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  • The Grace Year

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Kim Liggett
  • Narrated by: Emily Shaffer
  • Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (91 ratings)

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The Grace Year cover art

The Grace Year

Written by: Kim Liggett
Narrated by: Emily Shaffer
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Publisher's Summary

"Emily Shaffer delivers a dynamic performance of this dystopian audiobook.... She masterfully connects listeners to the characters' emotions, creating passionate and realistic performances." (AudioFile Magazine)

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

A speculative thriller in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power. Optioned by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be a major motion picture!

Survive the year.

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 16th 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.

Praise for The Grace Year:

"A visceral, darkly haunting fever dream of a novel and an absolute page-turner." (Libba Bray, New York Times best-selling author)

"The Grace Year seethes with love and brutality, violence and hope. It is a remarkable and timely story of the bonds between women, the cost of breaking those bonds, and the courage it takes to defy a patriarchy intent on crushing feminine strength." (Sabaa Tahir, number one New York Times best-selling author of An Ember in the Ashes)

"This book is harrowing and absolutely riveting, an insidious journey from reason to madness that manages to completely refresh the concept of the patriarchal dystopia, with a beautifully realized ending that goes to a very different, and even more believable, subtle, and unexpectedly satisfying, place than I expected." (Melissa Albert, New York Times best-selling author of The Hazel Wood)

©2019 Kim Liggett (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

What listeners say about The Grace Year

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Great coming of age story

What an important piece of work for young adults, will have this in my literary circles in 2021. I’m a bit sad that a movie is in the works; the wonder of this is the imaginative parts, it building the world in your mind and analyzing what it means in today’s world.

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Nice story

Coming of age story that keeps you intrigued and wanting to know more. The symbols are beautiful and the characters are interesting.

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Def a great read

The handsmaid tale meets lord of the flies. Fantastic read. A touch of romance, gore and a fight for survival in an oppressive time. Beautifully written, full of twists, mystery and deeply felt emotion. Great read.

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EMOTIONAL

I have never had an emotional response from any type of media as strong as I did with this story. 😭

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couldn't turn it off.

great book, great narrator. had chills and goose bumps at certain points. I definitely recommend.

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took a while before I got into it

but there was something about it that told me to give it a chance. I was fully invested once the story picked up, and bawled my eyes at the end.

very well done

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Loved the narrator!

Handmaid's tale meets Lord of the Flies meets The Hunger Games but well done on topics of oppression of women and classism. Excellent showing of what can be achieved when women work together but still shows we need both women and men on the same page?! Confused about the ending...make your own ending??

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So different but so good!

Wasn’t ready for it to be over… when it was over I craved more and wanted the story to go on! Would love to hear a sequel!

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Loved this book!

I couldn’t stop listening! I can’t wait to see if a sequel comes out next.

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Great book

I really enjoyed this book! The storyline was creative and I enjoyed the characters and the ending.

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