Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Grace Year

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Grace Year, by Kim Liggett

93 reviews

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Tierney lives in a society where men are in charge and women are nothing more than men's possessions. It is believed that women develop magic and have the ability to turn that magic against men. Every year girls who turn 16 are sent out on their Grace Year. During this year, the girls are sent to an isolated island where they are expected to rid themselves of their "magic". The girls must fight against the threat of poachers, starvation, and each other to make it through the year. The girls who make it back home, are either turned over to the men who claimed them as their wives or sent to work camps.

Spoiler

I was really hopeful after reading about the premise of this book. I understand the message that was attempted in this book, unortunately it didn't quite hit the mark.

Tierney was shown as this strong, independent character. We were built up to believe that she would be able to fight for herself through her Grace Year. After all, she came armed with more skills than the other girls. Yet, her survival was heavily dependent on men. Without these men, she would have died.

I hate the stereotypes that were heavily played upon - the mean girl clique, the meek girls, the outcasts...

I feel like the storyline with Ryker missed the mark. We are supposed to believe that this fiercely independent girl all of a sudden wants to abandon her sisters in order to run off with and marry a poacher? I WISH the focus would have been on the girls in the camp instead of the storyline with Ryker. The love story was not necessary. It would have played so much better has the girls come together sooner than the very last day.

I did appreciate the ending. We were not given an unbelievable HEA. We were shown the small changes that were happening and how Tierney's dreams would become reality. I liked how we got to see the truth about Michael and how he would be instrumental in helping make changes.

I wish that the feminist angle had been explore more.

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rachelwierick's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

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ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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mciryam's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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savanhahope's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow wow wow wow wow. This is the best book I've read in a long time! It's handmaid's tale meets lord of the flies, (and maybe a little hunger games) and everything was so well thought out. Don't even get me started on the ending because I'll cry. Needless to say, you need to read this. This book was written for women everywhere who have felt like their voices haven't been heard. Check TWs!!

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millyfox's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Overall, loved this one. Very lord of the flies-esque and like Wilder Girls. My only criticism is that the message is like don't let men decide the fate and everything of women (women are their own entity and should fight for freedom/equity) but a lot of the defining moments for Tierney, the main girl, is centered around men. I could've dealt without

Spoiler

two men being in love with her and her falling in love with a poacher. And the fact that her love for some dude motivated her for survival. The ending was giving me "Katniss learning to love Peeta" vibes with having kids even though in the beginning the main character didn't want any domestic life. The guard thinking she was his property and being entirely unhinged was a nice surprise moment in the book for me tho

. Well written and kept me enthralled the whole time. Couldn't put it down.

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tomatoesforlife12's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The story was a great idea. And I believe a lot of things in this world were executed very well. The way the details are written about how Tierney is building things and when she feels pain is great. And the way the chapters are made as the seasons in this book was a clever move. It really made it felt like time was going by in a realistic pace. I really like how even if Tierney can stand up for herself at times, she still shows weakness throughout the book. Just like every normal human being. Kim did really well in showing that people can’t always be brave and strong.

Spoiler

At first, I slightly disliked the ending of this book because the women of the county still don’t have much freedom, but the more thought I put into it, the more I realized that it was quite realistic. Things cannot just become better so quickly or automatically because you did something different. It takes time. And that is definitely what Kim shows here in this book and I love that. And I can see that in the future, the women of the county would eventually slowly and surely get some more freedom in the county.

Okay, now to some other things. Personally, the eyes were used too often to try and show a persons emotions. I didn’t understand how Tierney could see how people felt just by looking at their eyes. For example: (“I looked at her eyes and saw regret”)

It makes me think, how does she know they feel regret? I think more body language would be useful to replace this instead. Because some emotions don’t have to be said directly to the reader, but instead you can use body language so they can interpret their own way of how they feel. It makes it feel more like the reader is participating in the story to think along with the protagonist with how the character feels. But I do like the flowers that were used as symbolism a lot in the book. It has small messages, but they carry big meanings that cannot be truly explained.

Spoiler

Another topic I’d like to cover is the part where Hans is discovered to be the one trying to kill Tierney. Even though it was a bit surprising to me, I didn’t find it much to care about because of how little we knew about him in the book. He didn’t get much in this book, so the twist didn’t affect me when I read that part.

Spoiler

Also, the part where Ryker is stabbed is something I did not expect. So very good job on that part. The reader can’t always get what they want. That’ll make the story too predictable. Adding onto this, Kiersten not believing Tierney till almost nearing the end of the book was a good move. It made it even more realistic that she only gave in when she was the one in danger of something she had no control over. This is because most people in real life would actually do this.

Finally, the rules in this book make sense and aren’t too complicated for the reader to understand. It makes enough rules that it lets the reader know that you can’t do whatever you want in this world. Even if you were actually in it, there are consequences if you do certain things. So it’s understandable why Tierney draws away from these punishments sometimes.

Overall, this story is well done. Definitely worth reading. Kim has some good writing skills.

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sierrabedwell's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I loved this book! It was very good from start to finish and I couldn’t stop listening! (Audiobook) the plot was unique - a mix between the hunger games and the handmaid’s tale - and the characters were realistic!!! There wasn’t a time when I thought that something wouldn’t actually happen in the given situation. I won’t spoil the end, but it’s not the traditional happy ending, and I liked that, because it was realistic! I also loved the political relevance of the topic and the metaphors that could be pulled from this book while reading. The ONLY thing I didn’t like, was

Spoiler

that Tyranny falls in love. I liked that it was with a poacher because it showed us that side of the community, but the fact that she ended up getting pregnant, and she thought she loved him even though they only really knew each other for a few months… just didn’t sit well with me. I also didn’t like that she got cleared of the charges when she got back.

Overall, the ending was amazing. I never knew what was going to happen, and it was very smart the way that they used the Governor’s words against him to back up Tyranny’s excuse. I also liked that there was no major uprising in the end, because real change takes time, and I think the book does an amazing job at showing that. Amazing read. Would recommend to everyone!!!

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jennastopreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don't read a loy of dystopian, but when I do, I always think to myself, "Why don't I pick up this genre more?"

Reading THE GRACE YEAR was no different. This story was engaging, compelling. and layered. I really enjoyed Tierney's character, what she stood for, and the way the timeline unraveled. The ending had me reeling a bit, and I kind of like an unsettling ending? It won't be one I forget, that's for sure.

In a nutshell (and yes I'm rating out of 10's instead of 5's because I do what I want):

10/10 on listenability. The narrator fit the MC well, and it was so fun to listen to - you don’t have to focus super hard.

6/10 on the storyline/writing. There were a few areas where I got bored.

8/10 on the MC. Really liked her strength and how she used her rebellious streak for good!

And 7/10 on the ending.

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