everyone says? That was me with THE GRACE YEAR by Kim Liggett…until I read it. I could not put it down. From page one I was hooked on this unsettling, captivating, beautifully written book. When dystopian books are done right, like this one is, they make you feel everything. If you’re looking for a fascinating and completely enthralling read, This one is well worth the hype.
The magic is real. This book is full of it, but not in the way you think. I picked this up after seeing a review from a friend that called it Hunger Games meets Handmaids Tale which meant it was must read for me. It definitely has that vibe, particularly at the beginning but then you can throw in some Lord of the Flies as well and it was intense. It sucked me in and wouldn’t let go. I caught myself thinking about it even when I couldn’t get away to read another chapter. It did drift a little in the middle to the point I was wondering exactly where we would end up but in the end, I was right where I wanted to be and right where the characters needed to be. I smiled. I gasped. I was horrified and angry. I even caught myself crying towards the end. Must read for the new year for sure!
Tierney James is not like the other girls her age. She is a loner and doesn’t really fit in. So when she is sent to her grace year to rid herself of her magic which according to the men in her community all women have, she finds a strange and foreign world where nothing is as it seems. She is one of the lucky few because her father taught her some life skills that make survival alittle less deadly for her than the other girls, but sometimes the most deadly thing isnt the wild its the other girls around her. Tierney spends her grace year trying to survive and help the other girls to survive. Things turn Topsy turvy and soon she finds herself in a deadly game of cat and mouse. This book had me crying so many times. I went through a whirlwind of emotions, from happy to sad to completely terrified. But I couldn’t put this book down. I would stay up way too late reading and be exhausted at work the next day but it was totally worth it for that extra chapter I got to read. Overall I would recommend this book to everyone. It is not a book that falls in one category but multiple categories and has something for everyone.