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 enlarge | Author: Richard Paul Evans
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $9.00
You Save: $10.95 (55%)
New (54) Used (26) Collectible (1) from $7.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 6164
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 5.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 1416550038
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781416550037
ASIN: 1416550038
Publication Date: October 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 No happy ending here December 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Picked this up hoping for a light uplifting read. Should of read the reviews first. The story was sweet, the ending horrible.
A scheme of sanctuary and secrecy December 16, 2008
Set in 1962, GRACE is a coming-of-age novel with a very unusual plot.
Due to financial reverses caused by Eric's father's health problems, the Welch family is forced to relocate from their nice home in suburban Los Angeles to Eric's grandmother's abandoned, ramshackle house in a rundown area of south Salt Lake City. The only positive thing about the move is the land around the old house, five wooded acres bounded by a creek. Eric and his younger brother, Joel, can roam in the woods and explore to their hearts' content. They discover some old building materials on the property that they quickly cobble into a crude structure, a clubhouse of sorts, and drag all kinds of junk from the ancient garage into the clubhouse to use as furnishings or decoration.
Working one night at McBurger Queen, Eric discovers a classmate dumpster diving out back. He invites her inside and is startled by how much food she consumes. When he learns that Grace has run away from home, he offers her temporary sanctuary in the clubhouse, which his parents can't see from their house.
Eric and Joel are in cahoots, sneaking food and clothes out to Grace. Eric quickly learns to lie in order to cover up his activities and spends his free time keeping Grace company whenever he can. Grace definitely has an effect on Eric; soon he is blowing his three-year perfect attendance award to play hooky and hang out at the mall with her. That's a bold and rather unwise move when you're trying to keep someone's whereabouts a secret.
The Welchs' electric bill is sky high; Eric's parents don't realize that he purchased an electric space heater to keep the clubhouse warm. Suddenly, this well-behaved 14-year-old is sneaking, lying, covering up, and acting in ways that are very unusual for him. But Eric's mother is busy with her job and housework, and Eric's father is preoccupied with his poor health and watching television, so they are not as aware as they should be that something is terribly wrong.
Grace often engages in a bit of fantasy when she lies about having lived in Hawaii and being able to see the future in a lighted candle. She certainly is not dealing realistically with her dilemma and is putting a huge burden on Eric the longer she stays hidden, but he cannot stand the thought of her leaving.
By mid-December the police are offering a $500 reward for information leading to Grace's safe return. Eric continues sneaking food to her, feigning illness to be with her and lying to his parents. Grace misses her mother but fears her abusive alcoholic stepfather and has no intention of going back home. And she has a condition that she needs to deal with appropriately.
Even the best thought-out plans sometimes fail, and this particular scheme of sanctuary and secrecy is probably doomed from the beginning. The ending is a surprise and not typical of Richard Paul Evans's previous bestselling books. Nevertheless, GRACE reads rather quickly, and Evans gives his audience many important things to ponder.
--- Reviewed by Carole Turner
 Grace--a great book to read. Sad, but true book on parent/child issues. Great piece on the loyalty of friendship! December 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Grace is a great book to read, anytime. It is a very affective work, just like all of Richard P. Evans' books are!
It is a good book on loyal friends, and a good treatment of parent/child issues.
Beautifully written from a master storyteller. December 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Eric, a young boy, doesn't have many friends and is considered kind of a nerd. When he is at work one night, he comes upon a young girl digging in the garbage. He finds out it is Grace, from his Spanish class. She has runaway from home and doesn't have anywhere to go. He offers her to stay in a clubhouse is brother Joel and him have built. She stays there for awhile, and eventually tells Eric a secret. They grow close and this story will have you in tears.
What a wonderful story this time of year.
A Graceful Enough Story December 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Richard Paul Evans has been a truly successful man with his writing. All of his novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list, have been international bestsellers, and have won him many awards. Grace is a novel about young ninth-grader Grace who runs away from home and seeks refuge with two brothers, Eric and Joel. The two boys hide her in their clubhouse in the backyard while problems with their family grow. Mother is overworked, father is recovering from Guillain-Barre, and the Cuban Missile Crisis looms in the back of everyone's mind, man and child alike.
Richard Paul Evans portrays the girls plight with amazing sensitivity. Any reader who fears that this book with be too sensitive is in for a surprise. The story is both realistic and well told, and the way Evans writes makes this story believable. Stemming from an experience in Evans' life, this book brings light on the fear that some children have that adults can't see, and the unshakable love that can keep brothers together.
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