Instead of being a housewife that pumps out children, she wants to work out in the fields (a job incredibly low in social status) so that she can be free to be her own person. We have Tierney James (her name a tad on the nose, methinks) and her desire to be able to make her own choices. While the themes of feminism and how society shapes the individual are prevalent, what struck me the most while reading this was how real the characters felt. Trapped in a camp full of girls that would be more than happy to see her dead, Tierney must come to grips with the fact that she may not be coming home. When Tierney begins her Grace Year journey with all the other sixteen year old girls, she quickly discovers that the greatest danger in the wild is not the creatures lurking in the shadows or even the human poachers waiting to snatch an unsuspecting girl and drain her of her blood. That is why for every girl’s sixteenth year they embark on what is called “The Grace Year,” a time when they are all exiled into the wilderness outside of the safety of the town in order to “purify” themselves of their “magic” for an entire year. In this setting, the men believe that young women possess “magic,” the kind that lures men into infidelity and the kind in which drinking their blood grants health and youth. Set in the fictional town of Garner County, The Grace Year follows sixteen year-old tomboy Tierney James.
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