Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Rating:
Characters: 18/20
Plot: 19/20
Originality: 20/20
Writing: 20/20
Recommendation: 19/20
Overall: 96/100 or A
Source: Publisher
Grace was raised to be an Angel. Her message would come with the aftermath of the suicide bomb, but she refused to die for the cause. She is now on the run and dreaming of the chance of freedom. The border seems to be just out of her reach as she travel with soldiers on a rundown train in the middle of the desert. She is accompanied with the mysterious Kerr as she struggles to be invisible. Her fear of discovery is a constant though as she recalls the history and events that brought her to this point.
I don't know how to explain Grace in just a few words. It is one of those rare books that captures your attention from the first word. You are thrown into a world that seems really realistic and full of fear that seems foreign to you. I could see this dystopian story happening at some point in the near future, if we make the wrong choices in how we handled things. Another thing that I admire about this book is that it discussed religion and politics in a way that I have never seen in Young Adult fiction. Grace is set in an extremely oppressive government, where there are no real choices, except the way that you will die. The faith that Grace had in her will to live with her own freedom was admirable. This book made me admire people that are oppressed, more then I ever had, because it was pure honesty in Grace's eyes of the danger that is in your thoughts with each second that passes.
The way that Scott wrote in short sentences and chapters shows the limits in Grace's choices and the desperation that is in each although her mind. Grace is strong character that has faced things that are imaginable to me. Kerr was an interesting character that I admired, after his mystery unraveled. I like that they began to understand each other and found some sort of medium. I found Grace's flashbacks to be compelling and cleverly written. The plot was fast and kept me thinking and anticipating the next thing to happen. I did not want to put this book down, because each word made me want more, even long after the book was over. Grace is an original book that is unlike anything that I have ever read. Scott's writing is fresh and new, while having the intensity from Living Dead Girl. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a spectacularly original book with a strong voice that is full of hope.