Rating: 
Summary: The present I gave to all my girlfriends this year
Review: If you are a female fourteen and above, you need to meet Gemma. She is a normal sixteen year old girl-- caring and insightful one moment; hormonal and resentful the next. She is transplanted from Bombay to a finishing school in Victorian England. There Gemma is to learn the role of 'the ideal young lady' who naturally will become 'the ideal young wife'. Instead, Gemma embarks on a quest to find her true self and emerges as a whole person-- one who embraces the terrible beauty that is life. She is a strong, loyal female-- a model of which girls today need more.
Rating: 
Summary: So far, so good...neither great nor terrible
Review: I have only read the first 2 chapters, but I will continue reading "A Great and Terrible Beauty." Because of the promise of plot twists, luminous self-discovery that I haven't encountered yet--not because of what I've read so far.The writing is done in the style that is very popular now, but may not have staying power--abundant flashbacks, short sentences, one-word sentences, first person. The characterization of Gemma, while not stunning, is rather good. I don't love her as I loved Ella in Ella Enchanted, and the opening lines were not as captivating as Girl with a Pearl Earring. The plot reminds me vaguely of "A Ruby in the Smoke," with more of a focus on women's enternal struggles, but not as well written. PS if you purchase the edition that comes with a necklace, don't let the juvenile-ness throw you off. Although the marketing idea of selling jewelry with books (or the other way round) is very second-grade Jewel Kingdom series, and anachronistic in this case, it doesn't reflect on a bad author, just a bad marketing agent.
Rating:
Summary: The most compelling book I've read in 15 years!
Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty is a profound exploration of a young woman's self discovery. A chest full of self revelating treasures, Gemma's struggles and thought processes bring to life the difficulties faced by young and old women alike. The resonating idea that there are no good or bad choices but never ending opportunities, doors of light, presenting themselves throughout life, challenging us to believe in our own strength and know the desires within that make us individuals.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: This story tells of Gemma who is suddenly faced with her mother's strange death after seeing a vison of it and is sent to boarding school in London. There she quickly learns that she wasn't meant to blend in as the headmistress points her out to the entire school and she's made the target of a group of high classed girls. But an incident in the woods brings Gemma and the leader of those girls, Felicity, closer together. During an outside art class the girls learn of a myth about the Order, a group of witches. Felicity decides that she and Gemma should start a club with some other girls. They call themselves The Order. But what secrets might they unlock from the past? And what about this strange gypsy boy who keeps warning Gemma against her visions? And why does Gemma have rather erotic dreams about him? The story can be sort of confusing as it rushes the first chapter and then it gets sort of slow. Also the end is sort of confusing to which is why I didn't give it all 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A Modern Myth
Review: In telling the story of Gemma Doyle, Bray charts the landscape of the feminine subconscious. Calling upon the classical myths of Circe, Kali, and Hecate, she creates a glorious myth of her own, in which Gemma's own classmates reflect back to her the facets of a woman's psyche--the Queen, the Slave, and the Whore. Kartik, the young man in the story, elicits in Gemma the confusion that the male has caused in females since the dawn of time: he attempts to be both guardian and jailer and briefly becomes a victim, less dangerous in his straightforward masculinity than Gemma's own devious companions. Bringing flesh and blood to these complex psychological ideas, Bray settles them in a truly mythic landscape, from the magical warmth of a Bombay street to the repression of an English boarding school, from the sexual danger of a gypsy camp to the thrill of an ancient Stone Age cave. Within the surrealistic splendor of this Freudian Eden, Gemma learns for herself the terrible beauty that lies hidden in every young girl.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Worth It
Review: I have to say that i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was a unique idea set against a vivid victorian backdrop. Usually, when one thinks of the victoian time period and the ladies back then, they think of prim and proper young women, eager to behave. However, Libba Bray somehow manages to show another side of the story by blending dangerous magic with a couple of rebellious young ladies. The fact that it is written in present tense, which is somewhat unusual, only helps to make the book both more interesting and more exciting. I truly enjoyed reading this book. Ms. Bray had better come out with another one soon!
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: A Great and Terible Beauty skillfully combines a traditional Victorian setting with modern-style teenage drama. This is Mean Girls as gothic melodrama, and both the rich, repressive finishing school setting and the antics of troubled, bitchy teenage girls are familiar, but uniquely enjoyable combined like this. Teenage struggles against adult hypocricy are the same in all time periods, and the power of [repressed] female sexuality is a theme that arises perfectly from the Victorian-- and adolescent time period. In these ways it is a perfect book, and the fantasy elements -- menacing secret societies, utopian alternate worlds -- should be the icing on a delicious cake, but this is where the author stumbles. As with so many supernatural plots, the mystery is tantalizing at first, but as more is revealed, it only gets confusing and messy. There will be a sequel, which might tie the mystical strands tighter into the overall structure of the story, but the ending of this novel left me unsatisfied, and not in a good way. Still, it's a great read for anyone who enjoys period fiction or remembers what it's like to be 16.
Rating:
Summary: Where the shadows come alive
Review: This book was so intruiging, everything from the streets of India where the shadows come alive, to Spence Academy where the mysterious death of two girls loiters inside the fire-eaten rooms that have been shut up for 20 years, to the realms and the garden of dreams - where leaves turn into butterflys, the strings of blankets can be strummed like a harp, the handsome knight swears fealty to your heart, and anything you can possibly dream of comes true - all this kept me wrapped up in this story. I recommend this to anyone who has an imagination, Libba Bray has let hers soar in these pages.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it right up until the last page, but . . .
Review: This book was wonderful and kept me entranced right up until the end. However, I agree with another reviewer that the end could be less ambiguous and more satisfying. If there isn't a sequel planned, there ought to be because there are still questions that remain unanswered.
Yet, I would still recommend this book highly to other readers. And, although it is a young adult book, I think that there is plenty for adults of all ages to latch onto and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Magical, sweet and true to times
Review: 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.
|
