The Grace Year

• Rating: 3/5 stars
• Genre: YA Dystopian
• Publisher: Wednesday Books
• Release Date: October 8, 2019
• Pages: 416

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:

I picked up The Grace Year after seeing so many positive reviews online from multiple sources. It had been a while since I’d read a dystopian novel. Like many others, I used to devour them, but over time, I grew tired of the same tropes being recycled in YA dystopian fiction.

When I came across The Grace Year, it seemed a bit refreshing. It didn’t follow the exact plot line that has dominated YA dystopia for the past fifteen years. I appreciated that it appeared inspired by the #MeToo movement and had a feel reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale.

The main character, Tierney, is a young woman who sees through the misogyny of her community but lacks the power to make a change. Her “Grace Year” is approaching, and her only hope is to return as a worker to avoid being trapped in a marriage subject to her husband’s will.

But, as often happens with heroines, her plans are upended by a shocking event. As she enters her grace year alongside the other girls from her community, reality and sanity begin to twist. Trust erodes, and survival becomes the only thing that matters.

The Grace Year felt like a mix of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hunger Games, The Crucible, and a female version of Lord of the Flies. It explores critical themes, such as the dangers of mob mentality and how society can consume and destroy itself. I liked how certain story elements become clear as the plot progresses, justifying the anger and complete insanity of this world.

However, I couldn’t say I loved it. The timing and pacing felt off, making it hard to gauge how much time had passed. Some characters, including Tierney, occasionally fell flat. Perhaps the most disappointing part for me was the ending. I can’t go into specifics without spoiling it, but I was left feeling indifferent and unsatisfied. I believe there was potential for a more impactful conclusion that the book never quite delivered.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t hate it, but I couldn’t love it either. On the emotional scale, it landed firmly in the “meh” category for me.