This was a great review Amy. I agree with basically everything you said, I had some minor issues but still ended up giving it 5 stars. I totally agree, I thought the whole county was a cult too!
I'm done with The Grace Year, so I finally watched this video! I really liked hearing your thoughts. I thought the flower symbolism was pretty cool - I love when authors incorporate nature symbolism. For me, this ended up being a 3-star read because I liked the premise and world building, but the author's writing style wasn't for me. There were multiple times when major events happened (like character deaths), and the author didn't sufficiently build up to it or even fully describe what was going on. I felt very in the dark and confused several times. But this book left a very strong impression on me in terms of the psychological warfare and the dystopian setting.
Understandable. I think this book could have been better, but so much of my rating went into just loving the concept and what the author was attempting, whether or not it was achieved
I had a small question. I finished this book, and I loved it but hated the ending. Was Ryker really dead? In the last few sentences it says that she sees Ryker on the path she was walking on. Was that a hallucination, or real? Sorry for anyone reading this comment who doesn’t like spoilers. Lol.
I think it's one of those situations where it was a kind of dream or hallucination, or where he was spiritually with her even if he couldn't be physically with her.
@@artemisevagorou2611 I never thought about that! When I was reading the ending I was mostly crying and reading but not really paying attention to the words, and now that you’ve mentioned it, it totally would make sense for her to die at childbirth.
I want to read this so badly! I also think there is quite a fine line between dystopian fiction and cult books, which is really interesting. Also, PLEASE read Only Ever Yours soon, it’s such a great example of this type of book!
I haven’t watched this but I heard you say something about the dystopian part of it. I think it was set in the 15-16 hundreds and it was more like a dystopian past that could have maybe happen but didn’t.
This book is absolutely incredible to me. Of course, it has it’s flaws but it was good enough to be a page-turner for me (which really doesn’t happen often) and I finished it in 1,5 days (when on average a book takes me 4-5 days). The romance wasn’t necessary to the story but it broke my heart nevertheless. I read the polish translation of this book, not the english one but I found the writing to be SO beautiful. Poetic almost. But like I said, I read a translation so maybe it’s different in the original. It absolutely deserves 5 stars in my opinion, and I consider this book to be one of the best I’ve read in a while, I’ll absolutely never stop talking about it and reccomending it to literally everyone I know.
I feel the exact same way! I just finished reading the book in one sitting and can’t get over how much I loved it. I’m currently recommending it to all of my friends lol
I just read finished The Grace Year and needed to find someone else who was talking about it haha. Thank you for scratching that itch and also validating a lot of my feelings about it Also! I did not make the connection to the cult thing, but that totally works! that's a really cool thought that I hadn't considered so thank you for presenting this whole new possibility
I loved this book- at some points I thought I was too young to read it hence I read it when I was merely 13 while reading it but I still loved every moment of it. I wish it were a series though
Some middle schools are using this book for literature 😬 I’m 18 and I read it and LOVED it but I don’t think my 12 (almost 13) year old sister would like it or understand it at all, I think it is for more mature readers (especially some of the torture and romance parts)
@@kaiaswrld I agree completely- I sometimes felt that it was too mature for me. I have read a few books a bit more mature such as The Handmaids Tale (the novel) and nearly all of the Junji Ito books.
I know this video is really old but I just found you so LOL I really am interested in your thoughts like spoilers about this book because there were a lot of things that I was very in awe of and I want to know what your thoughts are
I loved this book but was waiting to get some answers about the bottled girl parts. If the leaders of the village want to keep the female population down, the grace year solves that with the girls killing each other. I didn't understand why they put in the effort to hire poachers to cut up and bottle the bodies. I guess to keep up the elusion that magic was real, but I feel like most of the men were all in on it. Just wish there was more detail about it lol
First I just want to say that I loved this video. I just finished reading the book in one sitting and am SO glad to hear someone else’s thoughts on it❤️ ******spoilers****** I totally agree the main character has a strong “not like another girls” vibe to her and I was pretty frustrated about it at times but what I liked is that I feel like she overcomes that. Granted it takes her till literally the end of the book lol but at the end she realizes she was so in her head about being different and judging the other women she never noticed that other women were feeling the same way. Perfect example being when she looks out into the crowd and sees all the red flowers. I feel like at that moment she realized how blind she had been (when the whole book she judged them all for being blind)
@@nonfictionfeminist taking into account what you told me and I think that despite the fact that there are bloody scenes it is not the center of the book and they should not be very graphic
I love listening to what you have to say about books I've also read. We have so many aligning thoughts and opinions. In this particular case, I really love your thoughts on the whole concept of dystopian for this book. I had the same thoughts and questions as I read it. I'm hoping for a follow-up from the author in which that outer world is explored more. I was nodding my head throughout this whole video and shared so many of the same thoughts about the plot and characters, but...like you...gave this a 5-star rating. Such an interesting read. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!!
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This was a great review Amy. I agree with basically everything you said, I had some minor issues but still ended up giving it 5 stars. I totally agree, I thought the whole county was a cult too!
Thanks! It's one of those where I'd love to know whether or not it was a cult, but also I'm really happy not knowing because it keeps me thinking!
I'm done with The Grace Year, so I finally watched this video! I really liked hearing your thoughts. I thought the flower symbolism was pretty cool - I love when authors incorporate nature symbolism. For me, this ended up being a 3-star read because I liked the premise and world building, but the author's writing style wasn't for me. There were multiple times when major events happened (like character deaths), and the author didn't sufficiently build up to it or even fully describe what was going on. I felt very in the dark and confused several times. But this book left a very strong impression on me in terms of the psychological warfare and the dystopian setting.
Understandable. I think this book could have been better, but so much of my rating went into just loving the concept and what the author was attempting, whether or not it was achieved
@@nonfictionfeminist The concept is awesome! I would love to see a movie or series adaptation.
I read it and it absolutely destroyed me! The romance was so sad
I totally get what you say about the cult aspect of the book, I felt the same way while reading it
I had a small question. I finished this book, and I loved it but hated the ending. Was Ryker really dead? In the last few sentences it says that she sees Ryker on the path she was walking on. Was that a hallucination, or real? Sorry for anyone reading this comment who doesn’t like spoilers. Lol.
I think it's one of those situations where it was a kind of dream or hallucination, or where he was spiritually with her even if he couldn't be physically with her.
For me it meant that she died at childbirth and on some level, either spiritual or mental she was reunited with him
To me I think it was purposely ambiguous where you can decide whether he was there for her in those moments or was there to greet her in death.
@@artemisevagorou2611 I never thought about that! When I was reading the ending I was mostly crying and reading but not really paying attention to the words, and now that you’ve mentioned it, it totally would make sense for her to die at childbirth.
I want to read this so badly! I also think there is quite a fine line between dystopian fiction and cult books, which is really interesting. Also, PLEASE read Only Ever Yours soon, it’s such a great example of this type of book!
It's been on my TBR for years! I just haven't ever managed to get around to it
I haven’t watched this but I heard you say something about the dystopian part of it. I think it was set in the 15-16 hundreds and it was more like a dystopian past that could have maybe happen but didn’t.
Looking forward to watching this after I've read the book! :)
This book is absolutely incredible to me. Of course, it has it’s flaws but it was good enough to be a page-turner for me (which really doesn’t happen often) and I finished it in 1,5 days (when on average a book takes me 4-5 days). The romance wasn’t necessary to the story but it broke my heart nevertheless. I read the polish translation of this book, not the english one but I found the writing to be SO beautiful. Poetic almost. But like I said, I read a translation so maybe it’s different in the original. It absolutely deserves 5 stars in my opinion, and I consider this book to be one of the best I’ve read in a while, I’ll absolutely never stop talking about it and reccomending it to literally everyone I know.
I feel the exact same way! I just finished reading the book in one sitting and can’t get over how much I loved it. I’m currently recommending it to all of my friends lol
I just read finished The Grace Year and needed to find someone else who was talking about it haha. Thank you for scratching that itch and also validating a lot of my feelings about it
Also! I did not make the connection to the cult thing, but that totally works! that's a really cool thought that I hadn't considered so thank you for presenting this whole new possibility
You're welcome 😁
I loved this book- at some points I thought I was too young to read it hence I read it when I was merely 13 while reading it but I still loved every moment of it. I wish it were a series though
Some middle schools are using this book for literature 😬 I’m 18 and I read it and LOVED it but I don’t think my 12 (almost 13) year old sister would like it or understand it at all, I think it is for more mature readers (especially some of the torture and romance parts)
@@kaiaswrld I agree completely- I sometimes felt that it was too mature for me. I have read a few books a bit more mature such as The Handmaids Tale (the novel) and nearly all of the Junji Ito books.
I know this video is really old but I just found you so LOL I really am interested in your thoughts like spoilers about this book because there were a lot of things that I was very in awe of and I want to know what your thoughts are
I loved this book but was waiting to get some answers about the bottled girl parts. If the leaders of the village want to keep the female population down, the grace year solves that with the girls killing each other. I didn't understand why they put in the effort to hire poachers to cut up and bottle the bodies. I guess to keep up the elusion that magic was real, but I feel like most of the men were all in on it. Just wish there was more detail about it lol
First I just want to say that I loved this video. I just finished reading the book in one sitting and am SO glad to hear someone else’s thoughts on it❤️
******spoilers******
I totally agree the main character has a strong “not like another girls” vibe to her and I was pretty frustrated about it at times but what I liked is that I feel like she overcomes that. Granted it takes her till literally the end of the book lol but at the end she realizes she was so in her head about being different and judging the other women she never noticed that other women were feeling the same way. Perfect example being when she looks out into the crowd and sees all the red flowers. I feel like at that moment she realized how blind she had been (when the whole book she judged them all for being blind)
It's this book gory? because I don't have a strong stomach but sounds really interesting
I would say there is some gore, but it's not overdone, and it's not super detailed, and the gore doesn't occur that often. If that helps?
@@nonfictionfeminist taking into account what you told me and I think that despite the fact that there are bloody scenes it is not the center of the book and they should not be very graphic
I love listening to what you have to say about books I've also read. We have so many aligning thoughts and opinions. In this particular case, I really love your thoughts on the whole concept of dystopian for this book. I had the same thoughts and questions as I read it. I'm hoping for a follow-up from the author in which that outer world is explored more. I was nodding my head throughout this whole video and shared so many of the same thoughts about the plot and characters, but...like you...gave this a 5-star rating. Such an interesting read. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!!
Oh my gosh, thank you so much! Sometimes, no matter the problems with it, a book is just that good. I'm so happy you enjoyed this video so much!