Tagged: gemma
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
(Cover picture courtesy of The Young Folks.)
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.
Sixteen-year-old Gemma 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 with 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.
Just like the title may suggest to you, there are some great things in this book and some terrible things. Let’s start with the great ones, shall we?
I loved the Victorian feel of this novel. Libba Bray’s talent here is that she never loses the dark Victorian atmosphere while still exploring things like women’s issues and teenage love. Some of the things the main characters learn in A Great and Terrible Beauty can certainly apply to teens today, so I think this book is still very easy to relate to. At the same time, there’s still that exotic feel that comes with a completely different time period.
Another good thing was the main character, Gemma. Gemma is not your typical kick-butt girl empowerment type of character. She’s a little bit shy, impulsive and struggles to fight against a society where women aren’t supposed to have their own opinions. Does that mean she’s constantly fighting with her teachers at Spence over women’s issues and boldly doing things like wearing pants? Of course not. This goes back to the whole authentic Victorian feel of the novel: Gemma rebels in a realistic way, not necessarily in a modern way that YA readers have come to expect.
Now for the terrible: Gemma’s friends. I know that they certainly had their flaws, but they were still not given much depth. Pippa only acquired some depth in the end, but Felicity was just your typical It-Girl through-and-through. Yes, teenagers do stupid things, but the idiotic thing they do at the end of the novel at the behest of a malevolent spirit just made me face-palm. I mean, really? Hardly any girl would do that today, let alone girls raised to believe that showing your ankles and wrists meant you were a loose woman.
As for the mysterious Order I was generally happy about what information Libba Bray chose to reveal as the book went along. She reveals enough for us to understand what the heck is going on, but not so much that I could end the trilogy here. For now I’m going to reserve judgment on the other realms and the magic but I’ll say that I’m satisfied with the explanations thus far.
Overall, A Great and Terrible Beauty was a pretty good novel. Was it the best I’ve ever read? No, I wouldn’t put it up there on my top 10 or even 20 list. But it was a mostly enjoyable read and I’d definitely recommend giving it a try.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Wake by Amanda Hocking
(Cover picture courtesy of Effortlessly Reading.)
Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.
Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They’re the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone’s attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.
Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.
Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.
After the disaster that was Hollowland I felt a little more hopeful about Wake. Zombies clearly aren’t Amanda Hocking’s strength but mythical creatures like trolls definitely are. That’s why I thought she could handle sirens a little better than Elisa Freilich. Unfortunately that was not the case.
I felt like banging my head against the wall because in the beginning nothing happened. Really, the first 200 pages of this 300 page book were spent setting up Gemma and Harper’s lives in their small town. We don’t actually get any siren action until the very last chapters of the novel and then it ends on a cliffhanger that’s just shameless. I mean, really? Ending the book just when it gets to the point of the whole Watersong series is just crass commercialism.
Despite the slow pacing I did like some of the characters. Harper, the over-protective older sister is my kind of character. (Myself being the aforementioned over-protective older sister.) I love her struggle with her attraction toward Daniel and the mind vs. heart idea behind it all. I can completely identify with that. However, Gemma’s relationship Alex is just so…awkward. It’s awkward even for teenage love, believe me. It’s like they don’t really have anything in common besides the fact that Alex is Harper’s friend and it’s awkward to have your friend dating your little sister.
Once we finally got the explanation for the sirens I was interested. Amanda Hocking did a great job with the backstory, but it was too little too late. The book was well past the hope of salvation, despite the obvious effort that was put into developing a realistic backstory for the sirens. Their cynical attitude toward men was fascinating and sort of understandable given the circumstances; I just wish we had gotten to know them on a deeper level sooner.
Basically: meh. So much potential, but I was so let down.
I give this book 2.5/5 stars.