Amazing Grace, is seventeen-year-old Grace Bradley, nickname, often used by her Dad. Grace, has three brothers, all with super hero nicknames, plus a Mum who “owned the power” in the household.
Grace is in her last year of high school and starting to express her own opinions and find her way in the world. She is questioning her world view, faith, sexuality, and when an ambiguous photo of Grace is posted on a social media site, she even questions her friendships.
Much of the book discusses the turmoil of Grace’s emotions and while this was thought provoking, I found myself relating more to her mother, Pamela. I found her journey through the book insightful and ultimately more satisfying than her daughter’s.
The impact of social media is a major theme in the book and Elaine Fraser does a great job of describing the adverse effects it can cause. Grace was fortunate enough to be in a school that took cyber bullying seriously. However, as portrayed in the book, finding the perpetrators of this type of bullying can be exceedingly difficult.
The book finishes with Grace in a good emotional state, but given the subtle clues, I felt the book ended with a lack of hope. Her future seems hazardous to me because she is pursuing answers outside of a Christian context. I found this disconcerting in a Christian fiction book.
Overall, though this was an interesting and well written book, albeit with an uncertain conclusion.
