Review, Author Interview and Giveaway : The Color of Grace - Linda Kage

Author: Linda Kage
Title: The Color of Grace
Format: eBook
Website: www.lindakage.com
Source: Received an e-copy in exchange for a honest review 
Published: Aug 1^st 2012 by Whiskey Creek Press

Meet sixteen-year-old Grace Indigo:

Hey. When my mother remarried after thirteen years of being a widow, I had to move to a new town and enroll in a new school. Suddenly thrust into an entirely different kind of life, I just wanted to go home. I didn’t want to meet new people, didn’t want to leave my old friends, didn’t want to become a third wheel to my mom and her husband...and I really didn’t want to see Ryder Yates again. Ugh, I still don’t know why I turned down that too-good-to-be-true boy who flirted with me when we were attending separate schools.But honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was worse.

Who knew becoming lost in a new life could help a girl find her true colors?

Rachel's Thoughts

This book is very heartwarming, touching and a light read. I enjoyed every bit of it. As you can see, I only read the book for a day, or maybe less than a day, because I can't seem to stop turning the pages.Okay let me tell you first why the title is THE COLOR OF GRACE. When Grace Indigo transferred to Southeast high school, their project for her Literature class was to answer this: "If you were a color, which color would you be? For your semester project, I want everyone to pick what color you are, and explain why."
THE CHARACTERS: Grace Indigo
 She is an ordinary girl, but with an extraordinary heart and mind. When Grace met Ryder, I was like...

These were the exact words of Grace: 
"His beauty was unreal. I had to blink repeatedly to make sure my fall hadn’t jostled my eyesight. But every time my lashes flickered open, I saw the boy clearly, in faultless, spectacular detail. Perfection." 
Ryder Yates - Aww,the swoon worthy boy in the story.Witty.Sweet.Charming.

 

This was a very well-written novel by Linda Kage. I love the descriptions and the flow of the story was not too fast, not like the other stories where the protagonists get together right away. It's all about the timing and Kage's timing was just right. ;) 
Grace was the character that I loved so much and I can relate to her in a way or two. She was able to adjust to her new surroundings but she was always thinking if she can fit in. She loves her old friends, but she needs to have new friends in her new school. And there are things that happened to her that didn't weaken her, but it strengthened her and taught her how to fight for the ones you love. And, I was so amazed by how Grace decided to change her color for every chapter. For every event that is happening in her life, she decides to change her color and I think I can relate to her in this sense because every now and then, there may be events that will happen in our lives and that will cause us to change something, or do something about it. Look at how wise Grace is: 
"We were grown-ups, yet still children, and yet neither, stuck in that space between infancy and adulthood, confusing and murky, where some tried to grow up too fast, others too slow, and the rest of us were wedged in the middle, not sure which way to go." 
As what I've said in my other reviews, I always like to have closures with the novels that I am reading. GUESS WHAT? Linda Kage gave me exactly what I wanted. And for that, thank you so much Miss Linda Kage. Cheers!

 

Nuzaifa's Thoughts

The Color of Grace is many things.

It's a coming of age story that deals with one girl's journey of self discovery.

It's a contemporary romance that makes you sign and swoon.
It's a moving story that confronts tough issues like sexual harassment.

The book starts out with Grace going through some major upheaval in her life-Her mom's remarrying so she she has to move in to a new town.This means she'll be leaving her best friends and since Grace isn't exactly a social butterfly this is really not a good thing.And the worst part the new school she'll be enrolling  at is the rival school.Although Grace is not exactly happy about this arrangement she copes quite well.Despite being awkward and more than a little insecure she was a really nice person who cared about her friends and family.
Ryder Yates,the golden boy who has the looks,money and charm that'll make you go Woah.But he's also a sweet person who genuinely cared about the people around him.I loved the easy banter between Grace and Ryder-their comebacks and flirtations got me smiling.

“So that’s why we’re stuck being in love with each 
other. I dragged you into it.”
“With your big green eyes?”
“Exactly.”
I also loved the way Linda Kage incorporated the symbolization of colors into the story.Linda's writing style is something that I liked very much,it was smooth and enhanced the story.

But there were a few things that broke the spell for me.
There's this instance where Barry,Grace's new step-dad buys her a gold chain.Grace's mom does not approve of it and she makes that very clear to Barry.This pisses off Grace and she says this:
She was probably feeling self-conscious because 
Barry hadn’t given her anything sparkly to wrap around her 
own wrinkly, old throat.
Hellooo who says that about their own mom??That's completely disrespectful.This is not something that can be justified no matter how angry Grace is.Yes,it's just one sentence but it definitely put a damper on my love for this book.There were also a few times where I felt that some parts were overly descriptive.

Overall,The Color of Grace was great read.You should definitely check it out if you're a fan of contemporaries.

Author Interview with Linda Kage

Hi Linda!

• As a child, did you want to be a writer when you grew up? If not what did you want to do?

Yes, I wanted to be a writer since the first grade when one of my teachers praised a poem I wrote. Before that, I wanted to milk cows like my mom did!

• What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing The Color of Grace?

I had to do a little research about what each color symbolizes. It was surprising to learn that each color can mean so many different things, depending on which part of the world you are from.

• The top five books that you really enjoyed reading in the year 2012?

Oh, there are so many, but I'll try to narrow it down to five!

1. Easy by Tammara Webber
2. Losing It by Cora Carmack
3. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Mcguire
4. Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
5. Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

• If you could work with any author, who would it be?

I would like to work under the historical romance author, Julia Quinn, because there is so much life and comedy yet depth in her stories. I think she must be a fun person to see in action!

• In The Color of Grace the protagonist,Grace is given an interesting semester project where she has to say what color she would be if she could pick one.What color do you think you'd be and Why?

I did a little test online somewhere, and I can't remember if I came out yellow or green. But in either case, I think I'm a fairly sunny person with a pleasant disposition that still has a lot to learn in life!

• What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview?And the answer to that is?

You know, I don't think anyone has asked me which of my stories I've written is my favorite.  For a while, after writing The Color of Grace, it was my ultimate favorite of all the books I'd written. Before The Color of Grace, I liked Hot Commodity.  Then I wrote CRY.  Right now, Cry is probably my favorite!  Until I write something better, I guess! CRY should be available to read sometime in 2013 or 2014 from Omnific Publishing.

*Thank you so much for stopping by,Say It With Books!*

Linda has offered to a giveaway a copy of The Color of Grace to one lucky person!

If the winner is from US/Canada you can win a paperback,International entrants can win an e-copy.

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