This book is considered Teen Fiction, but I think it was beautifully written and an engaging read for adults. First of all, adult women would have a deeper understanding of the story's message than a teenager would. I would guess that most adult women have had personal experiences of living in a male-dominated family/friend-group/work-team/community. I certainly have my share of experiences - along with the guilt I felt when trying to make choices about my own life. Trying to live my life with more autonomy.
Ultimately, this story is about women being held captive in a male-dominated society. The Grace Year refers to the year that a girl turns 16 years old. Each year, all girls who are 16 years old are taken on a two day journey into the woods and left in an encampment to fend for themselves for one year. They are considered "prey" to the poachers that roam the woods trying to capture them and skin them for their "hides" and body parts. The poachers turn in their victims for money, which in turn allows them to care for their families for another year. The poachers believe that the girls will curse them (which will result in the death of their families) if they are not killed, so they believe they are saving their own families. The girls are told they have to release their "magic" during this year so they can return to their community (and some, their new husbands) at the end of the year as purified women, free from their magic. If they don't return alive - or their body isn't returned - then a younger sister of the missing girl is sent to live in the outskirts of the community. Eventually these young girls will work as prostitutes.
Tierney James, preparing for her Grace Year, is already rejecting her role in the community. She never wants to be a wife. When/if she returns from her Grace Year, she plans to work hard labor in the fields rather than be someone's wife. Unfortunately, that option is taken from her when she is given a veil at the veiling ceremony before the girls (33 this Grace Year) are sent into the woods. It's very unexpected since she's not considered "wife material". It's her best childhood friend, Michael, who surprisingly gives her the veil. Tierney is very angry with him, since he knows how desperately she wants to be "free".
The girls in the encampment are their own worst enemy. It's frightening how they turn on each other. This story is frightening, fast-paced, engaging, mysterious, and full of both horror and hope. Yes, the ending is a bit ambiguous, but either way you interpret what happens, Tierney is the spearhead of the revolution, much like Katniss in the Hunger Games. I really loved it!
Wendy's Rating: *****
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