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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Finding Grace in Books

Jun 24, 2019  
Finding Grace
Finding Grace
Daphne Greer
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Yesterday I finished Finding Grace, a short historical fiction book I was given the chance to read thanks to NetGalley. It follows Grace, a thirteen-year-old girl living in a Belgian convent in 1975. She was left on the steps as a baby, along with her disabled sister, Dotty. But Dotty recently died, and everything is changing.

Grace is moved to the girls' boarding school dorm. She soon becomes close with Fran, but also has a few run-ins with the stuck up Deirdra. While helping Fran with a history project Grace discovers an old journal kept by one of the nuns at the convent during the war. It tells her horrific story of abandonment, rape and loss.

All the while, the girls are trying to find out more about Grace's past, and avoid the wrath of the horrible Sister Francis. Eventually Grace does get some anwswers, but they were certainly not the ones she was looking for.

I'm not usually very interested in historical fiction but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though it was short, the characters were well developed and the plot was exciting and intriguing. I felt immersed in the setting, and felt empathetic for Grace. I actually felt quite invested in her and her search for knowledge.

There were a few typos and such, but as this is only a review copy I can't be sure whether the final publication will include them. It was a quick, interesting read, a good introduction to historical fiction. 4 stars!
  
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ClareR (6241 KP) rated And So I Roar in Books

Feb 3, 2025  
And So I Roar
And So I Roar
Abi Daré | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
And So I Roar is the follow-up that I didn’t know I needed! I read and loved The Girl with the Louding Voice, and I thought it had all come to a satisfactory end, and Adunni would be able to get on with her life with Tia’s help. But it seems that the skeletons in Adunni’s closet are coming out, no matter what - along with Tia’s.

Adunni is forcibly taken back to her village by the Chief and the person who brought her to Lagos, so that she can atone for the suspected murder she has fled from in TGWTLV. The village has been affected by drought, and the sins of a number of girls is apparently to blame.

At the same time, Tia’s mother is dying, and Tia has argued with her about something that happened when Tia was a teenager.

But all that pales in the face of what Adunni and the other women and girls go through at the tribal court.

There are themes of rape, child brides, baby factories, FGM and women as second class citizens, resigned to a life of domestic drudgery.

And then there’s the reason for the tribal court. Drought, caused by climate change and deforestation.

This is a really hard-hitting novel, and even in its darkest moments the strength of the female characters shines through. I loved this book as much as the first.

And before you ask, you DEFINITELY need to read the first book before you read And So I Roar!