Author: Kim Liggett
Narrator: Emily Shaffer
Started: October 20, 2022
Finished: October 22, 2022
Tierney James is entering her sixteenth year and in Garner County, which means she is ready for her Grace Year. She, and all those of the same age, are sent away for a year to get rid of their magic and be purified to come back and marry the men who lift their veil the day they leave. Tierney has fought her whole life not to have any man lift her veil so she will be owned by no one and is shocked when she is one of the veiled. During their year away, the girls quickly break into cliques and turn on each other when the "queen b" decides the others are not worthy. Eventually, Tierney is sent to live out of the community and must survive on her own. When she discovers the real reason for their "magic" she attempts to save those who cast her out only to realize that not everyone can be saved. When she returns to the County, it is clear that she has brought shame to her family and the man she is to marry but she realizes the future of the women of Garner County lies within her.
The narrator did a wonderful job of telling the story and emoting the hardships Tierney encountered during her Grace Year. The only issue I had with her telling of the story was that all girls who were not on Tierney's side sounded like valley girls from the 1980s…I kept waiting for a retro " as if" during certain conversations. Luckily, the only truly long time of this voice was when the girls were behind the fence.
I am not a dystopian reader by any means and usually, this would have been completely off my radar except for the fact that my favorite reading podcast, Currently Reading, spoke about it on Trope Thursday (a special episode for Patreons) and this book was recommended and immediately caught my interest. This was a book that, to me, just screamed F the patriarchy! This was a book about the opening of a female's eyes to the way the men around her have been keeping her down and controlling her future. This is a fantastic book that I will continually recommend.