A review by krpolaski24
The Grace Year, by Kim Liggett
2.0
In The Hunger Games, there’s a reason for the Hunger Games. In Handmaid’s Tale, there’s a reason for the Handmaid system. Even Divergent gives a reason (a dumb reason, but a reason none the less) for the faction system.
There is no reason for the Grace Year to happen in this book. Sure; they tell us (repeatedly) that the Grace Year exists in order for the girls to rid themselves of their magic, but we are never told how the community came to this conclusion—there is no backstory or inciting event stated. The only way this would be a logical writing choice would be if the Grace Year had been happening so long that it’s true origins had been lost to the mists of time. But then, near the end of the book, the main character arbitrarily mentions that the Grace Year had been happening for 47 years; a detail which adds nothing to the reading experience other than confusion.
Other reviews have covered the dull main character, unnecessary torrid romance plotline, and surface level feminism, so I’ll just say this: if you’re going to write a dystopia, you have to know why there’s a dystopia in the first place.
There is no reason for the Grace Year to happen in this book. Sure; they tell us (repeatedly) that the Grace Year exists in order for the girls to rid themselves of their magic, but we are never told how the community came to this conclusion—there is no backstory or inciting event stated. The only way this would be a logical writing choice would be if the Grace Year had been happening so long that it’s true origins had been lost to the mists of time. But then, near the end of the book, the main character arbitrarily mentions that the Grace Year had been happening for 47 years; a detail which adds nothing to the reading experience other than confusion.
Other reviews have covered the dull main character, unnecessary torrid romance plotline, and surface level feminism, so I’ll just say this: if you’re going to write a dystopia, you have to know why there’s a dystopia in the first place.