The Graces by Laure Eve (review)

Fenrin and Thalia Grace (seventeen-year-old twins) and their fifteen-year-old sister Summer rule their school with charm and charisma, but it’s rumored that those qualities are the work of witchcraft. Fifteen-year-old River desperately needs their magic to be the real deal, so she is thrilled when she’s taken under Summer’s wing. She’s also keenly aware of how easy it is to lose favor with the siblings, so River has calculated every move to make certain she stays as close to the family as possible: she knows to stay coolly aloof so as not to seem to needy, she knows to seem interesting but not more interesting than the Graces themselves, and she knows to accept their apparent magic without anything that resembles awe. She can’t however, prevent the tragedy that tears them apart and eventually leads to such a hostile encounter that River’s life becomes forfeit. Despite River’s narration, readers know next to nothing about her (River is not even her real name, but one granted to her by the Graces) for a large portion of the novel, while the intimacies, secrets, and desires of the Graces are laid bare by River’s careful study. It’s clear, though, that she’s not just some obsessed sycophant—she wants something from them, and acceptance might be part of it but there is something more, and perhaps something darker. The dialogue can be a bit awkward in this British import, but River’s evasive narration is enough to compel readers forward. Even putting the magic aside, this will still ring true to the many teenagers who have tried desperately to shape their identities around others.