Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

22 reviews

kaitlynn0912's review

dark sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Suicide, and Sexism

bella613's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

The first half of the book felt like all the confusion of watching "Lost" with none of the intrigue. There was absolutely no explanation of how this "Grace Year" idea started or why anyone thought that toughing it in the woods for a year somehow got rid of ~magic~ that no one seemed to have in the first place. Don't even get me started on

the little jars of toes and eyeballs or whatever. Was that included to keep the reader horrified, or are we expected to believe that people in town really buy their daughters pickled phalanges to prolong their youth?

I was pretty sure that even the author had no clue what was going on. The excuse for having no context on anything was "we don't talk about the grace year", which, to me, isn't very believable and doesn't make you more curious.
There's no mystery when there is no clues. If you leave your reader completely in the dark it doesn't hook them in. It's assumed that the grace year is meant to be a way to control young women, but if you want to subdue them, why would you tell them they have strong magical powers? What is the incentive for them to get rid of their magic, and what is the plan for this glorified no-supply camping trip to do the trick? It's a cool idea for a premise but wayyy underdeveloped because none of it made any sense. 

I did enjoy the later-middle part of the book, which introduced a lot of possible outcomes. 

As Tierney gets close to Ryker, I thought they would talk about the community that he is from. Since they're adopting the outcasts of the town they probably understand what is going on. It sounded like the people on the outskirts were more than a few families' worth of people, and obviously if the main civilization only has 30 ish girls each year, it's a fairly small town. Seems like an extremely fragile system they've got going, especially since the leaders are only a handful of middle aged men in a council, and there seems to be no state leadership or anything. Possibilities moving forward from that point could include a mini-rebellion of outcasts against the measly leaders, or a rescue mission to take the women and children to the outskirt community instead. It was not in my reader bingo card for her to return from the woods with a surprise underage pregnancy, abandon her plan to actually tell the truth (to the citizens who somehow believe these teen girls are witches who can be fixed by a year in the woods) and willingly accept the marriage she's been against her entire life. Not to mention that in a matter of months, she falls in love with this guy she previously felt trapped by, despite recently having watched the father of her child be murdered in front of her. And her husband is the new leader (as a minor) but somehow hasn't done anything to change the town except secretly burn one shelf of human remains.

The ending, in summary, was extremely disappointing. I have no idea if there is a sequel planned but I have no interest in reading more of this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Violence, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, Excrement, Pedophilia, Animal death, Biphobia, Animal cruelty, Child death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Bullying, Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Fatphobia

kparsons44's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

 Since I'm still processing this book, which I voraciously read in two or three sittings, I'd say I will recommend this book to everyone that loves dystopian fiction! Tierney was a strong, realistic, hopeful protagonist that inspired me to be more present with the conversations I have with my daughters and women around me.
The writing was very fast paced, broken into seasons of the Grace Year, so it reads more like a diary without marked chapters. There is an eeriness left in my imagination after reading this book about how similar our worlds are, or how precious the freedoms women have been "granted" by the men who owned them. Seeing good men represented in a feminist book, identifying what makes a great ally for women's rights, is great to see.
Like Tierney, we all have dreams of the world we want to see reality become. The ambiguous ending frustrates me but I do love getting decide what really happened.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Torture, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

rustyray's review

dark fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Female Solidarity
Should pick up for a reread for the message and not the plot. Remember why characters make you uncomfortable and how much you've grown. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Religious bigotry

majamatcha's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy, Violence, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

tini_turtle's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.75

I loved the first two thirds of this book! The world building is really engaging and thought through, and the beginning of the actual grace year is incredibly written and super gripping. I found the ending to be a bit rushed, and not as thoughtful as the rest of the book. I felt that the

love triangle with Ryker and Michael

really unnecessary and cliche, and I found the entire

pregnancy storyline

honestly quite hard to get through. It's such a shame because it could have been so so good but the ending was just disappointing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Blood, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Rape

katemarie99's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

1.5

This book was pretty much triggering in every way that a book could be... I am being generous and giving it that little .5 extra bc I did feel a little *seen* in the beginning with the intersection-between-religious-conservatism-and-sexism bit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cannibalism, and Homophobia

winnie_is_swag's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

i really liked this book. 'twas beautifully written, and it made me emotional. the main character is strong and independent. it's like Lord of the Flies meets a Handmaid's Tale. Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Animal death, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Gore, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Bullying

Moderate: Pregnancy, Medical content, Vomit, Sexual content, and Infertility

Minor: Sexual content, Rape, Classism, Abandonment, Homophobia, Cursing, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

archaicrobin's review against another edition

This book sound unique and like it might actually do something but instead it’s full of unlikeable characters, internalized misogyny, and toxic YA tropes that further romanticize the concept of young girls falling in love with the “bad boy”. Except this time the bad boy literally captures and skins young girls alive, but like it’s ok because Tierney is not your regular girl, she’s SMART. This book does not deserve 4 stars, it’s bad. If you’re looking for a feminist YA apocalyptic dystopian novel about female power, pass on this one and read Extasia by Claire Legrand instead. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, Body horror, Murder, Gore, Cannibalism, Confinement, Misogyny, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Death, and Physical abuse

reading_leaf's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

Absolutely marvelous book extremely well written and beautiful if this is the last review you’re reading that is helping you decide either way on whether or not you should read this you should absolutely read this and then make everyone else in your circle read this. I was expecting something much more grotesque and dark and looming and instead I was left at the end of the book smiling and crying tears of much more mixed feelings than that . Many of them being positive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Rape, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Gore, Religious bigotry, and Cannibalism