April 1, 2018
Gr 9 Up-From a pageant of nine, Serina is selected to go to the capital city of Bellaqua to compete to become a Grace. Graces are the most beautiful women of Lanos, chosen to adorn the palace and produce children for the Superior and now the Heir. Serina has studied for this her entire life, while her sister Nomi has served their family and will continue as her sister's handmaiden. Elaborate descriptions of decor and dress set the scene for the twists that follow. When Nomi is selected as a Grace instead of Serina, the momentum builds. Nomi is thrust into a role for which she is unprepared; worse, Serina is accused of reading a book Nomi stole from the palazzo library. For women, reading is a capital offense, and Serina is banished to a ruined island where inmates must endure gladiator-style fights to survive. The sisters' parallel stories are told in alternating chapters as they suffer their separate forms of bondage. Banghart's prose is florid and engaging, and she expands the drama explosively: Nomi becomes a pawn in a deadly plot while Serina begins to build a coalition among the prisoners. A final twist may bring the sisters back together but under far more dangerous circumstances. Fans of "The Hunger Games" will appreciate the similar plotting in this first installment of a planned trilogy. VERDICT An easy hand-sell that will find a willing audience in those who have enjoyed Dhonielle Clayton's The Belles and Stephanie Garber's Caraval.-Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 14, 2018
Serina Tessaro has trained her entire life to be a Grace, chosen by the heir to the throne of Viridia to be held as “the highest standard of beauty, elegance, and obedience. What all little girls were meant to aspire to.” Her sister Nomi, two years younger, has reluctantly trained to be her handmaiden. Being selected as a Grace is the only way Serina and Nomi can escape a life of drudgery. Shockingly, Nomi is chosen as a Grace, leaving Serina to take the fall for Nomi’s thievery from the palace library. Desperate to find allies and locate Serina, Nomi uncovers a little-known truth about the history of their world and its subjugation of women. Meanwhile, Serina must find a way to survive Mount Ruin, a dangerous prison where women are forced to compete in death matches. Though Banghart’s debut may seem familiar, she breathes new life into this feminist story of oppression and resistance. The sisters, whose personalities seem predictable at first, shift and grow, adding depth to each character. Fans of Keira Cass and Marie Rutkoski will be drawn to this absorbing story and left eager for another installment. Ages 14–up. Agents: Joelle Hobeika and Eliza Swift, Alloy Entertainment.
May 15, 2018
Two sisters test the bounds of their personal hells in an oppressive monarchy.In a world where factory work, servitude, and marriage are women's only other options, Serina hopes desperately to be selected as a Grace, an attendant to the Heir and a model of submissive womanhood. But Serina's unruly younger sister, Nomi, while serving as her handmaiden, accidentally sets off a series of events that results in the girls' being cruelly separated and faced with challenges they are each particularly ill-equipped to handle. What follows, unfolding in split plotlines from each sister's perspective, is an entertaining, if predictable, riff on some of youth literature's most popular trends. From palace intrigue and requisite love triangles to dystopian survival challenges and gruesome death matches, Grace and Fury has it covered. A nod at diversity feels gratuitous. Nomi notes, "The Superior didn't seem to have a specific standard of beauty: Some Graces had dark skin, others ghostly white," but all of the primary characters read as white. The girls' ruminations on sisterly womanhood, while welcome enough, are a bit pat; unsurprisingly, Serina and Nomi must join forces with other women to effect change. And, of course, there's the ending that isn't--readers should know that resolution will be withheld over at least one more installment.Fine fodder for fans of the genre but look elsewhere for something fresh. (Fantasy. 12-16)
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May 15, 2018
Grades 7-10 The Handmaid's Tale gets a YA twist in this debut, which splits its focus between two sisters. In Viridia, there is no queen; the Superior has a harem of Graces, held up as examples of the ideal woman. Serina Tessaro has spent her life training to have the qualities of such a Grace: soft, demure, acquiescent. The Heir of Viridia has come of age, and if Serina is selected as one of his Graces, it could mean an easier life for her family. But it's her younger sister, Nomi, who is chosen. Nomi has always pushed the boundary of what women are allowed, even going so far as learning to read. When she makes a dangerous mistake, Serina takes the blame and is sent to a prison on a volcanic island where inmates fight to the death. Meanwhile, Nomi must learn to navigate the equally deadly political world she's suddenly alone in. The pace is quick, the ending promises a sequel, and the plot couldn't be more relevant. Buy an extra copy?this should find an audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2019
Women have no rights in Viridia. Nonetheless, Serina dreams of serving as a "Grace" (concubine) in the Superior's court. Her sister Nomi is unexpectedly chosen instead, and Serina is banished to an island, surrounded by violence, danger, and death. Chapters alternate between the sisters' perspectives as they dream of reuniting. Some underdeveloped characters and predictable plot twists blunt the novel's power.
(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)