Monday, January 29, 2007

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (December 9, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385730284
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385730280
  • List Price: $16.95
  • I finished this book on Jan. 29
Don't you love this title. It's so titillating, so promising. A+ for excellent title.
So, okay, if I had to classify this book, I don't even know what I'd say. It's sort of like a fantasy/historical fiction, if that makes sense. I would add romance to that slashiness, except that there isn't any actual sex. And you know I love the actual sex. There is, however, a spicy dream or two. Speaking of the no sex, that's the only reason that this book doesn't get the Bee Seal of Approval, because the earlier sections of the book led me to believe that there would be some sex (possibly of the bodice ripping variety) and the end of the book did not deliver. However, I just found out that there is a sequel to this goodness, in which I am hoping for some action.
So by now you're probly wondering the plot. Here it is, Gemma (pronounced with a J sound like Jem - who, yes, is truly outrageous) is 16 and it's the year 1895. She's sent to a boarding school after her mother dies, and begins to discover that she has powers. First it's just visions. Then she discovers that her visions are more powerful than she thinks, and allow her to enter another world, where she finds incredible power. Because she's a teenage girl in a boarding school she shares this secret with some other teenage girls, and they of course, manage to mess everything up. Chaos ensues. Will our heroine be able to...sorry. I thought I was booktalking for a minute.
Either way, I liked Gemma and her first person narration. There are some twisties and turnies in this plot, though it's likely you won't be too shocked. Interesting views of the life of women in this time period and I liked the fantasy aspect too. Hopefully, the next one will be even better, and will earn my mark of highest praise.

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