GRACE AND FURY by Tracy Banghart [Book Review]

GRACE AND FURY by Tracy Banghart is a young adult fantasy novel told in alternating points of view, following sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro. The world reminds me of Renaissance Italy, with words like palazzo and gondola making appearances, and an island featured prominently in the story with a cataclysmic event akin to Mt. Vesuvius in ancient Pompeii. The sisters must navigate the patriarchal society where women are allowed to have only two jobs—in a factory or as a wife and mother—and cannot do anything without a man’s permission.

Serina has been groomed all her life to become a Grace—a woman selected by the royal monarch to live within the palace harem—so when she’s chosen to attend the Heir’s birthday ball, she believes her life is made. She’ll be able to provide for her family, allow her mother to retire from the textile factory, and give her family much needed wealth and rest.

Nomi has hated the idea of her sister becoming a Grace since she was old enough to talk. She longs for a life of her choosing, but when Serina is chosen to attend the Heir’s ball, she thinks her life as she knows it—or as she dreamt it—is over. No longer can she dream of her own life with her own choices, but she must attend her sister at the palace.

But when Nomi catches the Heir’s eye instead, and Serina takes the fall for Nomi’s dangerous secret, both of their worlds are forever changed.

I adored GRACE AND FURY. It’s a smaller novel at 320 pages, but it’s jam-packed with action and intrigue and survival. This isn’t Banghart’s first novel, and I hope it won’t be her last. I loved the setting and the world—grimy factory towns, gorgeous courts, splendid palaces, dangerous jungles, gritty jails. The places felt so real and realized, each lending a quality of grounded realness to the story.

GRACE AND FURY tackles themes such as misogyny, patriarchy, sisterhood, and survival through the dual narrative. Though at first I thought I knew who was Grace and who was Fury, it turns out that the two sisters are not quite what they seem. You’ll have to read the book to find out, but I think you’ll be surprised at the reveal as well.

If you loved books such as The Valiant, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Caraval, you’ll enjoy the political intrigue, the familiar setting, and the fierce sisterhood GRACE AND FURY has to offer. And the best part? This book is out now, so check out your favorite retailer or local library and grab yourself a copy!

Thank you to Hachette Book Group and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing a review copy.