The Grace Year contained potential and it is important to note other readers love this novel but for me, I am so disappointed I decided to finish it because it should have been a DNF. The Grace Year is not worth your time because in the 300ish pages, nothing happens. Months are skipped, necessary moments are missed, there is zero world building to better understand how this dystopia came to be, there is no punch, there is no flavour to this novel.

However you perceive the protagonist based on the blurb, think exactly the opposite. Is she strong? Is she weak? You'll never know unless you read The Grace Year and I think there are better ambiguous protagonists out there waiting to be read.

With a strange romance, a conflicting narrative, and a protagonist that leaves you quite confused, skip The Grace Year and read a different dystopian instead. One I just finished that I recommend? Master Class by Christina Dalcher which although received more poorly than The Grace Year contained a more fluid and dynamic plot and is a story I found compelling to read. Skip this and read that instead.

The plot has clear sections to divide the story. It breaks it up via the seasons, before the grace year, and after. The plot contains elements that may frustrate you such as skipping months and moments necessary for creating depth to the story.

The beginning sets up the novel to be so interesting and after a few chapters you may be disappointed with the plot because it does not match the beginning nor what you would expect from the publisher's description. It is a whirlwind that you won't be prepared for and not in a positive way.

0/10. Putting my opinion out there, I loathed the protagonist. Without giving the plot away, if you are a fan of The Hunger Games and its protagonist, don't read this. It does not emulate characters from that novel nor will it remind you of characters in The Handmaid's Tail and that is all. I do not intend to be blunt but I was so frustrated with the protagonist and if you are a reader who values connecting or at least understanding the characters, this is not the novel for you.

Sadly, The Grace Year lacks world building and it could have done with some. If you like knowing how a dystopia came to be, the lack of world building will miss your mark.

The Grace Year had a good ending. If you do decide to read The Grace Year by Kim Liggett based on the fact hundreds of others enjoy it or because you cannot get enough of dystopia's, know you will not be upset. It may not leave you gushing but it will not leave you empty. A satisfactory ending that was the saving grace of the novel.

I think The Grace Year lacked proper execution. The concept of women possessing magic and men being "controlled" by said magic and shunning them and making them the inferior gender because of it is super interesting but... the story never focused on how that came to be. I skipped 75 pages in the middle from when Tierney was taken by Ryker before picking up again when they returned to Garner County so maybe it was explained, I'll never know.

I partially listened to The Grace Year on audio and half read it. I think listening to it on audio actually detracted from the novel's goodness because I enjoyed it more when I read it than when I listened to it. It always upsets me when I do not enjoy a novel but this one missed the mark for me and that's that. My biggest gripe which helped increase how far this novel was from the mark was how the protagonist was set up to be this powerful, rule-breaking, loud voice to be heard individual and she was anything but.

I felt Tierney was timid, passive, and would continuously think to herself, "I am so strong," and then act like a meek little mouse. She let Kiersten bulldoze her, she let Michael (not his fault, and probably the best and most rounded character out of them all) "wed" her, despite knowing the seeds wouldn't grow in winter she still planted them, she fell into Ryker's arms like putty and not once did I find her to be strong. I truly felt she was weak and the concept of "change," you were meant to feel at the end because of Tierney standing up, where was that? If you have read The Grace Year, did you feel that also?

And did anybody else find it so strange how easily the other girls were manipulated by Kiersten? Maybe in the pages I didn't read they stood up to her but c'mon, seriously? 29 out of 30 girls fell to her manipulative ways? Not all of the girls were personified as meek or easy swayed and yet, they were.

I have multiple issues with this novel but I will not continue. This novel was not for me and that is okay. I hope if you read The Grace Year, you enjoy it and find excitement within. For me? It's time to read something new.