State of Grace

by Hilary Badger

Ever since she was created, Wren has lived with her friends in an Eden created by Dot--but lately she has been troubled by visions of a very different world, and when she meets Dennis who comes from outside, she begins to confront the ugly truth at the heart of paradise.

• ISBN10: 163079015X
• ISBN13: 9781630790158
• Publish Date: 1 August 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 14 March 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Switch Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
It had some redeeming qualities that made it enjoyable. It was also really predictable, so the excitement factor just wasn't there for me. Let's break it down:

Things I Liked:

• The setting was really unique. It's almost like Gone meets creepy religious cult, set in this beautiful locale with a bunch of young people. They spend their time basically lounging around, floating in lagoons, and "hooking up" with each other. Oh, and worshipping "Dot", who is their godlike entity. They also don't use negative words. If you're sick, you're "prehealthy". It reminded me of those annoying preschools that don't say "no" to kids. But it was really quite intriguing that these teens just followed Dot's rules.


• Wren exhibited a lot of growth. Sure, she annoyed me at the start, but so did everyone! A bunch of people mindlessly following Dot, worried only about being "chosen" by Dot, and figuring out who they should have sex with to make Dot happiest would grate at your nerves too. Luckily, Wren starts to realize that maybe these things aren't the only things in the world that matter, and we see her have to make some real decisions about who she wants to be.


• The book raises a lot of really thought-provoking questions about how far you'd go to to be happy, how much you'd blindly follow along. The themes were really well done.

The things I didn't:

• I had the entirety of this book predicted by about 30%. I even wrote it down, thinking maybe I would be wrong. But nope, I nailed it. Down to pretty minor details, even. So while the book had interesting themes and was fast paced and unique, it also kind of bored me, since I was sure I knew what was going to happen next- and was proven correct every time. I like an element of surprise, and in this book, after the first few chapters there wasn't any surprise left. I actually cut off part of the synopsis in this post, because I think it gives way too much of the book away.


• While Wren grew, a lot of the other characters remained so brainwashed that they were hard to deal with. They were also really hard to differentiate among, because they all just did the same stuff all day and all only cared about Dot's reaction to everything. That got old after awhile.

Bottom Line: It's a fast paced book that raises a lot of great questions. It was predictable for me, but I am still glad I read it for its uniqueness and thought provocation.

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/10/state-of-grace-by-hilary-badger.html
State of Grace has broken the mould of what could be considered a new genre in Utopian. Similar to a teen cult, the community believes in a high power that they thank each day for their creation, and for creating the world around them. They follow the Books according to the Messiah and only use positive words of affirmation, which is where I drew comparisons to a cult community. It was eerie, one hundred teens all living in harmony, being promiscuous and living life without responsibility. Their only chores are to pick one bag of New Fruit per day, the forbidden fruit in which they cannot eat and to visit the temple to speak to their creator, a God type figure that no one had ever seen. Their society is a playground, but those who doubt are punished accordingly through self appointed leader Gil.

I found the scenario disturbing. These teens were not only brainwashed, but completely delusional and it made for a compelling read. Blaze has always known that the Eden type community isn't genuine, and sees the same confusion in Wren's eyes. But they are taught that non believers won't be escorted to a heaven type afterlife, which keeps the weak and willing in line. It's deliciously frustrating, I found myself emotionally invested in this fraudulent Utopia, it's characters and was manically turning the pages eager to see where the storyline would take me.

I interpreted aspects of their man made society as similar to followers of religion, of course in varying degrees. Living and making life choices to that of the teachings of their respective Holy Book. Although these teens are fanatical, I found the similarities really interesting and worthy of discussion. The world building was incredible, it painted a vivid picture of the cultured oasis and at times and I almost felt like a voyeur intruding on their paradise. It did leave me with unanswered questions, as I found it difficult to believe that from the one hundred teens, only Wren and Blaze questioned their world. They never contemplated what could be beyond the Fringe.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was unique, not to mention incredibly creepy. If you want to read something out of the ordinary, you won't be disappointed.