What do You think about Finding Grace (2009)?
This is one of my overall favourite YA novels. I'm so proud of our Aussie authors - they just keep amazing me! A few nights ago I was browsing my bookcase. I picked up All American Girl, filled with affection for my first Meg Cabot book. I loved, no – adored those books. I think that’s what inspired me to admire writers and have a go at writing myself. I’m talking about the books that I loved when I was a teenager. Books that made me laugh, books that made me cry... the books that made me feel like there were people out there who felt like I did. They were such a source of comfort to me. I fell in love with them. Books have been my best and constant friends over the years. As I was perusing my bookshelves I picked up Finding Grace by Alyssa Brugman. I remembered how funny I found the book, delightfully quirky and so terribly, terribly sad. I flicked through the pages and found myself reading page after page. It was exactly how I remembered it so I decided to read it again from beginning to end. I ended up reading all afternoon. It is such a lovely book that flows wonderfully from page to page. The beauty of this book is that every time I read it I feel as though I'm reading it for the first time. I was just as delighted with this book at 21 years old as I was at 15. It still gives me chills. So, you can probably tell I like this book just a little bit and that I wouldn't hesitate to sweetly demand that you read this YA gem.
—Emily
Finding Grace is probably one of the best books I’ve read this year.It reminds us all about how brain-damaged people (throughout their life, not born) once had a life before. It’s not exactly a depressing story; it’s hopeful. And personally, I think hope is something a lot of books lack these days. Grace. I loved Grace. Even if she was brain-dead and wasn’t aware of her surroundings from time-to-time, I loved her. And the person she used to be before the accident. The thing that made this book stand out was the concept of how people don’t deserve this. Especially people like Grace, who had a bright future in front of her –and how her life contrasts from before the accident to after the accident.The reason this book didn’t get five stars was a very minor one –I didn’t like how forced the main character seemed to be. Hiro, the foreign love-interest, seemed like a perfect choice for a person like Rachel. However, the idea of her always embarrassing herself in one way or another seemed both unrealistic and unnatural. Nevertheless, I did love the main character because of her attitude. She was so sweet and loyal. You can’t hate somebody like Rachel.Overall, a must-read for all contemporary lovers.
—Watermelon Daisy
Finding Grace is about a girl named Rachel that has the opportunity to take care of a bran injury lady. Rachel tries to bring Grace life around, while trying to understand life itself.A fantastic summer read. It had a simple plot but it was filled with funny characters and beautiful messages. This search for the meaning of life that everybody has, we experiment it thru Rachel's eyes, a quirky and clumsy character who's comfortable with her own weirdness (something I really like).I also like the fact that there is no such thing as a climax where a bunch of stuff explode and all of the sudden everything is fixed. Well we don't have that in this book, every situation happens little by little in a subtle way. There is no horrible problems that need to be solved, just questions that need to be answer.The romance was lovely, I'm not a big fan of romance but this one doesn't have your typical love at first sight encounter, it was more getting to know you kind of romance. It also wasn't the main theme but it was so cute and the guy is asian *wink *wink The message was also cute, I mean everything about this novel was fluffy, I mean cute! And I may have shed a tear or two. I wish I could find more books like this one.
—Aneirys
