A Great and Terrible Beauty

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray is the first book of her Gemma Doyle trilogy.

Gemma Doyle finds an icy reception at the the Spence Academy in London, the boarding school to which she's sent after tragedy strikes her family in India.  Lonely and guilt-ridden, Gemma taps into her power to attract the supernatural.  Dark visions fill her mind that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true.  Trying to survive at Spence, she becomes entangled with Felicity Worthington, leader of the school's most powerful clique... and discover's her own mother's connection to the shadowy group called the Order.

Secrets haunt the halls at Spence, with its mysterious burned out East Wing, and after a diary lands in Gemma's hands, it leads her to a world she cannot fathom- one where her destiny waits, if only she is brave enough to face it.

The Breakdown:
1. Bray's book is wonderful Victorian Gothic tale that has many secrets to the story and fantastic characters. I love that Bray portrays both how London society was that in that day, with the rules, the beliefs, and attitudes, and gives glimpses in the other ways of life with the gypsy troupe and the scenes in India.  I love that her characters have such depth to them.

2. Gemma starts the book as your typical moody teen, but in an instant her life is turned upside down, and she is struggling to adjust to the changes. She makes an interesting personal journey in this book, learning to deal with her visions, and making friends, plus her first crush. There are times that Bray shows, despite her faults, that Gemma really does have a kind heart, and those are my favorite moments of Gemma.

3. I like the mysterious character of Kartik.  He shows up warning Gemma not use her visions, but is very vague as why and how to avoid them.  Gemma is also attracted to him, and has visions of him which only increases my need to know more about him.  He is definitely a character I am looking forward to reading more of in the future books.

4. As for Gemma's friends, Felicity, Ann, and Pippa, they make for an interesting combination.  Each girl struggling with their own fears and insecurities, but doing their best to be what society expects of them.  Felicity and Pippa, at first, seem like the Victorian era mean girls,  but as the book progress, Bray reveals more of their personalities and their lives.  Then there is Ann, the girl that no one expects anything of, but does not want to spend her life as invisible.

5. Bray fills this book with so many secrets, Gemma's family secrets, the school's secrets, and Kartik's secrets.  She definitely keeps the story interesting from beginning to end.  I cannot wait to see how the next book goes.

To Read or Not to Read:
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