Finding Grace

by Daphne Greer

Abandoned on the steps of a Belgian convent as a baby, thirteen-year-old Grace has grown up among the nuns. But her days as a caretaker and companion for her older sister, Dotty, have come to a sad end with Dotty's death, and now Grace is living among the girls who attend the convent's boarding school—the very same girls who taunted and bullied her sister for having Down syndrome.

Grace desperately wants to know who left her at the convent; she wants a family and to not feel alone in the world. When Grace finds a three-decades-old diary from the 1940s in the convent library, her interest in the history of the convent is also piqued. Terrible things happened in the little village of Tildonk, Belgium, when the Nazis arrived, and terrible things happened to the mysterious girl who wrote the diary. Unravelling the mystery of the diary ultimately means unravelling the secrets of Grace's life, which are more complicated than she ever imagined.

Based on the author's own experiences at this very convent school, Finding Grace is an emotional look into the lives of girls in the strict world of convents, both in the 1940s and the 1970s, from the author of Silver Birch'shortlisted Jacob's Landing.

Genres: Historical Fiction

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Reviews

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

GNabKo Finding Grace is an excellent historical novel, and Daphne Greer an author I am most pleased to find. Thank you Netgalley for widening my world.

Grace is a young girl at a convent school in Belgium from birth until 1975. Daphne Greer based her back story on her own experiences in a French convent school she attended while her father was stationed in Europe. I thoroughly enjoyed this look into another lifetime, another world. Both Dottie and Grace are now friends I can 'visit' at will.

New Mexico is home to many Catholic convents and monasteries, which were a part of our growing up whatever our families' religious affiliation. Poor Clare Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Roswell, New Mexico was the source of great joy for my mother who went to services at the monastery with her father, and listened always to the voices singing praise, instilling in our family the love of music that we hold to still today. Sister Bartola was my first 'friend' outside family and she had my heart early on.

The war years in European convent schools had to be horrific but it is good to know that peace could be found despite the war and it's atrocities. That Greer is able to bring forth empathy for Sister Frances shows the depth of her writing talent. She is an author I will follow. And I am quite pleased to be able to refer her work to friends and family.

I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Daphne Greer, and Nimbus Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

First pub date Sept 2018
Actual pub date March 1, 2019
rec Oct. 24, 2018
Nimbus Publishing
Desktop only

[Joshualyn Prater · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review, so thank you netgalley and publishers for sending me a copy =]
Abandoned on the steps of a Belgian convent as a baby, thirteen-year-old Grace has grown up among the nuns. But her days as a caretaker and companion for her older sister, Dotty, have come to a sad end with Dotty's death, and now Grace is living among the girls who attend the convent's boarding school—the very same girls who taunted and bullied her sister for having Down syndrome.
Grace desperately wants to know who left her at the convent; she wants a family and to not feel alone in the world. When Grace finds a three-decades-old diary from the 1940s in the convent library, her interest in the history of the convent is also piqued. Terrible things happened in the little village of Tildonk, Belgium, when the Nazis arrived, and terrible things happened to the mysterious girl who wrote the diary. Unravelling the mystery of the diary ultimately means unravelling the secrets of Grace's life, which are more complicated than she ever imagined.
Based on the author's own experiences at this very convent school, Finding Grace is an emotional look into the lives of girls in the strict world of convents, both in the 1940s and the 1970s, from the author of Silver Birch-shortlisted Jacob's Landing.ing me this book! ♡

The cover and title is what originally drew me to this book.
This is my first book by this author. It was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
3.5 star rating!

[Alison Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Grace

Oh my goodness, reading over a part of Daphne Greer’s Finding Grace as I write this brings tears to my eyes, again. I was a teary mess last night when I finished it.

Daphne has woven this story of friendship, inclusion and the meaning of commitment together flawlessly. It is a luxury to read. The writing is tight yet leaves lots of room for the reader to wonder what’s going to happen next. The historical interplay adds even more dimension and substance to an already rich tale. I cannot recommend this story enough. Have tissue handy. I’m weeping again as I type.

Finding Grace…Daphne certainly does in this deeply heartfelt story.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I read it straight through today. It had all my favorite things - mystery, drama, boarding school, history, etc. I loved Grace and Fran and their face-off with Deirdra. I loved the convent and the backstory with the nuns and the mystery of Grace's origin and her family and how she arrived at the convent. And I even loved the tie-in with WWII and the Nazis. This was really well-done.

[Emily Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Grace is a story about a young girl who had spent all of her young life at the convent with her sister Dotty; with no other family, Grace is heartbroken when Dotty dies. The story follows Grace through making a new friend, and discovering a mysterious diary in the library, and then there’s cruel Sister Francis, who seems to have something against Grace.

When she finds out who the mysterious diary belongs to, Grace also discovers another shocking truth, the answer of how she came to be at the convent.

I found this short story to be very interesting, and the ending was lovely!

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grace is an orphan living with her sister in a Belgian convent in the 1970's. After her sister Dotty's death, Grace is sent to live with the other girls who are boarding at the convent's residential school. Grace discovers a mysterious diary from the 40's that describe the events of a sister's life during the war.
As secrets are explained, Grace must find the strength to deal with her own family's past.
Readers will enjoy the surprise ending.

[Elia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short little novel that packs a big punch. This is the story of 12 year old Grace, a girl in the 1970's who is being raised in a convent after being left on the doorstep as a baby along with her sister Dotty. Dotty has Down's Syndrome and it's always been Grace's job to take care of her - so when Dotty passes away and Grace is moved into the convent's boarding school for girls where she is an outcast because of her sister.
Eventually she does makes friend with a nice girl, Fran, and when they are in the library researching a family tree project (which Grace is deeply ashamed of, since she doesn't know anything about her family) the two find an old diary written by a 15 year old girl who lived there through World War 2. As the friends start reading the diary and digging into Grace's past, deep, dark and terrible secrets start coming to light.
The book was a quick, satisfying read with a twist ending I never saw coming. It did however, give me terrible flashbacks to my Catholic childhood and the mean, mean nuns!

[Jennifer Shanahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about a girl who has lived her entire life in a convent/boarding school with her older sister (older by 15 years) who has Down's Syndrome. Grace and Dottie are together all the time and are separated from the girls who attend boarding school at the convent. They seem happy although the only thing Grace knows about herself is that she and Dottie were left at the doors of the convent when she was a baby. Dottie has a weak heart and eventually passes away. Grace is left alone to mourn and then she is put in the boarding school with girls her own age. She has a hard time fitting in and making friends. She makes one friend, Fran who is nice and helpful to her. They find a diary from the 1940's tucked into a book in the library and Grace starts to read it uncovering the story of an unwed pregnant girl who is sent to the convent because she is a disgrace to her family. As the story is slowly told, secrets come out and I was surprised at how the details of Dottie and Grace's births unfolded because I did not suspect the ending at all. A captivating read once I got into it. Definitely a good book for young girls ages 12-up. Interesting story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

[KTC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finding Grace opens with 13-year old Grace and her 28-year old sister Dotty talking in their beds at a Belgian boarding school. Dotty, who has Down’s Syndrome, is having difficulty sleeping, so Grace soothes her sister with butterfly kisses. As she closes her eyes, Dotty says with a smile, “Be back soon.” When Grace awakens, she realizes that it was all a dream. Dotty is dead. Now, Grace must learn who she is and how to live without her loved one by her side. ...more

[Debra Polin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I had a hard time putting it down once I started reading it. Be aware it is YA, and I think it is a good fit for that age group, however I am quite a few decades beyond the target age group and still thought it was a very enjoyable read. That being said there were a few things that did have a slight juvenile feel to them, but it was minor in the scheme of things. I plot moved quickly and carried you along. Interesting story line.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yesterday I finished Finding Grace, a short historical fiction book I was given the chance to read thanks to NetGalley. It follows Grace, a thirteen-year-old girl living in a Belgian convent in 1975. She was left on the steps as a baby, along with her disabled sister, Dotty. But Dotty recently died, and everything is changing.

Grace is moved to the girls' boarding school dorm. She soon becomes close with Fran, but also has a few run-ins with the stuck up Deirdra. While helping Fran with a history project Grace discovers an old journal kept by one of the nuns at the convent during the war. It tells her horrific story of abandonment, rape and loss.

All the while, the girls are trying to find out more about Grace's past, and avoid the wrath of the horrible Sister Francis. Eventually Grace does get some anwswers, but they were certainly not the ones she was looking for.

I'm not usually very interested in historical fiction but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though it was short, the characters were well developed and the plot was exciting and intriguing. I felt immersed in the setting, and felt empathetic for Grace. I actually felt quite invested in her and her search for knowledge.

There were a few typos and such, but as this is only a review copy I can't be sure whether the final publication will include them. It was a quick, interesting read, a good introduction to historical fiction. 4 stars!

[Tamara Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Finding Grace” is a story of love, secrets, and find ones true identity. As the novel opens, it’s 1975 and Grace lives in a Belgium convent with her older sister Dotty.

Grace is a thirteen year old girl who acts as caregiver for her twenty-eight sister Dotty who has Down syndrome. Dotty has recently died and now Grace has been moved from the nun’s residence to the convent’s boarding school. As Grace grieves the loss of her beloved sister, she faces constant scrutiny from one of the head nuns Sister Francis.

Grace spends the early part of the novel missing her sister and wondering why her parents left her at the convent as a baby. As the novel progresses, Grace is bullied by one of the popular girls at the school but also manages to make a friend. When she is assigned to do a family history project for class, Grace is frustrated because she has no family to complete her family tree. After Grace finds a handwritten diary hidden on the shelves at the convent library, has no idea of the journey and surprises that are in store for her.

This novel was interesting in how the nuns at the convent spoke French and demanded that the students speak French as well. I was also surprised by the unexpected plot twist the author creates within the story as well as the way so resolves everything by the end of the book.

[Luciana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story about a young girl named Grace who is abandoned at a convent in Belgium with her sister, Dotty. However, when Dotty dies, Grace is moved out of the nun's ward into the boarding school ward which is also in the convent alongside the other girls who bullied Grace and Dotty. She has no friends; however, soon becomes great friends with Fran.

Grace is given an assignment; she needs to create a family tree. While in the library with Fran, she uncovers a diary written during WW11 of things that happened in the village where the convent is. She uncovers terrible things that happened to the author of the diary and discovers answers to the many secrets surrounding her own life.

[Lizzie Massey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book club read: interesting as the recommendation came from a lady who went to this convent school. Feel it is more aimed at teenagers and although the writing was good it was all quite simple. I found it was a bit like a cruel version of Mallory Towers for the most part and then lots of things happened at the end but it all ended very quickly. Short and easy read but I think more interesting if you have a tie with the school in question, otherwise I would imagine there’s more harrowing books around about the horrors of convent schools in the 70s. The book was ok, I’m just not the target audience.

[Sue Slade · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Finding Grace’ by Daphne Greer is a very interesting middle-grade historical fiction that is just filled with secrets. I really enjoyed the diary entries that depicted snippets of what it was like during the Nazi occupation of Belgium during WWII.
With some surprising and unexpected plot twists, Daphne kept you interested in the story from the beginning to the end.

[Mary Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Not the greatest novella that I have read and not the worst.

[Digitally Lit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is set in a convent in Belgium during both the 1940s and the 1970s. This book follows our main character Grace as she goes through losing her sister Dotty, who has Down Syndrome. And finds out that what she thought she knew was all a lie.

Even though I don’t usually read Historical fiction I loved this book! I thought it had authentic characters and as someone who has lots of friends who have Down Syndrome, Dotty was the perfect character. Although this book is not set in Nova Scotia, the Publisher and Author are. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to start reading Historical fiction but does not know how to start.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

[Carolyn Cole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting because it is a story woven around a convent boarding school in Belgium, which I attended as a child. It has not been well edited and the story is rather weak