Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation

Reader reviewed by carmen alexis

Now, I usually don't give bad reviews... I don't like giving bad ones.
But this book... although I liked the idea of the plot (I did buy the
book because I was interested in the storyline), I don't think it
really followed through with its promise. Basically, I felt like there
was no real story and no crisis in it. She wants out of the fame and
constant attention. She got it. She wants the cutest boy in Alaska. She
gets him. She wants a real best friend. She got it. She wants back in.
She's back. So.. unless you want a story that's just about a pretty and
successful girl who runs along her life... then... go ahead.

Reprinted here with author's permission.

Reader reviewed by Alexandra

Grace "Ace" Kincaid is a worldwide tennis sensation-- and a national teen icon. But the pressure gets to be too much for Grace, who decides that she needs to quietly slip out of the limelight. And where better to do that than Medicine Hat, Alaska, population 813 (after she moves in, that is)? With her nose ring and alias "Emily O'Brien," no one in Medicine Hat recognizes her, and Grace is finally allowed to lead the life of a normal teenage girl, despite the fact that she's living with a retired FBI agent instead of her mother. And in spite of the freezing cold showers, cabin, and outhouse, Grace is having more fun than she's ever had. She finally goes to "real" school, has friends who she knows like her for her and not her status, goes to parties, has a crush on a very cute boy, and is even going to see a therapist in town, who is suprisingly helpful. This "make-under" story will, as the dust jacket promises, "grab you from the very first paragraph," and not let go until you've finally read the (very satisfying) end.

Reader reviewed by Grace

Grace "Ace" Kincaid has had enough with the media and paparazzi. She's tired of having to act perfect for everbody. So she calls her mom, and she ends it all. Her life completely changes when she gets a "makeunder" (long blond hair gone & dyed red plus a cool ruby nose ring) and goes to live with a retired FBI agent, Ava, who fascinates Grace, in a remote town in Alaska. There, Grace meets some very nice people who make her feel like she's home, including Fisher, who's popular and exciting, and her cousin Teague, who Grace just might like. In Medicine Hat, Grace learns to let go, and love and live.

Amazing Grace is a fun and fast-paced read. Grace is a strong person who discovers what it's like to go back to living like an ordinary person and has the time of her life. The descriptions of Alaska are also very beautiful and breath-taking. Megan Shull beautifully narates the story through Grace's eyes and does a great job. Everyone should read Amazing Grace.

Reader reviewed by Emily

Kozol's book is the report of a period of months he spent in New York City's poorest neighborhoods. These areas are devastated with poverty, and as a result receive terrible funding for education, child care, and health care. As a result, many of its citizens are exposed to drugs, prostitution, and gang violence at a very young age. I was appalled to learn that these conditions exist in our world's wealthiest and most powerful country.

Kozol intertwines studious reporting, facts, and statistics with interpersonal accounts of people he meets, from children who cannot read, to preteen girls that have been raped, to teenage boys that must support their entire family, to mothers dying of AIDS and elderly people suffering from drug addictions. Its a heavy read, somewhat depressing, but also very enlightening. Due to its thematic nature, I wouldn't suggest young adults under 12 read Amazing Grace, but boys and girls 12 or older would certainly benefit from knowing what's going on in our imperfect world.