Lauren Wilkerson

I enjoyed this book. It was very short and I finished it in maybe an hour or two. Definitely a YA book if you're just considering the length. But I had to wonder, why is this even considered a YA book? It had a couple of scenes that were much adult, but the author didn't go into detail much at all. You just assumed what happened, but I wonder what a 13 or 14 year old might assume?

Grace was definitely a character I could relate to. She is torn between what she has believed in her whole life (which is death) and what else might be lurking in the world for her (life?). I have been in a pickle during many situations where I had to weigh the cons and pros. Grace's choice to not sacrifice herself for a cause that she believed in startled me at first. I believe in a lot of things and it made me wonder which ones I'd be able to sacrifice for.

After Grace chooses to live, she endures a pretty hectic train ride for the entire book. She had dyed her hair and worried about it fading away because it was so hot, she had changed clothes to look like a typical girl, and she had even perfected smiling when she normally couldn't and crying when she should. She had been told her whole life that she lived to die honorably by setting off a suicide bomb. She obeyed orders and always prayed. But now she makes her own decisions. She makes the ultimate decision to live.