The Graces, by Laure Eve

Everyone I’ve talked to either loves or hates The Graces, by Laure Eve. I’ll admit it’s an unusual book, but I fall into the like/love group for sure. At first, I worried the book would be too much about the Grace siblings and not enough about the girl narrating the story. Reading the book description you will see why: Everyone said the Graces were witches.They moved through the corridors like sleek fish, ripples in their wake. Stares followed their backs and their hair.They had friends, but they were just distractions. They were waiting for someone different.All I had to do was show them that person was me. Like everyone else in her town, River is obsessed with the Graces, attracted by their glamour and apparent ability to weave magic. But are they really what they seem? And are they more dangerous than they let on? It’s all about the Graces and very little about River. All we know about her is that she’s obsessed with the family. But as I got swept up in this story, that eventually changed. 

The opening to this book describes each of the Grace siblings with an almost-annoying amount of detail. Fernin is “the school Pan” for seducing all the girls and River’s desperate crush. His twin, Thalia, is the sad, willowy beauty everyone wants to be like. And their little sister, Summer, leans into the whole witch reputation. River befriends Summer and is shockingly accepted into the siblings bizarre social scene, but as the story moves on what we don’t know about River begins to eclipse all the information we’re given about the Grace siblings.

What felt the most impressive – and the most satisfying – about this book is how long it took me to figure out if it was a fantasy novel about witches or a contemporary novel about kids who believed in witches. I won’t spoil it, but I do suggest you read the book to find out for yourself. I’m ready for the next book to find out what happens next in the story.

*I received an advanced review copy of this book from the publisher, but as always all thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.