Mike Finn’s Reviews > Scorched Grace > Status Update

I almost set this aside because I couldn’t get in Sister Holiday’s head. She didn’t feel real to me, more like a literary device to rattle convention. I couldn’t see where her faith came from. Now, finally, I’m beginning to be shown who she is behind the habit and the tattoos.

Unexpectedly, Sister Holiday’s layered identity is central to the story. Her choice to be a nun, her belief in herself as a sleuth, her anger, her faith, her love of music which sees as a form of prayer, her use of tattoos as a statement of commitment and her sometimes isolating queerness shape the narrative.