Stick-it-to-da-man-neiosis // A Review of Grace and Fury

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[scroll-box] In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.

Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace – someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir’s eye, it’s Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.

Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.[toggle title=”CLICK HERE FOR CONTENT+TRIGGER WARNINGS”]Captivity, abuse, violence, murder, death, talk of past rape/sexual assaults, attempted rape, and animal abuse. [/toggle][/scroll-box]

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• Sisters, Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters. Okay, so confession: I don’t have a sister, but ever since I watched The Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan version), I’ve always wanted one. Books like this only serve to intensify that feeling. Grace and Fury is told from the dual perspectives of Serina and Nomi Tessaro, two sisters who know exactly where they’re headed in life. The quiet and submissive Serina will be a Grace, a member of what basically equates to a royal harem, and the rebellious, outspoken Nomi will be her grumpy handmaiden (strong emphasis on “grumpy”). But all of that changes one day when Nomi makes a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mistake.

• The unexpected reversal of the sisters’ roles and their respective journeys was extremely clever. We’ve got the cautious sister and the brash sister, a literary foil that’s pretty common (just think of Jane and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice or Scarlett and Tella Dragna from Caraval), but what’s uncommon about the Tessaro sisters is how they smash this trope out of the ballpark and into the next multiverse. Based on their personalities, you would think that Nomi ends up in prison while Serina is living it up in the palace, but just the opposite proves to be true. And as somebody who highly values originality in a book, I found myself applauding this fresh and creative twist.

• Can we just take a moment to appreciate Serina’s amazing character arc? When Serina was first introduced, I thought she was going to be as bland as two slices of white bread with nothing in between, but holy sandwich, Batman! I was so very, very wrong. When Serina wins the “Charged With a Crime I Did Not Commit” Award, her prize is a one-way ticket to a volcanic island prison where she learns the true meaning of cruel. But she also learns the true meaning of strength. From her fellow inmates, she realizes that despite what’s she’s been told all her life, women are worthy, they are powerful, and they deserve more than the scraps they’ve been handed. Serina’s emotional journey is so empowering that by the end of the novel, I was all fired up and ready to punch some misogyny in the…face (or at the very least, to listen to the Spice Girls on continual repeat).

• It was a *TAD* heavy-handed. Don’t get me wrong, the themes that Banghart explores throughout the novel are timely and important ones, but her tendency to tell the reader what to think, rather than show them, felt like a pillow fight with bricks. The author doesn’t want to be subtle about her message. And while I agree that some things need to be shouted about, I wish that didn’t also result in contrived or stilted storytelling, as it does at some points in Grace and Fury.

• The worldbuilding was meh???  If you know me at all, then you’ll know I’m utter trash for YA Fantasy novels. Especially the epic Lord-of-the-Rings-esque ones with intricately woven histories, ridiculously detailed world maps, and political intrigue here, there, and everywhere. But in Grace and Fury, there was a disturbing lack of all those things. It seems to me that Banghart’s main focus with this book was pushing her political agenda, and the subsequent world only needed to be developed as far as was necessary to support that.  

Grace and Fury is a fabulously feminist fantasy novel about empowering female relationships, defying oppression, and sticking it to The Man™. While it may not be perfect, it’s a powerful love letter to all the women of the world who have ever stood up for what they believe, even when others tell them to stand down.

My Rating: Me Likey

What are some other feminist fantasy novels that you’ve read?

Do you have a sister? Regale me with tales of how envious I should be.

Have you read Grace and Fury? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know in the comments!