A review by lazygal
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

3.0

I read this for my book group and I'm glad I did, but there was a lot that kind of bothered me. For example, there's a hinted immigration from some other place that doesn't really get discussed except in casual mentions of the "old tongue" (kinda like the Tearling books). And there's also a place that people can escape to, away from all this (Handmaid's Tale or When She Woke, anyone?). The story about who the poachers really are is a little muddled, and that should have been given a better explanation after everything Tierney experiences. The links to Lord of the Flies (albeit with a poisoned well) are also clear, as is the idea of the initiation rite that appears in so many cultures. The survival parts, the nascent rebellion and the language of the flowers were something like a balance to all that, but it felt at times as that was filler for the episodes of Very Mean Girls.