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 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.”
It’s no secret that I love books but it is very rare that a book comes along and completely rocks me to my core. After reading just a few pages I knew The Grace Year was going to be one of those books. I thought Liggett’s writing was absolutely beautiful in the most haunting way possible. I couldn’t read it fast enough all the while wanting it to last forever. The Grace Year is a book I will never forget. “My eyes are wide open, and I see everything now.” I recommend picking this book up the way I did, without ever looking up what it is about. The author does such a phenomenal job of unraveling each and every detail that you don’t want to have anything spoiled. I know this book is categorized as YA but do not let that make you think even for a second that it is going to gloss over anything. I read a lot of this book with tears streaming down my face. Sometimes they were tears of sadness and despair for these characters but other times it was joy for love or a small victory. The complete rage and anger that you feel for the way this world is for these girls is something that will last with me long after closing the book. If you are going to buy anything next month I highly recommend you GET THIS BOOK. It has absolutely made my top reads of 2019 and I have a feeling it will make that list for a lot of other people too.
Kim Liggett presents a dystopian society that will chill you to your marrow. Tierney’s society believes that sixteen-year-old girls have siren-like powers that make him susceptible to their allure, preying on their weakness as men. To solve this problem, the girls are sent away for a “grace year,” during which they relieve themselves of their power and prepare to marry a man who selected them prior to their departure. The girls, I must emphasize, have no say in who picks them.
Tierney bristles against all of this, viewing it as nonsense. She has drive and a strong will, which put her at odds with just about everyone in her community. She also has a tendency to misread people, particularly those closest to her, believing she’s smarter than them. Liggett builds toward her comeuppance, making them moments of growth for Tierney.
The girls’ experiences during their grace year will remind you of The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies, which ought to tell you how harrowing some scenes are. The grace year intends to break these girls, making them pliable, malleable wives. The more Tierney bucks, the greater her risk of harm or worse. She has to learn to play the game, which makes her an entirely different sort of future wife.
Love assumes different shades in this book, including a selfless love shown Tierney from an unexpected source. That particular character, by the way, deserved more than they were given in this book. Tierney lucked out with a friend who proved to be there for her when she least deserved it but desperately needed it.
Teens will love this book. It’s dark and edgy yet hopeful, and it’s even a bit swoony. There is much to discuss: what would you do if you were Tierney? How would you have adapted to the grace year? Why do you think Tierney’s community started the grace year tradition? Why do you think they are able to continue it? Why don’t more people question it?
Let me know what you think of The Grace Year. If a teen in your life reads it, let me know what they think, too. It’s a book you will want to talk about.
I loved every part of this book. It’s perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale. Beautifully written.
“The women aren’t allowed to have pets in the county. WE are the pets.”
If you couldn’t tell from the quote I snagged, this novel is basically what would come to exist if ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ had a love child. Excellent world-building that while ambiguous in some ways, still manages to feel like Panem’s poorer districts, Gillead and actual burning-people-at-the-stake times.
Wow … this was an incredible read that I couldn’t get enough of, and if not for a couple of continuity issues that I feel are inexcusable, I’d have rated it 5 stars.
Multiple interesting twists, deep suppression of females, crazy townsfolk believing in magic who literally burn people alive and call women property … but it also has people coming together in order to make changes, adventure, true love, both familial and romantic, severe, blind hate, sadistic violence … to name a few.
Despite the continuity issues, I think I generally like the way this author’s mind works and would seek more of hers.
Note:
I listened to this book. The narrator is amazing, very smooth, pleasant voice, perfect pronunciation, tone, etc. Definitely added to the experience.
3.5 stars that would be 5 if the continuity issues were fixed.
I was on the fence about reading this one because I didn’t like Blood and Salt. When The Grace Year was chosen as a book for discussion in Monthly Book Club, that was a sign I had to read it, and I’m glad I did. Liggett’s writing has really grown and blossomed since BAS. Although this story was original, it gave me flashbacks of The Maze Runner. It was intriguing, charismatic, emotional, and extreme, but it had those dreaded pacing issues. And an intense part towards the end could have been worked into the story better to give it a more complete feel. I really enjoyed the characters, the overall energy of the book, and the near fulfilling ending. My rating teeters between 4 and 5 stars, closer to 4. If you’re on the fence, jump off, pick up The Grace Year, and read it.
This book kept me interested from page one, and never let me go. Not only is it well-written, it’s layered with hints of women’s experiences in a patriarchal culture, and hope for the unity of men and women who seek a culture of equality.
Wow! Definitely original. And, completely unpredictable and a little scary
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!
Thank you NetGalley! The Grace Year made me feel so many emotions. I got angry. I cried. I got angry again. The entire time I thought of how much, in ways, this still mirrors society today.
Tierney James is unique. She wants a better life for herself; getting married, being owned and only producing male airs is her personal hell. All that doesn’t even matter if she can’t survive the grace year. Her whole life she has watched and listened, trying to figure out what exactly goes on during the grace year. She wants to survive, keep her mind clear and come back to work in the fields; where she can be her own person. As she fights to not only live but understand the grace year, on this remote island, she becomes the woman the other girls need and learns to fight for what she wants.
I absolutely loved Tierney. She shows strength and compassion when she is not shown the same. I like to think I am like her in that way. Always showing kindness to others in the hopes that karma will come back, tenfold. I think this book should be read by all women, at all ages. Sometimes, women can be so hard on one another. Especially in today’s society where we compare each other all the time, on social media. I hope this books not only inspires you to get more involved in women’s issues but also to be kind to one another.
If you would like to see my full blog post, including my notes, quotes & items you should have while reading The Grace Year, go to http://www.BookishStateofMind.com
Oh. My. I’m… THE GRACE YEAR by Kim Liggett is amazing. Think Golding’s Lord of the Flies but layered with so much more hope. As a work of feminist literature is speaks to a culture of oppression, but also to an awakening. u2063
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I found my heart stopped and tangled up with weeds that threatened to break me as I read, angry; my lungs hardened with fear and mistrust, terrified. But Liggett faithfully led me out of the forest toward something even more beautiful – a gorgeously crafted work that left me looking up toward the warm rays of a hopeful sun, light around the corner, a new dawn. Beautifully written, inspiring, this is a must read book. u2063
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I had heard great things, i did like the book but it wasnt as good as i hoped.I felt it need more women lifting eachother up and i got women hating eachother the entire time.
Very thought provoking. In ways not far from some ways the real world works.
This book was everything I had hoped The Handmaid’s Tale was going to be and wasn’t. The characters are beautifully written. The main character Teirney is initially portrayed as the standard dystopian female character that considers herself to be a rebel and not beholden to the trappings of the dystopian society. She soon learns that she is just as much part of the system as any of the other characters.
Ligget also displays the meanness of girls without holding back. She reminds us that girls are mean because of how society has raised them and formed them. She also reminds us that often when given a choice otherwise girls still choose to be mean. This theme is grappled with throughout the whole book and even Teirney must come face to face with it.
The plot was beautiful and often left me wishing I could stay up later to keep reading. My one dislike of the plot was the romance subplot. For some reason it just made me uncomfortable, but I can appreciate that is was a nonstandard romance subplot and served to further Teirney’s character development. The world-building was very well done. I often felt like this world was just a few bad choices away, unlike how I felt with Handmaid’s Tale which felt more like an extreme hypothetical. I was so moved by the plot that I ended up crying when the book was over. This is a book that has stuck with me since I’ve read it and I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Mixed feelings about this book. It almost descends into Lord of the Flies mode, but it did pull back from that brink. It’s kind of a Handmaid’s Tale meets Stephen King with a detour into (ick!) Barbara Cartland. If you are looking to read a great dystopian story, stick with Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s the best.
Utterly gripping and suspenseful. I was shocked by how quickly this book pulled me in. From the hauntingly beautiful cover, to the final page. It me laugh and cry….happy and mad. SO sad and mad, a few times!
Romance doesn’t appeal to me, so I usually steer clear of YA books and their youthful drama. But I enjoyed watching the “Handmaid’s Tale”, so I snatched this one up when NG offered it as a “Read Now”. I was pleasantly surprised! Yes, there was romance and adolescent drama, but not the type that put me off or made me roll my eyes.
I instantly fell in love with Tierney and her head-strong nature. She rejects the traditional role of wife and mother. Working in the fields, to hang on to her freedom and individuality, sounds far more appealing to her.
At the age of sixteen, girls are exiled to an encampment far away from their families. This is their “grace year”. The year they “come into their magic”. Become dangerous and irresistible to men. Able to lure them from their wives and families. Elements of magic and fantasy are instant repellent for me, but in this story they were magically (pun intended) mesmerizing.
The young women spend their banished year ridding themselves of their “magic”, so they can return completely cleansed. Imagine a large group of jealous, backstabbing teenagers spending a year together, with no supervision. A recipe for disaster, before you consider the obstacles they’ll face. The story definitely had a “Mean Girls” component. And Kiersten plays the role of catty ringleader excellently. She keeps the girls pitted against one another, while constantly stirring the pot.
Several of the twists were completely unexpected, which I loved. For me, the only downside of the book was the ending. Not clear cut. I’m not sure if it’s left open for a sequel…or if the author thinks we’re smart enough to understand her intent. I’m not that smart! I keep thinking of different ways to interpret it and it’s driving me crazy. But the read was worth a little madness!
My Rating: 4.5 ’s (rounding up)
Published: October 8th 2019 by Wednesday Books
Pages: 416
Recommend: Yes!
#TheGraceYear #NetGalley #YAThriller
@Kim_Liggett
Title: The Grace Year
Rating:
@kim2legit2quit
The Grace Year was my local book clubs pick . It’s one of the few books I could not put down! You just have to continue on the devastating, moving and empowering path the book takes you. This book is very well written and takes you through a year of women breaking and building back up. Sticking together in silence and creating their own way of life. I highly recommend continuing on and reading how the book came about, it ties the whole “truth” together. This book is about testing limits and finding common ground which can speak volumes in today’s society. I highly recommend this to everyone and look forward discussing it with the other book club members.
#dowtimereading #thegraceyear #kimliggett #bookinstagram #bookbub #barnesandnoble #read #readingtime #readabook #readinglife #bookstagram #bookshelf #bookish #bookworm #bookaholic #bookobsessed #bookrecommendations #bookreview #booknerd #bookreviewer #booksofinstagram #pageturner #bookclub #fivestarbook
I’m just loving each book I read by Kim Liggett! This one was so good and different from the ones I’ve previously read! It has a slow start but not in a bad way at all! We get to learn about the characters and this unique and terrifying world!
Tierney was a strong and defiant character and I loved her! I did get mad at her a couple times just because she was angry at Michael, but I get it! What I also thought was cool is we get to see each season play out when the group of girls have to go out on this journey! And this is not a fun one at that! Nothing is as it seems, I might add! Twists and turns galore!
I wanted to hug some characters, shake some, keep some! The writing was flawless and I swear, this woman is an auto buy for me! I highly recommend this savage and beautiful tale!
I was provided an advance copy from the publisher, Wednesday Books, through Netgalley.
The Grace Year is already receiving a lot of buzz. Touted as a mix between The Handmaid’s Tale, Lord of the Flies, and The Hunger Games, it was quickly snatched up by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be made into a film. I didn’t even read all of the synopsis before I hit request on Netgalley. But even if I’d read all the way to the end of the synopsis, it wouldn’t have helped much. The synopsis barely scratches the surface, which I’m sure is the intention. And while it does have threads of those three great novels previously mentioned woven throughout, it also has some problematic issues that I found hard to ignore.
The first half of this one was slow for me, and I felt confused for most of that half. We jump right into the story, but without much explanation as to why things are the way they are in this town. And ambiguity can be good in a story, when it’s done correctly, like in the aforementioned, The Handmaid’s Tale. But here, there are already too many other mysterious issues piled on top.
There is a character introduced about halfway through that I actually think is a well-rounded and engaging character, but by the end, only seems to serve one purpose, which makes me sad. Unless there’s a sequel and something changes. Which is always entirely possible–especially with the ending the way it is. (Which I still haven’t decided if I love or hate.) Like I said, too much ambiguity for me.
But let me talk about the pros: The writing is superb, and I highlighted many beautiful lines. I love how flowers and their meanings are woven throughout, even becoming clues at times. And I love how the main character consistently embodies strength and bravery.
If it’s done well–and maybe some plot points are tweaked–The Grace Year may make a better film than a book. Which is very rare.
The Grace Year is aptly introduced with quotes from The Handmaids Tale (Margaret Atwood) and Lord of the Flies (William Golding), two classic works that obviously acted as strong inspiration for Kim Liggett’s new novel. Although marketed as a YA title, The Grace Year would also appeal to adults who enjoy dystopic fantasy along the lines of The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) or Divergent (Veronica Roth). The action takes place in either a pre-industrial past or possibly a post-technological future-it is unclear which. Regardless, is a bleak world in which women outnumber men but are subjugated due to superstition and fear. Liggett’s narrator is Tierney, a young woman on the verge of adulthood, who is preparing for a ritual practiced in Garner County where she lives with her family. The Grace Year refers to the rite of passage endured by Garner’s young women who are sent away to a locked encampment for one year. During this time, they are left to fend for themselves as they rid themselves of emerging magical abilities believed to be brought on by adolescence. Their potential power is highly feared, and the danger inherent in the girls’ emerging sexuality is used as justification for their exile. Many do not return, and those that do often come back with deep scars-both physical and emotional. No one knows what happens during their time away, since speaking about the Grace Year is forbidden and punishable by death. Before they are cast out, the girls are selected by marriageable men and will be consigned to their houses when/if they return. Male offspring are the priority, and the women who do not produce them are regularly discarded, cast out and replaced by others. Those who are not married are destined to be servants or are sent beyond the gates of the County to be hunted by predatory men. Of course, Tierney is very different from the other girls in her Grace Year- she has survival skills she learned from her physician father, keen intelligence and an iron will to resist the path that tradition has paved for her. When her trial begins, she seems uniquely advantaged, but what she could not have prepared for is the cruelty of her fellow exiles and a mob mentality that can suffocate even the brightest of independent spirits. The Grace Year is a good example of nice pacing and character development that can often be absent in the ubiquitous landscape of YA dystopic thriller offerings. Tierney’s adventure and challenges are exciting to follow, and the book’s setting as pitted against its strong feminist viewpoint makes this story at once infuriating and satisfying. It is unfortunate that the author chooses to position her heroine in ways that are ultimately subservient to the males that assert dominance in her world. If Ligett is paving the way for a sequel, hopefully Tierney’s story will continue in a way that feels more vindicating for those readers who demand a heroine worthy of admiration and respect.
Thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Books (Wednesday Press) and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
I really liked how the female journey with it’s trials and limitations was captured in a dystopian world setting. It reminded me of all the reasons I’m a feminist and what I want to teach my daughter, namely, that we are stronger when we lift each other up, not break each other down. Great read, can’t wait for the movie!