The State of Grace follows Grace, a 16 year-old with autism, as she navigates everyday life in an overwhelming world. Her dad works away from home, her mum has a nasty new best friend, her sister is pulling away from her friends, and wait, a popular boy is interested in her?

This was a really fun but moving coming-of-age young adult book. I loved the care that was given to Grace having autism without making her a stereotype or caricature. We got to see Grace understand when she was about to have a meltdown and how that affected her and those around her, how she sometimes tried to talk herself down from it and how difficult that was, and the aftereffects of a meltdown, which I think are glossed over in a lot of media that involves autistic characters.

The supporting cast was really good as well and either posed as support for a Grace or a foil. Even though this book was centred on Grace, her family all had important roles as well and weren't solely about being there for Grace. It felt like a good balance and they still felt like a family whilst having their own lives. I loved that her love interest had ADHD too and tried to put in the effort to understand her.

Overall this was a fast but sweet read and I would definitely recommend to others.

I did not review this book on my blog as I had to stop blogging due to time constraints. I did not yet read this book.

Think this book could be really great and relatable for some but I ultimately just didn’t click with it!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

For Grace, her view of the world is different to that of most others. As someone with Asperger's, her main loves in life are her horse, and her best friend, so when things at home start to change, and a boy kisses her, Grace's life is different to what she once knew.

When I remembered that I hadn't read this book, though it had been on my NG shelf for a while, I decided to request the book from my library and try to clear it off. I wanted to really like it, but I didn't really have much substance to it, that kept me hooked. The story was a little wishy washy, and I appreciated that Grace's world was different to how I might view mine, and she did get overwhelmed by what was happening, but by the end, I was sort of skimming it to see if it picked up at all, and unfortunately it didn't.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This book just wasn’t for me, the writing style and me just didn’t mix but I can see how this would be enjoyable for many others

The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas is a stunning and beautiful story about Grace who has aspergers. Well written and well researched.

This release was really popular when it came out, and it is one of the few books I have seen/read where the main character has Asperger’s. I had high hopes for it due to the hype, and it lived up to my expectations, that’s for sure. It was refreshing and honest and though I cannot comment personally on how Asperger’s can impact someone’s life, it appears to be a sensitive and thoughtful representation (I am going off other comments I have seen so I may be completely wrong. Please correct me if that is the case).

Grace was a wonderful, complex character, with a lot of development throughout the novel. I don’t just mean in terms of her Asperger’s - she is portrayed as more than that (thankfully - I’ve read too many books where a character is merely a tool for discussion). Yes, she has Asperger's and it does influence a large part of the novel, but there is a lot of development in other aspects of her character too; relationships, personality, hobbies, etc.  Her relationships with a whole number of people - and also animals - are beautifully portrayed and very much make this book a fantastic one. 

That being said, a lot of the other characters come across as fairly underdeveloped and simple, in that there is little else to them besides someone for Grace to communicate/interact with. I would have preferred more detail in these characters - her sister, love interest etc - just to make this communication more realistic and believable. 

Grace’s mother was the main problem I had with this book. She was awful. I know that sometimes it is frustrating coping with someone when you can’t work out what is best for them, but it was throughout pretty much the entire book. I just find it hard to believe that she doesn't understand her daughter at all - they seem so distant throughout - I mean, I know relationships can be strained, but it just didn't seem realistic to me. 

Other than those issues, which I didn’t find to impact my reading that much if I’m honest (I got too sucked into the story to notice the undeveloped characters until afterwards, and Grace’s mother just annoyed me a bit), I really loved this book. I would highly recommend picking it up, as it’s a new perspective - I haven’t seen books with a character with Asperger’s, I could just be reading the wrong books though - and it is done well. I really enjoyed it, and will definitely be reading other works by this author.

The State of Grace tells the story of a teenage girl, Grace, who is dealing with the everyday difficulties of growing up, the popular girls at school, her first crush and a father who is often away for work, but is also on the autism spectrum.

I found this book to be really charming and heartwarming. Not being on the spectrum myself I can’t really comment on how accurate a portrayal this is – however Rachael Lucas herself is diagnosed so this is an own voices book! What I will say is that I felt the book provides a wonderful perspective on what some people who are dealing with life somewhere on the spectrum.

Rachael creates a wonderful cast of characters. Grace herself is so easy to identify with, Rachael does a wonderful job of conveying how Grace experiences the world, I think teens across the country, as well as people who were once teens like me, will identify with some of the difficulties Grace experiences as a teenager, whether it’s dealing with the popular girls at school or the difficulties of family life with her father working away from home for long periods. More than once I would have appreciated some sort of rule book for life, if anyone has one I’ll still take it! I also think it must be amazing for a teenager who is on the spectrum to be able to have such a positive character like Grace to identify with in a book.

Anna! I adore Anna and the incredible relationship that she shares with Grace. She’s someone who is always there for Grace, even if Grace occasionally worries that at some point Anna is going to tire of dealing with her. The book demonstrates such a positive strong female friendship free of the bitching that seems to so often accompany a female friendship and I loved it!

I won’t go into detail about too many of the other characters because I don’t want to give too much away about the plot. I will say Gabe, Polly yay! Eve boo! Also special mention to Grandma who had these amazing words of wisdom that I posted on the blog at the time.

The day you stop learning, my love, is the day you stop living.



Would I recommend it?

Absolutely! The book is a wonderful insight into what someone on the autism spectrum may face on a day-to-day basis. I fully appreciate that not everyone on the spectrum will necessarily experience life in the same way, I’m certainly no expert but I felt this was written in such a way that it would allow teenagers to understand a little more about how their friend or classmate experiences the world I definitely think this should be on reading lists for all secondary schools.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.

Grace has Asperger's and her own way of looking at the world. She's got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that's pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn't make much sense to her any more.

Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it's up to Grace to fix it on her own.

Whip-smart, hilarious and unapologetically honest, The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas is a heart-warming story of one girl trying to work out where she fits in, and whether she even wants to.*


I have stated countless times on this blog that I just don’t like contemporary YA. As a nearly 29 year old, it just doesn’t click with me. However, The State of Grace resonated so strongly with me. This book is something special, and I was absolutely charmed.

Told in first person, we get a first-hand look at Grace’s life and experiences. The book reads like any other teen girl’s narrative might – she’s constantly thinking about her best friend, boys, parties, and school. However, Grace has Asperger Syndrome, which is ‘a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others'. We see this in the way her thoughts race when she leaves the company of her friends and peers, when she struggles in class, and when she’s dealing with changes in her home. Grace is incredibly funny, charming, and loyal to her friends. She’s the type of young woman that the target demographic can and should look up to.

This book tackles a number of issues affecting modern teenagers including mental health, disabilities, divorce, bullying, and peer pressure. We come into Grace’s life at a time of instability. Her father is away for work and her mother’s life is being taken over by an old university friend. There are parties, boys, and mean girls to deal with. Her younger sister is starting to act out. As a young woman who needs stability, Grace’s world starts to come apart. The family dynamic in particular was interesting to me. You get hints as to what’s going on, but since Grace doesn’t truly know the situation, neither does the reader.

Although I cannot speak for the realism of Asperger’s in the book, I imagine Lucas is the absolute perfect person to write such a novel as she has been diagnosed with Asperger's herself. It is great to see a heroine with autism treated in such a wonderful way. The State of Grace is an absolute treat and a perfect heartwarming summer read.

Rating: 4/5

*Copy courtesy of Goodreads

This review is about someone with mental diversity so if I have made a mistake with wording please let me know, like I ask for all my reviews!

The State of Grace follows Grace, a teen with Asperger's whose dad is a wildlife photographer as a boy takes a romantic interest in her for the first time ever. But then things start to change at home and her whole world seems to go skewiff.

I haven't heard much about this book online really which I think is a shame because it's a nice read. It's an own voices book so I'm sure it'll ring true with a lot of people.

This book was a really good read. I would say it was a joy but it wasn't because I got so annoyed all the time by the mother's terrible parenting. Grace's mum was having a midlife crisis of some sorts, and wanted to be a teen again, which is how it read to me and so she took it out on Grace. She should've known that he actions would've impacted Grace negatively and caused her to have a lot of anxiety. She's her daughter and has lived with her 15 years after all. But this random woman who knows nothing about her current life appears and she drops everything for her. I just got so angry, but that shows that it was written well and realistically, it caused me to have a strong emotion. But before any of that even happened, Grace's mum was so casually ableist all the time and I just sat there getting so agitated reading it. She was just such a jerk, but she thought she was so well meaning and Grace just accepted it often.

The pacing of this book was really good, I was addicted to reading it and it went really quickly. I started reading it on my flight to Italy and was reading it constantly in the car to the resort.

My one thing that I wasn't such a fan of was at times the writing felt a little childish. Obviously this is a young adult book but it did feel like the reader was being spoken down to at times. It wasn't a big concern and it is a debut novel so it's not a major concern for me.

If you want a sweet contemporary with some autism rep then I recommend this. I don't have autism so I ca't speak for how good the rep is of course but I enjoyed the book and I felt like it read well.

I enjoyed this book about Grace, a young teenager with Aspergers dealing with the usual angst's of puberty, teenage relationships and first crushes. It is a well written story and well researched.
I am not sure what genre it is classified as but I think it would appeal to young adults.

The State of Grace

An enjoyable and charming book about Grace, a teenager living with Aspergers. It chronicles the way Grace sees the world and how she deals with everyday life.

I really enjoyed this read and think everyone should pick it up and give it a go!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, 4*!

Absolutely wonderful read! As a person with autism and a mother of a teen with autism I felt that this novel manages to show what life is like for a teen with autism without stereotyping. I wish this book had been around when I was a teen so I could have brandished it at people as a way to try explain my behaviours when I wasn't able to.

Review: sometimes, when there is a lot of hype surrounding a book, it can wind up being a disappointment, but not for this one. This is a unique story, told by a unique protagonist, only it shouldn't be so unique because we should all be more aware of autism and there should be far more autistic characters in mainstream novels. I read this book both as a reader and an educator who has worked with many many different children on the autistic spectrum over the years and I was impressed on both counts!

Grace is a great character to make this journey with and I loved getting to know her. She explains her condition so beautifully, without ever actually explaining it. She talks about life having a rule book only she never got her copy, and she explains how things can be so overwhelming for her on a daily basis that others would just shrug off as normal every day life. She is also a teenager growing up, wanting to fit in and have friends and boy friends and so this is very much a contemporary novel with a coming of age aspect to it.

One of the other things I loved about this book was Grace's family. Their story lines run alongside Grace's but I really enjoyed hearing their side of the story too. There are issues at home and Grace's younger sister is struggling with the same kinds of issues as Grace, when it comes to growing up and fitting in, and she has her own problems to deal with too. Grace's mother is having, what her daughters see as a mid-life crisis, but is quit clearly just overwhelmed by having to deal with two troubled teenage daughters on her won.

This is a young adult book and the issues that young adults are facing today are dealt with really well in this novel. As an educator, I had a real issue with how the school in this book dealt with Grace and her needs and that made me angry, but aside from that this book really would be suitable for a teen or an adult novel. I found this to be a very enjoyable read and with there were more books out there like it. Definitely one to add to you TBR now.

There are not many books out there which highlight people's who have Asperger's struggles, so it is great to see one which I think does a great job of showing the everyday issues they face, and the ignorance of others around them.

Grace is a wonderful, well written character, however this is let down a little by the other characters. I would have preferred more about her family, especially her sister and why she did what she did.

The story feels a little rushed which lets the story down but it is definitely worth a read to get a better understanding of Asperger's.

My main problem was the lack of actual plot. Grace has Autism. She struggles at school. Her best friend is Anna. She lives with her parents and sister, but her father travels a lot for work. She has a horse. She begins to date Gabe. There is a lot of stuff to Grace's life, but there wasn't a clear plot. Apart from her new relationship with Gabe, nothing at the end of the novel was different from the beginning, which made me wonder a bit what the point was. Towards the end, things began to pick up, but I felt like it was rushed and somewhat meaningless once it had finished. Grace makes a huge mistake trying to be cool, which makes her fear that her friends will hate her. This was understandable because Rachel Lucas does a really good job at getting us to understand the way Grace thinks, but Grace doesn't actually do anything to solve this, which made it feel a bit lacklustre. Rather, everything was solved by other characters swooping in to save her and assuring her that everything is fine. It's not that I was looking for Grace to be magically cured of her autism and anxiety, but it would have been nice to have seen Grace do something to fix the mess that she made and take some ownership.
Rachel Lucas did a really good job at representing life with Autism. We see Grace's thought processes, how she handles people, and her daily life. I was really impressed at how Lucas shows us a little of what it feels to be overwhelmed by the world around you, and the way that it's written really shows you how Grace struggles to deal with all of the sounds, sights, and smells around her. Grace was a really well developed character in this sense. However, I was a bit disappointed at the representation of Gabe's ADHD, in that there basically was none. It was mentioned, and I thought that we might get so learn a bit about his experiences, but then this just disappeared for the entire rest of the novel. It felt odd that a novel that was clearly trying to represent one condition would so completely disregard another that it had purposefully mentioned.

This leads onto my final issue with the novel, which is simply that all of the secondary characters were completely two-dimensional. For example, we basically know nothing about Gabe other than that he is Polish, has ADHD, and watches Doctor Who. We don't see his sense of humour or his feelings. We barely even see him talk, as when Gabe and Grace hang out, Lucas just skims over their dialogue and summarises their conversations for us. The same goes for Grace's friendship with Anna. It was taken for granted that readers would just accept that Anna was Grace's best friend because we were told that she was, but I would have liked to have seen Anna actually doing something to actively support Grace so that I could understand why Grace feels more comfortable with Anna than other people.

Grace's mother and sister are shown a lot more, but they still felt so flat. Grace's sister Leah is basically irrelevant for the entire story until she suddenly has alcohol poisoning, which was so random that I couldn't believe it was happening. Grace's mother is struggling with her marriage and has rekindled a friendship with an old friend called Eve, who is pushing her to return to work now that her daughters are older. Eve is portrayed as some sort of evil witch, and Grace's mother as a brainless and bitter housewife. At the end, Grace's mother realises that Eve has been a bad influence and returns to being blissfully happy with home life. This was a laughable twist of events, and really annoyed me. There is nothing wrong with Grace's mother being interested in returning to work, but it was shown as a terrible, selfish thought on her part, and I just can't believe that someone as inconsiderate Eve could exist. Characters were either good people or terrible people, there was no in between, and the terrible characters were given no chance for redemption or development. This made it really hard to take any of the secondary characters seriously because they were like caricatures of real people.

Overall, the only thing that saved this book for me was the delicate exploration of Grace's mind in the opening half of this novel, and that's the only thing that saved this from being a 1-star review. Even though there was barely any plot and the secondary characters were simplistic and cartoonish, I do feel like I did learn things about life with Autism.

5☆  I urge everyone to read this gem!

State of Grace is a beautiful and insightful story told by Grace who has Aspergers.
It is beautifully written, Well researched and for once Aspergers/Autism has been written about.
 Autism and Aspergers is very close to my heart. I worked with children with Autism and know the daily struggles trying to make sense of the world.

So when I was given the opportunity to read this beautiful book I jumped at the chance.

It was so nice to see the story told from Grace's point of view instead of how everyone assumes she feels.

We quickly come to read the teachers don't understand Grace.
Often they are not given enough resources and information to help understand.
They assumed Grace was being disruptive in class when really she was overwhelmed.

The "time out room" was not thought out well as it was too noisy so Grace felt unable to use it.

One part that really sticks out in my mind was when the teacher tells her to face the wall for being disruptive....i was gobsmacked I wanted to scream at the teacher. It's unacceptable!!

Also when the teacher tries to embarrass Grace when she hands the teacher her time out card.
Often cards like Mackaton are used in schools to help children feel safe enough to express what they want without stress and upset.

I loved Anna she was the one thing apart from Grace's horse Mabel that made her feel safe and was a constant. Their friendship was truly beautiful. I loved watching the relationship blossom with Grace and Mabel. It was a joy to see.

Grace's homelife was chaotic at times and often unsettling for her. Especially with her Dad away and her mum's new friend.

It was so nice to see Grace develop a romance too. It was a big part of the story.
It is assumed that if you have Autism then you are unable to form a relationship. While it is very difficult for some, others have little or no problems. The Autistic spectrum varies a great deal.

I would like to applaud Rachel for this beautiful, sensitive, Well researched, informative and very special book.

I had so many mixed emotions reading this book. At times it was difficult to read, but also a joy at the same time. I smiled, I got upset and angry but I felt a lot of Love and warmth for Grace. She had a lot of courage and strength even when she was struggling.

I want everyone to read this book!!
Aspergers and Autism is not represented anywhere near enough.
 I urge everyone to read this gem of a book. #Autismawareness

‘Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.’ The words of the narrator, fifteen-year-old Grace, who has Asperger’s. The syndrome makes life difficult for Grace, her mother (father is away a lot) and her teachers. What I liked about this book and hope younger readers will like too, is that it’s so not an issues book about Asperger’s. Grace’s problems with school (nasty girls), boys (and a first kiss), home when things start to change and her ‘perfect’ sister gets into trouble, could be those of any teenager. Grace certainly does some silly things and it’s easy to see how people could get angry with her. Again, this could be any teenager. What I liked best about The State of Grace is that it’s funny. It’s published by Macmillan Children’s Books

The State of Grace is such a charming and heartfelt read. Rachael Lucas has truly put part of herself into Grace and I am so thankful to her for writing this wonderful #OwnVoices young adult novel.

This book tells the story of Grace, a teenage girl with Asperger’s. Grace has a unique view of the world and those around her and this book truly allows us a glimpse into her world. Not only do we get to share this unique view of her world, we also see how Grace is often treated differently because of her autism. Grace has a voice and all she wants is for people to listen and understand her. She may not always have the right answers but she at least wants to be given the chance.

Rachael Lucas’s writing style is simple yet gorgeous. She truly puts us in Grace’s shoes and helps us to understand how Grace feels in all sorts of situations. Whether that be the overwhelming sounds and colours of the world around her or those tricky moments where Grace just doesn’t know how she is supposed to respond. Grace is a character that I think everyone will somehow relate to, it’s easy to empathise with her and on multiple occasions I just wanted to let her know everything would be okay.

I am so in love with Grace and Anna’s friendship in this book. They have easily become one of my favourite female friendships in YA books. I love that Grace considers Anna to be one of her safe spaces and that with the love and support of her best friend Grace feels more able to put herself in new situations and have new experiences. That’s a real friendship right there. I also really loved Grace’s relationship with her horse Mabel. If you are a horsey person then you will love this book!

I have to point out that this book is not all sunshine and rainbows. At the beginning of this book there was a scene that made me feel completely and utterly sick to my stomach and that was the particularly disgusting treatment of Grace by one of her teachers. As a teacher myself I cannot even fathom the idea of making any child sit in the corner of a classroom and face the wall but especially a child who has shown a pass to get them out of a potentially terrifying and harmful situation. It just doesn’t sit well with me and I was so sad that this is something that some autistic children may be put through. I feel sickened just thinking about it now but I want to thank Rachael for putting this scene in there because it is something that needs to be acknowledged.

As a secondary school teacher I love Grace and cannot wait to introduce her to some of my pupils who I know will see so much of themselves in Grace. They will be so delighted to find a book they can relate to and they are sure to love Grace and her journey in this book. Thank you, Rachael, for putting yourself out there so those young people can have a book where they are represented.

This book is very well written and a super quick and adorable read. A fantastic addition to the amazing year that UKYA seems to be having in 2017!