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A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy) | 
 enlarge | Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $9.99
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Rating:  300 reviews
Sales Rank: 2851
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0385732317
EAN: 9780385732314
Publication Date: March 22, 2005
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Condition: Stained Edges;Slight Water Damage Giving great service since 2004: Buy from the Best! 4,000,000 items shipped to delighted customers. We have 1,000,000 unique items ready to ship! Find your Great Buy today!
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Amazon.com Review
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. Gemma, 16, 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 wi! th the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy. (Ages 12 up) Patty Campbell
Product Description
It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 295 more reviews...
 A beautiful, page-turning Victorian/gothic novel... May 4, 2005
ChicBookFiend (MA)
74 out of 78 found this review helpful
I picked up this book on a whim because the premise seemed interesting. A Great and Terrible Beauty is one of the most beautiful historical and gothic novels I have read in a while. The story enthralled me from beginning to end. Sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle is different from the other girls at the London boarding school she lives in after her mother's tragic and strange death in India. In addition to not having the conformist mentality that girls of her class and station are trained to have, Gemma has a deep, dark problem that she does not know how to control. She has visions of tragic things that come true and has the magic key to enter an alternate place called the Realms, where every desire -- as well as every nightmare -- can come true. When she finds the diary of a girl with similar powers, she learns about a secret society called the Order, and she and three friends decide to explore the magical and strange world. But there are things that Gemma doesn't know about, secrets and mysteries that she will have to figure out on her own. And she tries to do this while a rather strange Indian boy keeps an eye on her and demands that she put a stop to her visions. There are various twists throughout the novel.
A Great and Terrible Beauty is the sort of novel that you cannot put down because there are so many elements, so many layers that make the novel compelling and enthralling. I loved the backdrop of Victorian England and the way women were viewed and what was expected from them in those times. The female characters spoke volumes about this particularly difficult time period for women. Pippa's desire to meet the perfect prince touched me. She is a very flawed character, but with dreams and desires that spoke to me. Felicity is also quite a complex character. She was a loyal friend and an innocent at times and was cruel, despicable and disturbing in others. Gemma is a great heroine. She had the sort of confusions and issues that girls at present time could definitely relate to. There was a naivete quality to her voice that made her all the more compelling. The gothic aspect of the novel is the perfect complement for the time setting. The horror aspect of the novel were chilling at times. The story became very fanciful about halfway through the novel, but the elements of magic in those scenes were very well done. I fell in love with this book and Libba Bray seems quite an interesting author (an interview with Ms. Bray is included in the book). There are loose ends that tell me there will be a second novel. I hope this turns into a series. It is too good for it to be a one-time story. I recommend A Great and Terrible Beauty most highly. This novel is one of the best reading investments I've made thus far this year!
ENCOUNTERS OF THE MAGICAL KIND! February 15, 2004
Dorothy Weiss (ORLANDO, FLORIDA United States)
10 out of 18 found this review helpful
Set in Victorian times this adventure unfolds in a boarding school for girls. There the heroine, Gemma learns she has magical powers and must learn to control them as she and fellow students explore this and other worlds. No, its not a female counterpart of "Harry Potter and the Hogwarts", it's closer to "Carrie" and "A Girl Interrupted". It is an equally intriguing, mysterious, fascinating tale.
A remarkable book December 29, 2004
L. Becker (North Carolina)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
One of my biggest complaints about YA books is they tend to be predictable. A Great and Terrible Beauty is not one of those books. With it's historical setting, unique plot twists, a touch of romance, and a little fantasy, this is a great choice for an adolescent girl. Moms and dads won't find anthing objectional in this book, and any daugther that enjoys reading will enjoy this book. A small warning, this is not a light read. If you spend most of your time reading Lemney Snickett or Traveling Pants books, this may be a jump for you!
Loved it! July 11, 2005
K. Robinson (Texas)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This was an excellent book! (And I'm very excited that a sequel is to come out later this year.) The characters were well-developed, and it was suspenseful and eerie.
Magical, sweet and true to times January 23, 2005
Christyl Johnson (California, USA)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I'm going to be straight to the point.
This book is true to how women were at the time this book is set for. How girls have to deal with marriage, and schooling. And with the lovely mix of magic, be it good and bad, makes you wonder if a story like this really could have happened. It kept me so intrigued that I didn't really want to put the book down. The last parts are the romance and how it can affect a friendship, and what power can do to some people.
This is a book for people of all ages, and I don't mean just women, boys will find this interesting as well.
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