Review: Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Pages: 200
Publisher: Dutton
Published: September 16th, 2010
IBSN: 9780525422068

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.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Grace was certainly different to anything I've read before, and I say that as a good thing.

Grace was raised to be a suicide bomber, but realised she didn't want to die and refused to go through with the bombing. She's on the run, accompanied by 'Kerr', as the book opens, and she slowly reveals how she got to that point through flashbacks.

The book wasn't as action-packed as the synopsis led me to believe it'd be, but was still very intense. The premise was incredibly unique and engaging.

After the flashbacks were over and the twist past, the rest of the story was told primarily through conversations between Grace and Kerr, where they basically smack you repeatedly over the face with the moral of the story.

Grace and Kerr were both dynamic characters. They had their obvious faults, but had realistic personalities, given their setting. I can't say I really connected with Grace, because of how different we are, but I did feel and hope for her.

Together, they realise things about the value of life and what they'll do to survive. The ending is hopeful, if a little sad, but entirely satisfying.

Elizabeth Scott's prose was heart-wrenching and beautiful, as always. This book perfectly demonstrates the way she can write a novel that's emotion-driven - rather than plot-driven - and still have it extremely engaging.

I give Grace around a 3.5-4 out of 5.