emruth13
Written on Jul 10, 2018
Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace--someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.
- ISBN10 0316471410
- ISBN13 9780316471411
- Publish Date 31 July 2018 (first published 26 July 2018)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 320
- Language English
Reviews
kalventure
Written on Jul 8, 2018
"For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet...and has stood up anyway."Yes this quote is from the dedication, but it really sums up what this book is all about in 18 words. This was one of my top anticipated releases for July because we all know that I love strong female characters and political intrigue, but unfortunately this book missed the mark for me.
Grace and Fury is told in the alternating perspectives of two sisters: Serina and Nomi from Lanos.
--> Serina is 19, classically beautiful, trained in dancing, music lessons, etiquette; think aristocracy leading up to a girl's debut to society kind of training. She has been told all her life that the way to help her family is to become a Grace for the Heir.We are introduced to them during the announcement of the town's candidate for Grace consideration, and they embark on a journey on a journey that one sees as a choice and the other sees as a sentence.
--> Nomi is 17 and has been trained to essentially her her family's maid. Because she doesn't share her sister's good looks, she was raised to become her sister's Handmaiden. She has a fiery temper, a love of reading that is forbidden in Viridia, and all she wants is freedom from the oppression women are subjected to in this world.
"Nothing should be beyond our reach. That's my whole point."I wish that the book had opened up with more of home life for Serina and her family in Lanos, what it means to be a Grace, and the selection process to send candidates because I had trouble connecting with Serina and the story. I think this would have provided more background on the world and would likely have built the characters up a bit, because I feel like other than the feminism dialog between Serina and Nomi there isn't much else there about them.
"A yes doesn't mean the same thing when it's the only answer you're allowed."This is a fast paced read, but I had a lot of questions about the world! It isn't a secret that I love reading fantasy because I enjoy being brought into new and fantastical worlds; worldbuilding is a crucial component for my enjoyment, and I wanted a lot more about Viridia. It was halfway through the book before we learned more about the history of Viridia, but I think that revelation would have been more impactful had we known more about the world previously. Things started to pick up for me around this point and the whole 'who do I trust' aspect was interesting, if not easily guessed for me.
The messages of this book - feminism, oppression, choice - are important ones, but I found the execution lacking. Instead of being told about oppression through thoughts and dialog, I wanted to be shown examples through storytelling and the biases of the characters. To the author's credit, I think that Banghart tried to do this with Serina's character arc; however, the narration style of telling rather than showing missed the mark for me.
I really wanted to love this book of strong women fighting for themselves and a better tomorrow, but for me it fell short. This felt like a book about feminism and oppression... and everything hinges on that. Unfortunately this results in heavy handed feminist narrative with one dimensional characters in a story that is likely meant to be character driven and worldbuilding that left me wanting much more than provided. As this is intended to be a duology, it is possible that things could be expanded on in the next installment, and HOW DO YOU END A BOOK LIKE THIS. I think in the right hands this book will be coveted, but it wasn't for me.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, Little Young Books, for giving me an advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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shannonmiz
Written on Jun 28, 2018
My feelings about Grace and Fury can be summed up thusly: Tropey and kind of predicable, but also quite entertaining. Like, entertaining enough to make me enjoy it despite the issues.
The Things I Liked:
- The characters were quite well done, and I enjoyed their development throughout the story. Serina and Nomi thought that they were so sure of their paths in life. And when everything is turned upside down, they're forced to see things from the other person's viewpoint, and I found that a fascinating story. Plus, they loved each other (and the rest of their family) quite fiercely, and I am always here for that in a story.
- Literally everything about Prison Island. Idk what it's really called, I could look it up, but does it matter? Anyway, it's awesome. It's all survival and girl bonding, and fighting oppression, and I am here for it.
- I loved that the women's friendships and bonds became important. Not just to survival, but to the girls. They each made some wonderful bonds while separated, and I felt that both characters grew a lot because of these interactions. A great message, especially since it really portrayed that women standing together could accomplish great things.
- Again, it was super readable and entertaining. It isn't measurable or objective, I just felt compelled to keep reading.
The Things I Didn't:
- The aforementioned tropiness. Trying to protect a sister? Check. Women oppressed in a world where men are in charge just because? Check. A crappy royal in charge? Check. So yeah, those things did make some parts kind of predictable.
- There were just a few things that... irked me. But they're a little spoilery? Like- when a group of women are trying to fight The Man, let them, right? They don't need some dude saving them! And it's pretty romance-heavy, which again, too many dudes in a shitty-dude world.
Will I Read the Sequel? Oh definitely. Is it wrong that I need more prison?
Bottom Line: While a bit predictable and trope-y, the story and characters were definitely entertaining enough to keep me excited to read!
pagingserenity
Written on May 30, 2018
Grace and Fury is an inspiring tale of girl power and sisterhood. It’s an incredible, 4.5 stars, read full of strong women and a twisty plot. I enjoyed it enough to pre-order its sequel.