Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

  • Paperback: 592 pages
  • Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (December 26, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385733410
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385733410
  • List Price: $9.99
  • I finished this book on Feb. 14
So, this one is the sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty. Could these titles be any cooler? Plus, I'm digging the cover art, pretty girls, excellent font, check them out here, and here. And did I mention that our author's name sounds like one of her characters' names? Cause it does.
In this edition our heroine Gemma discovers that her actions at the end of the last book have left some serious repercussionsin the Realms (a magic world she can visit). Sexy Indian Kartik is back and Gemma also has a new suitor, Simon. There is suitable tension and quite a good twist in there, as well as Victorian Era teen girl hijinks.
One thing I was surprised by in the first book, and even more so in this one, is the use of some real 'issues'. Things like cutting, incest/rape, and drug addict parents are things I normally think of when I'm thinking modern realistic fiction, not period pieces. But, they are all present here. It doesn't bother me though, maybe because they aren't overly dramatic in context. I guess I just didn't think that girls in corsets were cutting themselves. Little did I know.
In other news, I like the About the Author blurb in the back of the book which urges the reader to visit the author's website (but if you're busy, she understands) so I did. I was not that impressed with it. I thought the Random House site was only marginally better. However, in my searching I did come across some serious fan sites (apparently people are really crazy about Gemma and the girls) as well as info about the upcoming movie. Is every YA book ever being made into a movie?? I think so. So, there should be another book in this series coming out sometime this year. I'll keep my eye out for it, hopefully it will also have an excellent title.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

When asked for suggestions on what books she thought my upcoming 8th graders and 10th graders should read for extra credit, one of my more mature students suggested "A great and Terrible Beauty". Do you think it's appropriate for young girls AND boys to read?

bee said...

Yes, I think the book is appropriate for 8th graders and up. There is nothing too sexual though some of the themes are a bit dark (not more so than, say, Harry Potter) However, to be honest, I'm not sure how much interest it will have for 8th grade boys, being that it is mostly about girls at a prep school.