A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) by Libba Bray | 403 pages | Published December 2003 by Simon and Schuster | Teen, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Magic, Supernatural, Paranormal, Mystery
Summary:
A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy—jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.
Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order.
My thoughts:
Official re-read September 6-21, 2016 | 5 stars
I'm pretty sure the first time I read this book, I was 13 or 14. It was the first book that kept me up far too late and kept me wanting more long after it was over. I fell in love with this world, and now, 13 years later (holy shit I'm old), I still can't get enough. I'm currently reading this series with my friend Lauren over at booksandtea, and I think she likes it just as much as I do.
I'm not sure what pulled me into this book when I read it as a teen. I love the realistic relationship between Gemma and her mother throughout the novel. Even though it's set in the 1890s, Gemma is still a 16 year old and bratty, as most teens are at that age. She was raised differently than her London-born peers, so she's less proper, less polite, more relatable. Though there is the "not like other girls" trope, I never really gave it much thought, probably because it doesn't matter after a while; it's not important to the story.
I also really enjoy her attraction to Kartik, an Indian boy that's apart of a different secret society and has been charged to low-key stalk her. Gemma is well aware that she's not supposed to find Indian men attractive, but she just can't handle his crazy-long eyelashes.
There is also a lot of feminist ideals in this novel. The girls don't want to do what is expected of them, Miss Moore encourages independent thought rather than following the herd. There are different instances where a girl will mention that "it's not as if we can do what we want, is it?" (163). Though most of the school girls follow what's expected, they are aware that it's unfair and wrong.
I think this is the easiest read in the trilogy. I remember the others being longer and more drawn on, though Rebel Angels is my favorite. I love finding all of the minor foreshadowing in the first book. SO MANY THINGS ARE FORESHADOWED. Just small mentions, nothing is elaborated on, and I can't wait to get to those parts in the next two books.
I think we're taking a break from the series until after October because we're having the horror read-a-thon, but we'll be back at this series in November.
Rebel Angels | The Sweet Far Thing
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