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A review by lindsayslittlelibrary
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I’ve owned The Grace Year for nearly a year. For me, it was one of those books you’re really excited to read, but put off because you’re afraid it won’t live up to the hype. I’m so sad to say that I feel let down by this book. I’m really bummed because so many people love it and have recommended it to me. I wish I had liked it more! ⠀
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A big part of what made me want to read The Grace Year was all the praise for the feminist themes. Other than the MC rebelling against the sexist and misogynistic social norms in their society by doing all she can to avoid marriage, I felt the other attempts at feminist issues either fell flat or straight up failed. I was really disappointed this story ended up being about a silly romance/weird love triangle. I had hoped the MC would overcome her challenges with her own strength and wit and courage, but her survival/success heavily relied on the male characters/love interests. The MC also seemed to hate other women almost as much as the men did.⠀
⠀
I feel like this story was very unoriginal. This was almost a Handmaid’s Tale/Hunger Games/Lord of the Flies retelling, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if it had been done well. I thought the writing was weak. The dialogue was simple. The characters were shallow. The twist was lame and predictable. This wasn’t exciting or inspirational like I hoped it would be. I didn’t feel anything while reading other than boredom.⠀
⠀
This is very much a YA book and I’m concerned that young readers picking up this book will think this is a good and true portrayal of feminism, when really it could be considered fairly harmful and regressive.
⠀
A big part of what made me want to read The Grace Year was all the praise for the feminist themes. Other than the MC rebelling against the sexist and misogynistic social norms in their society by doing all she can to avoid marriage, I felt the other attempts at feminist issues either fell flat or straight up failed. I was really disappointed this story ended up being about a silly romance/weird love triangle. I had hoped the MC would overcome her challenges with her own strength and wit and courage, but her survival/success heavily relied on the male characters/love interests. The MC also seemed to hate other women almost as much as the men did.⠀
⠀
I feel like this story was very unoriginal. This was almost a Handmaid’s Tale/Hunger Games/Lord of the Flies retelling, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if it had been done well. I thought the writing was weak. The dialogue was simple. The characters were shallow. The twist was lame and predictable. This wasn’t exciting or inspirational like I hoped it would be. I didn’t feel anything while reading other than boredom.⠀
⠀
This is very much a YA book and I’m concerned that young readers picking up this book will think this is a good and true portrayal of feminism, when really it could be considered fairly harmful and regressive.