The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

“No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other." - taken from Goodreads.com

When someone described this book as The Handmaid's Tale meets Lord of the Flies, they weren't kidding. A shocking, twisting tale where girls are raised to believe that they have magic that corrupts the minds of men to lure them under their spells. Before they can become wives, mothers, and productive members of society, they must spend their sixteenth year, their grace year, isolated on an island. During their year there, they are to embrace and banish their magic before going home. Dealing with all of the horrors that befall them, not everyone makes it back home. No one speaks of the grace year but Tierney James is determined to say stay true to herself and not become someone's wife. Tierney's experience and awakening over her grace year is an extraordinary and powerful story.

Visit Kim Liggett’s website.