Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty
A Frodo's Notebook Staff Editorial
by Karin Hoffer - Guest Contributor

Sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle is not the typical well-bred English girl. Having grown up in India, Gemma longs to visit the land of her birth and experience the lavish society she reads about in her grandmother's letters. Unfortunately, Gemma gets her wish. When her mother dies mysteriously, Gemma is sent to the Spence Academy, a finishing school in London. There, Gemma struggles to adjust to her new surroundings and make friends while concealing the circumstances of her mother's death and her own terrible secret; Gemma has visions of the future; horrible visions that often come true.

At Spence, Gemma and her roommate Ann find themselves both tormented by and wishing to be accepted by the school's most popular girls, Felicity and Pippa. When an unlikely turn of events puts Felicity in Gemma's debt, the four girls form an unlikely and potentially dangerous friendship. With the help of her friends, Gemma begins to uncover the secrets that connect her mother's death, the shadowy history of the Spence Academy, and her own strange powers. Gemma must also deal with the mysterious and handsome Kartik and the dark powers of a group known only as the Order, all while being taught to waltz, paint, and remain in the background.

Together, the girls delve into these mysteries in a quest to fill their hearts' desires. Ann wishes for beauty, Felicity desires power, Pippa longs for true love, and Gemma wishes for self-knowledge. Will the girls achieve these desires before disaster strikes?

A Great and Terrible Beauty is packed with suspense and intrigue with a dash of humor and romance. Bray's wonderful descriptions of the difficulties faced by privileged Victorian women mesh well with the plot and help to form a vivid and fascinating portrait of the Victorian age.

The book is part historical fiction, part mystery, part school story, part romance, and part fantasy. Overall, the story does a wonderful job of encapsulating these varied genres. The fantasy interludes, however, though crucial to the book's plot, are disappointing. They are not as well crafted as the rest of the narrative.

If, in the months of classes ahead, you need a break from required reading, A Great and Terrible Beauty would make a terrific diversion. And, if you enjoy the book, be sure to check out its sequel, Rebel Angels, released on August 23.

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