Rating: 
Summary: a great and enchanting beauty
Review: this book was excelent! I picked it up from a local book store and couldn't put it down! this book has a little bit of everything, relationships, action, magic, and a lot of dreams. although this was a great book i thought the author should have expressed Anna's character a bit more. Libra Bray is a wonderful author and i hope that she writes a sequel to this enchanting story.
Rating: 
Summary: I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I read this book and I just couldn't put it down!!!! I bought it on friday and its saturday and im already done with it!I've never finished a book that fast before!{im a slow reader}. I loved the style and the fantasy about it! I kept reading chapter after chapter wondering what would happen next, and every chapter surprised me in the events that occured! I know that this is my new favorite book! I want to read it again! I hope there is going to be a sequel!
Rating: 
Summary: good ideas stilted execution
Review: My 14 year old finished this book last weekend and absolutely loved it. I am a devotee of childrens' literature so I gave it a try expecting to like it also. But ultimately, I was disappointed. Ms Bray has some interesting characters, and has done her homework, but the writing itself seemed stilted and "by-the-book" at times - especially her descriptions of nature and surroundings. I felt the atmosphere had been done before - and better - in the Harry Potter series.
I did enjoy her cast of characters, but they too, were a mix of too modern and "done before". Still it is a page turner, which is why I gave it the 3 stars and would recommend it.
I'm sure - by the open ended conclusion - that a sequel is on its' way. My 14 year old will be thrilled.
Rating:
Summary: Don't make the terrible mistake of missing this book!
Review: This book is so many things at once--a story about a clique of teenaged girls, a gothic thriller in the tradition of Jane Eyre, a historical glimpse into the constraints of women's lives, an unflinching exploration into the complexity of growing up and being a grown up.The writing is exquisite, and I raced for my favorite quotation notebook to jot down beautifully crafted jems of sentences like this one (my favorite):"...we can't live in the light all of the time. You have to take whatever light you can hold into the dark with you." I was moved to tears by this haunting story, and I think you might be, too. Don't make the terrible mistake of missing this book!
Rating:
Summary: Barely Repressed Sensuality!
Review: This is one of my favorite books ever! Gemma Doyle is a fresh, original heroine that anyone could root for. When tragedy strikes Gemma's family in India, Gemma is shipped off to Spence Academy in London. When she arrives there, she is guilt-ridden, lonely, and she also happens to have visions of the future that are prone to coming true. She's just like any normal girl, that is, except for that little part about her supernatural power. Anyway, she's followed to London by a mysterious- and did I mention HOT- young man who wants her to close her mind against her visions, which could put Gemma, her family, and her friends in jeopardy. Gemma manages to get entangled with the school's most powerful girls- and one of the school's not so powerful ones- and discovers a connection her mother had with a timeless, supernatural group called the Order. And it's here that Gemma can finally understand herself and her destiny- but only if she believes in it.
I curled up with this book one moonlit night, and I could not put it down! It has everything- excitement, mystery, magic, and a bit of romance. However, there some...scenes in here, however, that make this a book for girls twelve and older. Otherwise, don't pass this excellent read up! It's a vivid book, taking place in the both moralistic and sensual Victorian era. It was a time when girls were groomed to be rich men's wives their whole lives...and the story of a girl who saw a different way.
Rating:
Summary: It should have been called "Dead Pagans Society"
Review: I just finished reading "A Great and Terrible Beauty," and while it was enjoyable, it wasn't as satisfying as I expected. Many of the period details (such as the school, adult's expectations of young women, etc.) were dead-on and handled well, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the four main characters seemed a bit unrealistic for their time. It was almost as if they were 21st century girls who had been transported back 120 years rather than the opressed Victorians they were supposed to be. The actions of the characters get more and more out of control, making the ending seem bizarre. It seemed more like a "parallel dimension" version of Victorian England than reality. Also, it seemed a bit too easy for the characters to constantly sneak out of the school every single night without getting caught (the headmisstress character is conveniently given a bit of a drinking habit to explain this away). And what with the girls, Gypsies, the Indian guy, and various other characters roaming the school grounds every night, it's almost as if you can't see the forest for all the people. Still, it's a fun spooky read. And it's far Gother Than Thou.
Rating:
Summary: Just couldn't believe it
Review: I wanted to love this novel, I truly did. After all, it's written by a fellow Brooklynite and it's about topics I enjoy: psychic powers and female bonding. But, ultimately, I found this book only mildly satisfying, mostly because the action just isn't believeable, even for a story about the supernatural. The novel has some good points, which is why I give it three stars, but it certainly promises far more than it delivers. If you are interested in the interpersonal dynamics among young people, and also enjoy an element of mystery in your novels, try instead The Secret History by Donna Tart, which is a truly first-rate novel and far surpasses this pedestrian effort from Libba Bray.
Rating:
Summary: A Great (but not terrible) Book
Review: This book was mesmerizing. From the first page to the last, I couldn't put the book down. This book is about a girl, Gemma Doyle, who has special powers. After her mother dies, Gemma is sent to Spence Academy where she is met by an unhappy student. Soon, Gemma befriends two other girls, and they create the Order. Then, Gemma reveals her powers and brings her friends into different portals. Later, Gemma discovers a diary from a woman who used to be in the Order. She reads it learning much about the woman, and even tries to discover who she was. There are many surprising turns in this story, and it never grows boring. I know that when you pick up this book, you will be caught up in all the spell-binding events that happen to Gemma Doyle.
Rating:
Summary: One of my Favorite Books Ever!
Review: This book is one of my absoulute favorites, I've read it about 5 times! Libba Bray does a fantastic job making the plot interesting. She describes the characters so well! I was left haging a lot and I always wanted to know more. I would reccomend this to girls who like fantasy books!! THERE NEEDS TO BE A SEQUEL!!!! I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did. PEACE!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: intriguing Victorian coming-of-age
Review: I picked this up thinking it was a fantasy, but although it has some fantasy elements, I wound up particularly liking the sharp dialogue and perceptive analysis of the relationships among teenage girls. Through their words and actions, the girls demonstrate that although many things have changed since the Victorian era -- such as what women can and cannot expect from their lives -- many aspects of adolescence (cliques, rebellion, emerging self-understanding) haven't changed a bit. The fantasy part actually struck me as a bit weak, though that may be partly because (not knowing it was the first part of a trilogy) I read the whole book expecting things to be resolved and explained at the end. Instead, the end feels more like a beginning, but I look forward to the next installment.
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