Customer Reviews

Finding Grace

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rachel is 18 and knows everything...almost. She's about to discover just how much she has to learn. Through an excellent use of language, a setting that's slightly "exotic" but not too far of a cry from America, and a voice that's all her own, Brugman takes Rachel on a journey not only through the self-discovery that comes from entering college, but also into the life of an unexpected friend. Touching and hilarious, Brugman gets you into Rachel's head, and once you're there you won't want to get out! Highly recommended for anyone and everyone over the age of thirteen for it's excellent views on the mysteries of life. Rachel not only finds "Grace," she finds herself.

In this thoughtful novel, a high school graduate becomes the caretaker for a woman who became brain damaged as an adult for reasons unknown . . . at first. As Rachel learns more about her charge Grace, she also learns more about herself.

Finding Grace is an aptly titled coming-of-age story that I recommend to teens and adults alike. It was surprisingly poignant. Rachel is appropriately awkward at first, not certain how to act around Grace. She is also on that brink between being a kid and being an adult, having graduated from high school but not completely knowing what she wants to do next.

Though I enjoyed Alyssa Brugman's debut, Walking Naked, I feel that Finding Grace was an even better story. My heart went out to each of the characters in turn, and the writing kept me wanting to find out more about all of them. I'm sure to read Brugman's future works as well.

Rachel is an 18 year old girl whose life changes completely when she starts caring for a brain injured woman named Grace. When she first gets to her job, she's a little freaked out and homesick but with a little help from the "spooky books" and Mr. Preston she finds out what a great woman Grace can truly be. This book is a great book and I recommend it completely.

Set in Australia, this is the story of Rachel, a disarmingly honest and quirky 18-year-old girl who's just beginning college and her life on her own. She accepts a job as a live-in caregiver for a brain-damaged woman, and soon finds herself trying to balance her insatiable curiosity about the woman's life with her newfound responsibilities and freedoms. The charming story and a narrator I could relate to rendered me incapable of ever setting the book down.

I really liked this book. I was looking for something with a more literary feel to it and I found a book with great writing and excellent heart. The author does a great job of juxtaposing learning about Grace, the woman the protagonist is caring for, with Rachel's own growth into understanding herself and finding her path in life.

The only thing I didn't like about this book is that it's in first person. I know that is the trend in YA but for me it makes it harder to get into because I feel like I'm reading a diary instead of living in the world. But that's just my personal issue. Great book. Highly recommended.

This is the truly engaging story of Rachel, who just graduated from high school, "knows almost everything" (like every 18 year old girl); ready for university, a job, and life. As she begins university, she takes a job as a live-in carer for Grace, a brain damaged adult. Grace's world becomes Rachel's first important "classroom". This is a story you hate to put down. This is a story you don't want to end.

Quirky is the main word that comes to mind when I try to describe this book. It is very much a quirky story about a very quirky girl that is employed by quirky people. Rachel has just graduated from high school and is about to start courses at the university when she is hired by a local attorney to care for a brain damaged woman named Grace. She begins the job believing it will be a piece of cake and without a whole lot of compassion for Grace, though once she starts finding out a little more about who Grace was before the accident, that mentality slowly begins to change. Rachel becomes determined to make Grace have the best life she can, even if Grace herself doesn't understand that.

This story, written by Alyssa Brugman, was both heart-wrenching and humorous (did I mention it was quirky?). All of the characters were incredibly honest within themselves, though the reader doesn't discover those bits until the end of the novel. I loved how Rachel grew into herself and helped Grace to continue to grow, even in her brain damaged state. The descriptions of situations, surroundings, and people are excellent....and quirky!!

My good mate John down at Matilda's Bookstore in Mount Waverley reccommended this book to me which was a true delight to read. John has a very good selection of books aimed at the teenage market so I suggest you check them out next time you are in the area. This book is about a quirky first year University student named Rachel who is hired to look after a woman named Grace who has an aquired brain injury. Rachel is a little spooked by Grace at first but then her curiousity comes into play and through a series of found letters she realizes that Grace was once a fiercly independant woman with a life and a career . This is a beautifully written Coming Of Age story which I loved and I was also pleasantly surprised to read that Stephen King's wife Tabitha designed the book's cover. Thanks a lot John for yet another great book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's one of those books I wished would go on and on, as I loved Rachel's character and wanted to know what was going to happen the next day and the next.... I highly recommend this smart, funny and touching read.