The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publiser via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book- 

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.

My thoughts-

I went through a period where all I wanted to read were dystopian novels, but they became so popular that they started coming out in droves and the qualilty of work was not as high as some of my favorite dystopian novels, so I stopped reading them all together afer a few disappointing series. The Grace Year

 sounded like it wasn't going to be the exact same book as so many other dystopian books over the last decade have been so I reluctantly picked it up. I am so glad I did. This was a breath of fresh air in the dystopian world. I absolutely couldn't put it down. It reminded me of a cross between The Giver and The Hunger Games. There were some interesting twists that I enjoyed being revealed and I thought the cliff hanger was excellent although now I can't wait for whatever is next in what will hopefully be a series! I absolutely recommend The Grace Year to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction.