Echoes of Grace

by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

A tragic accident in the young lives of sisters, Graciela (Grace) and Mercedes (Mercy) Torres, sets off a chain of events in which Grace flounders to restore her relationship with her sister while swimming against a current of strange, bewildering echoes.

Flashbacks, premonitions, and visitations from the other side all weave a mysterious tapestry that weighs heavily on Grace’s shoulders as she tries to navigate memories of a time three years earlier when she ran away from home and lost a week of her life.

In the present—amidst the mundanities of college homework and dating—Grace tries to figure out if the things happening in her world are memories or premonitions, warnings of things yet to unfold. As she recovers time lost, Grace comes closer to reconciling with Mercy, even as she remembers, bit by bit, the horrible thing that happened to her when she spent a week with her maternal grandmother in Mexico—a grandmother she had been told was long gone.

The things her regained memory reveals shed light on old family secrets.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism, Mystery, Latinx, Paranormal

384 pages, Hardcover

First published August 16, 2022

About the author

I was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. My family immigrated into the U.S. when I was six years old. I grew up in Eagle Pass, a small, border town in South Texas. Eagle Pass is the setting of both, my debut novel in verse, UNDER THE MESQUITE, and my 2nd novel, SUMMER OF THE MARIPOSAS, fall of 2012 from TU Books. After high school, I went off to Alpine in West Texas to study to become a teacher. I have a BA in Theatre Arts and English from Sul Ross State University. In Alpine, I met my husband, Jim. We have 3 grown sons. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor of English at George Fox University in Newberg, OR and live with my husband in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Melanie Springer Mock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guadalupe gave me an ARC of this book, and I read it in one weekend. It's been a long time since I was so engaged with a story. I appreciate the gothic elements in the book, a reflection of Guadalupe's decades-long vocation teaching literature. She also offers a new spin on those elements. Echoes of Grace is beautifully written, with a compelling plot and an empathetic narrator. The author's exploration of generational trauma, through the protagonist's visions or "echoes," is astounding, as she clearly shows how the pain of sexual assault and violence toward women reverberates through time and through a family's line. The redemptive ending suggests that telling these stories of abuse is one way--maybe the only way--that people can begin the work of healing, but too often these stories are shrouded in secrecy. Highly recommend this book!

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tragic YA story full of loss, generational trauma and healing.
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In the present Grace is trying to succeed with her studies so she can get into community college. Dating is on the back burner for her, unlike her older sister, Mercy, who gave birth at seventeen. Now both sisters take care of the toddler, but have grown distant from one another when they used to be so close when they were younger. Despite her focus on the future, Grace can’t help but be plagued with suppressed memories from an incident in Mexico three years prior. As she gets closer to the truth of what happened to her mother, she continues to see spirits and promotions aka “echoes” as they lead her to the truth of old family secrets.
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This was such a powerful book by @guadalupemccall I’ve only read her books she’s written with David O. Bowles so I was super excited to read this title. It packed such a punch emotionally, as well as told a heartbreaking story about grief and healing that can happen in a family. Highly recommend this magical realism tale. Please check the content warnings on this one.

CW: graphic death of a child, hospitalization, blood, car accident, death of a parent, murder, r@pe, sexual and physical assault, teen pregnancy, violence, death

4.5 ⭐️ rounded down only bc Daniel gave me the ick

[LiteraryGamer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a mess, I'm sorry. It started out shocking but strong and on paper has everything I like: a main character who sees dead people, has visions, and is trying to solve the mystery of her murdered mother.

What really threw me is a spoiler (so this review is marked as such) because it’s part of the plot (CW for rape): Grace disappears for a week and thinks she’s living with a long-lost grandmother and cousin. She is pursued endlessly by Manuel and is eventually attacked and raped. And then we find out the grandmother and cousin are dead, the house doesn’t exist, and she was raped by the young version of the now-older man who raped and killed her mother. She had to live through her mother’s rape to find the still-living guy. I don’t even know what to think about this.

The ending was rushed, the emotions expressed by Mercy in particular started to feel tedious. At a certain point in the book, there’s a lot more SA than I wanted to read. But by then, I wanted to know what was going on with a particular ghost. I am just so confused by this book. CW also for the death of a small child. I wish I’d known that going in. It’s a thread throughout the whole book.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book read to be coded for a project I'm working on; I love the exploration into generational trauma of Mexican women, specifically into traumatic sexual abuse and assault. It's something I've had conversations with my mom about and I thought this book was an interesting experiment on Gothic writing and the theme. I'm not a huge fan of the haunting trope that this book utilizes which is why it's a 3 and not a 4 star, but that's just personal taste. It is heavy, but it is also good and would be one I'd encourage readers to engage in a dialogue with.
contains dating, premarital pregnancy w/ one of the side characters, death of a child, murder of a parent and family members, kissing, sexual assault, rape, ghosts

[Bee (ur mom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

IDK i have no strong feeligns towards it i think it was a good book and thats that idk what else to say ummmmmmmm yea so solid 4 stars i think if u want a solid book to read i think its a pretty solid book itgot a bit uncomfortable at some points in regards to like sa and stuff so like i wouldnt recommend it if ur not coolsies w that otherwise i think its pretty solid

[Jenni Meade]

TW: On-page violent death of a toddler.

[Jenn Belden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was devastating and haunting all at once. It was not an easy read, emotionally, and comes with a lot of trigger warnings.

A southern gothic feel touched with Hispanic mythology, a MC who sees ghosts and "echoes" (which are described as other's memories from the past), this is a moody, emotional tale of generational trauma.

I struggled with a few characters (her father's swing from seemingly unengaged at the beginning to supportive at the end) as well as Grace's relationship with the boy next store (just a hard no by the end of the story, pass, girl.)

I now confess to being a little confused about one part of the ending after reading a few reviews here (my take on what happened isn't the same as theirs and I'm wondering if it's open to interpretation, or one of us read it wrong) but overall, this was a tense, emotional page turner.

Marketed for YA but would highly recommend this to adult readers as well.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone in this book is exhausting. Everything about this is upsetting.

In general with this book, I'm having a hard time buying into any of the interpersonal dynamics here. Daniel isn’t a compelling love interest and I think he’s intentionally messy because unpacking trauma is messy. But also I don’t like that Grace is still with him at the end of the book after he breached her trust. It’s not a good look. Mercy is completely impenetrable as a character. Like entirely opaque. Her motivations remain a mystery. Not sure how I feel about a toddler dying as a plot device even though the author sort of explains where she’s coming from with that in the author’s note. The gothic elements are okay but also weird with how they relate to Grace losing a week of time.

It’s strange to me how we go from the father refusing to acknowledge his possibly moving to a different room is an option and forcing Grace out of her room to him talking about therapy and trauma. Like that seems very out of character.

The imagery is beautifully vivid and it’s very feminist but the characters are wooden and I didn’t like anything here. I might try whatever Guadalupe McCall does next but thematically this was just hard.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

when I read a book, I can usually guess what rating I’m going to give it about halfway through. there aren’t many things that can change my mind about the rating, but I usually keep my mind open.

echoes of grace feels like two different books shoved into one. for the most part, I found it mediocre, but the way it deftly treated a difficult subject made me reconsider the entire book. the final quarter is a tough read for me, a survivor, but it never felt like it was used for shock value. grace’s pov is confusing and messy, but it felt intentionally done to show how a survivor’s memory isn’t completely cut and dry or even completely coherent. the one part of the book I thought needed reworking was the romance. it felt shoved in when it could be so much better. other than that, I thought this was a great read.

[Chandna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts with a lot of potential. The premise is strong, and the first half of the book is riveting enough. However, it loses focus midway and starts meandering. The focus shifts from the "echoes" that Grace has and her relationship with Mercy to a jumbled mess of relationships that Grace shares with her father, Daniel, and her grandmother. None of the encounters with these characters has sufficient depth, and they seem incompletely woven within the storyline. While the "rape story" builds up in the first half of the book, it suddenly seems to overpower the latter half. All else is just tied loosely together to somehow conclude the story. The reader is left without a sense of fulfilment. Still, I'm glad to have read the story since the style of writing was quite evocative.

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between 2008 and 2011, echoes are interwoven as Grace tries to make sense of them. Though her mother’s untimely death seems to tie everything together, it will take a special kind of love for Grace to get the acceptance and help she needs to find out what really happened to her mother. I predict “Echoes of Grace” is going to be the Young Adult winner of the 2023 Pura Belpré award. You heard it here first! Read more about this book on my blog: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress....

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story really drags at first, as it alternates between the summer of 2011, when Grace's beloved nephew dies, and 3 years before when she ran away to her estranged grandmother in Mexico. Mysteries abound: what really happened to her mother, murdered years ago? What do the mysterious visions ("echoes") that take her over mean? Will her sister Mercy ever forgive her? But the last third becomes much more interesting as the pace picks up, and it becomes an exploration of violence against women. This is a YA book, but definitely for older teens because of the rape scene.

[Anyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.2

undoubtedly shittier than summer of the mariposas, primarily due to the way daniel is portrayed as a “nice guy” when his advances were just as creepy as manuel’s. difference is, manuel is a rapist and a murderer and daniel is just a creepy momma’s boy who has no (I MEAN NONE) chemistry with grace.

[Zeyla Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down in the last half! I am from south Texas and envisioned this book taking place in my grandmother’s home. Although this book took me on a rollercoaster of emotion and sadness, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. This book is labeled for young adults but as a 33 year old I also felt it was appropriate for readers of my age.

Keep in mind TW: sexual assault and death

[Holly Kubiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS BOOK. Mystery! Supernatural! Great writing and characters! Heartbreak. Edge of your seat action. And FINALLY: a book containing characters who actually show growth toward healthy relationships!! I cannot wait to read more from this author!

[kim baccellia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atmospheric contemporary Latinx Gothic tale meets Rebecca where visions lead a girl to confront deadly secrets from the past in order to heal. Totally recommend!

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. Tear jerker, family dynamics, and Mexican mystical BS. Loved it!!!! One of my favorite authors!

[Mary-Esther Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written but devastating depiction of generational trauma.

[Elise Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the storytelling in this piece. The mixture of gothic horror with magical realism is so fascinating.

The ending felt very abrupt. That is my biggest critique, but I did enjoy this story.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thumbs up.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[PottWab Regional Library]

E

[Maggie Crawford · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't flow well for me, for starters, and I feel like it tried to do too much.

[Elaine Hopper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought-provoking novel of the issues women have faced over the years in their family and culture.

[Monica Bond-Lamberty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author graciously came to our school and gave autographed copies of this book to our students.
It is funny the different reactions the kids had. Some kids were not interested in books at all which is tragic. Others like the ideas of the supernatural, and obviously hadn't really had connections to the magical realism that is present here.
At times you feel the narrator is too forgiving and tolerant of her sister's cruelty and that made it hard going for me. The cruelty of grandmothers is also hard to read though some of that is explained but still hard going for me.
I guess it is a good read and maybe if I were in a different point in my life (like YA) I would have liked it more, but at my age, didn't need quite so much grief that was evoked by this book.

[Ayurella · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 line review: If tears were currency, I would be WEALTHY after finishing this book.

Guadalupe Garcia McCall's ECHOES OF GRACE is a profound story about life after loss, the ghosts that haunt us and the searing impacts of intergenerational trauma. It wasn't an easy read — there are trigger warnings, and for good reason — but it was an important one.

Through the eyes of Graciela and others before her, we are reminded what it means to grow up a woman, in a world where we are continuously told we are less than. ECHOES OF GRACE unflinchingly delivers a message — we may be silenced, oppressed and stifled, but we are powerful, worthy and more than our scars.