The State of Grace

LoveReading4Kids Says

“Being human is a complicated game”, and that’s certainly the case for fifteen-year-old Grace, the sparkling protagonist of this gorgeously heartfelt and often hilarious novel.

Grace is bright and witty, but has autism spectrum disorder and often feels as if she speaks “human as a second language”, though when she’s riding her horse “everything melts away”, and Anna, her adorable best friend, totally has her back, and then there’s the magic of getting together with the “mysterious Gabe”. But an undercurrent of tension between her parents offsets the good times. Her dad’s a wildlife cameraman and works away a lot and, when her mum’s old uni friend turns up, life at home is further disrupted. Change is hard to deal with at the best of times, but it’s intensified tenfold when you’re Grace and “living with all your senses turned up to full volume”.

From the honestly portrayed real-life predicaments of living with ASD and growing up, to the glorious giddiness of Grace’s first romance, this perfectly compact treasure trove of a novel comes highly recommended for fans of character-driven contemporary drama.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen is a writer, reviewer and workshop presenter whose lifelong love of books began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
More reviews by Joanne Owen

About The State of Grace

Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.

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