Review: Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Release Date: Sept. 16 2010

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 208

Overall:

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. (Summary from Amazon.)

If you've read my review on Scott's Something, Maybe, then you know how much I wanted to love this book. Shelbie had always raved about Scott's books, and was a little disappointed when I gave Something, Maybe a 3 star review. 3 stars isn't bad though... it's good, just not very good. And I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised with Grace. It was not amazing, but it was pretty dang good.

First of all, I loved the concept of this book. I love dystopian books, and while this one is no Hunger Games, I think Elizabeth Scott could make a series out of Grace if she vamped it up a bit. This book may not have the most riveting plot (they're on a train for the course of the book), but their train ride is much different than one we would take. I loved the concept of Kerr and Grace having a silent struggle for their life. I couldn't imagine the stress I'd be going through if I was a fugitive, just hoping my newly short and dyed hair would keep me disguised. Also, though the plot they have in the present isn't extremely interesting, it was really interesting going through all of Grace's flashbacks. It really adds to the plot as you realize how dangerous what they're doing really is, and it helps you get to know the characters a little better.

At the beginning of the book, you barely know what's going on. You just know Grace is in trouble, and she's on a train with Kerr. But as she has her flashbacks, you really get to know her better. You feel how badly she wants to live, and how it dawns on her that her people might be just as bad as the people they're in a war with. And it was surprising how you could get to know Kerr through Grace's memories. Scott has written it well enough that you have the same biased opinions as Grace, and because of that, you really start to realize things at the same time Grace does. Yes, this thought may not be appealing to some people, but I thought it was kind of neat, instead of knowing things before a certain character does, and then getting mad because you think they are SO STUPID. Grace and Kerr were very real characters. As I found out what made them click, they seemed like normal people that were forced into a bad situation. I loved this fact, and it was a welcome relief to see real characters for once.

Now, train ride over, you've gotten to know Grace and Kerr pretty well. You got to see what makes them click. And Scott does not disappoint with her ending. I thought the ending was perfect, and like I said before, Scott could make a really great dystopian series out of Grace if she chose to do so. Overall, my opinions of Elizabeth Scott have improved, and while this may not be a five star book; it was pretty great and I think you should all go buy it.

Writing:

Ending:

Plot:

Characters:

Love always,

Amanda