A Great And Terrible Beauty Review

Release Date: December 9, 2003
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Age Group: 14+
Pages: 416 (Hardcover)

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?
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I really enjoyed this book. I think I'm going to have a hard time reviewing this, just to let you know in advance. I'm not sure why, though.

The plot is extremely original, and I really enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of it, even though I was worried I wouldn't. The plot was pretty confusing at time, though, and I'd have to go back and reread something.

Gemma Doyle is 16 in 1895, but she manages to, somehow, have a modern personality. There are times where you loves her friends, and times where you hate them. They all did stuff that really annoyed me, though. There are, however, awesome supporting characters like the coolest school teacher in the world, Miss Moore.

Libba Bray's writing was outstanding! Very crisp and vivid descriptions that make you feel like you're really seeing it all. I would've liked for her to use more of this writing to describe the characters, but sadly she didn't.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable, but not perfect read. I'll definitely be reading Rebel Angels, the next in the series.


(I've changed my review system, if you look at the sidebar.)