EScott Book Week Review : Grace

As part of this weeks festivities I signed up to review Grace.

Check out my review below and be sure to post your reviews and discussions in the linky below to receive extra entries in The Secret Life of An Avid Reader's EScott Week Giveaway!!

Book: Grace
Author: Elizabeth Scott

Publisher: Dutton
Date Published: September 16, 2010
Pages: 208
Source: Library
Date Read: May 17, 2011

Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate.

Told in spare, powerful prose by acclaimed author Elizabeth Scott, this tale of a dystopian near future will haunt readers long after they've reached the final page.

Summary Taken from Goodreads

Yani's Review:

Where to start??? First off, I really didn’t know what to expect from this book. Elizabeth’s work, while being contemporary fictions, ranges from deep and dark to lighter and romantic. I would definitely put this book on former. In the synopsis there is a mention of angels, which at first glance makes you think paranormal, then it mentions suicide bombs and I think “terrorists.” And in a sense this book is about that, but it in no way does that complete the true picture about the message this book sends. And I had no idea what I was getting myself into…

Grace (the book is intense) and well so is Grace the girl. Living in a country where the leaders face is plastered on everything from sodas to clothes, and where songs of praise don’t flow to a god but to him. I am not sure if the dictatorship Grace lives under is based on a real place or not, but you know that it isn’t right. The People, a group determined to stop this unjust leadership, fight for freedom in all the wrong ways. You are left wondering: where is the good in this world? No 16 year old girl should ever have to grow up that way.

Told in Scott’s amazing emotional and sparse writing style I was sucked in. The story jumps from present to past, and while I was confused at first, it lasted about a second before I just wanted to know what was coming next??

This is a genuine story of humanity, good and evil, and about living your life for yourself… or struggling to at least. I highly recommend picking up this short read as the topics have stayed with me and I wonder what I would do if I was Grace. And that is all I will tell you because I don't want to give away the amazing plot points or the shocking moments. =)

Ratings:

Plot: 5/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Characters: 5/5

Memorable Quotes:

“Life is about being alive. It is about living.”

“Everyone I see matters to someone else.”

Rules:

- US Only

- 13 + only
- Runs until May 25, 2011

- May only enter once (on this blog), we will count the extra entries manually

- Each blog is hosting their own giveaway for one set of the books, but here in TSLoaAR, you have a chance to win 1 of 3!