Bruna Miranda – Google

4.5 Stars I can't believe on that ending. I simply can't. I finished this book yesterday at home and I was so emotional that I cried. My mind was a mess and the sleep dragged me into slumber in a very late hour, since I couldn't stop thinking about it. "Legs spread, arms flat, eyes to God." Reading this book gave me so much discomfort and throughout the story, I caught myself cringing while reading sentences like that. I had to close my eyes and breath deeply. I was really hesitant to pick up this book and some of the reasons for my hesitation were this book being a Dystopia, a genre that for me was long gone (lol) and I that I considered having had my fair share, and also, the fact that it was being compared to The Handmaid's Tale, a book that I read in the past and didn't enjoy it. After hearing though, that it was optioned for a movie and that Elizabeth Banks would be involved in the project, I thought better and decided to give it a chance. ONE OF MY BEST DECISIONS EVER. This was not a cute and beautiful story, actually there's no cuteness in here, because in this patriarchal society men rule with iron fists, they have created this awful system in which women are considered horrible creatures that they need to help fix it. Women have only one job, to produce children, preferably men. They are oppressed, they don't celebrate, they don't give their opinions, they are even forbidden to pray in silence because it's considered an act of witchcraft, since they might be chanting something or casting a spell. SERIOUSLY? (*internal scream*) And because they are a danger to men, when they reach their 16th year of life, a period when they are on their femininity's peak, which men considered a magic that must be extinguished, they are sent to an unknown camp to go through this insane Grace Year. However, as they are forbidden to talk about this event, nobody knows what happens there, what they will encounter, their only certainty is that not all of them will come back and those lucky enough to do it, will probably be broken physically and mentally. And not only that, they will also be forced to go through an arranged marriage in order to start producing babies. In this horrendous scenario we have Tierney, a girl who spent her whole life as a tomboy and never had the interest in getting married or having children of her own. She was against the rules of that society and had the urge to try and change something. Since they also had different options for girls who would be considered unfit for marriage, Tierney always dreamt of having her freedom and working in the field. Obviously though, she is sent to The Grace Year where she faced horrible things. I have to say, Tierney's character ticked all the boxes for me. She was fierce and craved for a better life, craved for a time when this event wouldn't exist anymore and women would be treated better. She went through such unspeakable things but never gave up hope. She was humiliated, went crazy, was banned, had to fend for herself, but she NEVER GAVE UP. I felt at times, as if the author was trying her, to see if she was going to break. It was such an incredible journey filled with character growth, maturing and understanding, although really painful to read. Remembering everything makes me really emotional, so I'll stop talking about the plot here, you have to read this book preferably not knowing much about it. However, I do need to express my thoughts regarding the realness of this story and how I felt scared knowing how close to our lives this is. In a time when we have dictator leaders who rule the countries spreading misogyny, homophobia, religious dogmas, it's hard to believe that stories like this one only happen in paper. It's an eye opening book that will make you reflect upon the current situation we are in, at least, it did for me. Highly recommended it!!

More like 2,5 stars. I liked the plot, it was well written and it has a lot of elements that I enjoy in a story, such as high school time, crazy friendship, free-spirited teenagers and road trip. However, I really hated Margo's character. I understood some of her reasons and why she's taken some decisions, but she was really annoying and I couldn't connect with her at all. Well, It's a John Green's book and worth reading but I wouldn't come here with a lot of expectations.

Owww, I must say that I really liked this book. At the beginning I thought it was a little bit slow or at least I thought that things could've progressed faster. However, after I started getting really engrossed in the plot I understood why things were like that. Kendare has chosen to explain three different worlds to us in the most detailed way as possible and when you go ahead in the story where everything intertwine it's really a blast. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

Very good plot. So creepy that made me want to stop reading for while, afraid of what would happen in certain point. However, I thought that Gillian could've just ended the story in a different way. I understand that plot twists are necessary and they are very well appreciated. In here though, she decided to go further and It was too much. Anyways, I really enjoyed it and now I can't bring myself to stop thinking how awesome It'd be if this story was turn into a movie. I would love that.

I don't have words to describe how much I loved and appreciated this book. Jennifer Niven was so sincere writing this. In every time while I was reading I felt like I was part of the story, more like someone who was watching everything unfolding but nevertheless, part of the story. Libby was such a surprise for me. Seriously, I was so not expecting to see a girl so strong for her age after everything she's been through. But she went there and decided that it was time to give another chance to life and humanity. She's kind of a heroine for me now. And even though I had some issues regarding Jack's behavior, I put myself in his shoes and understood why he decided to act like that in some situations. I didn't agree, though I understood why. This book was one of the best literary journeys I've ever been through!