A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

February 20th, 2008 at 9:46am |

Audience: Young Adult

Rating: A

Synopsis:

This fantastic story is set in Victorian England. Gemma has just moved back to England from India after her mother dies in mysterious circumstances. At her new finishing school, Spence Academy, Gemma makes new friends and learns more about herself and the mystical other world called the Realm. When Gemma and her friends form a new group, called the Order, to explore the magic, they realize that they aren’t as powerless as society would like them to believe. But does the true power lie in the Realm, or in their friendship? And can either their friendships or power survive with so many dark forces working against them? “What frightens you?…Is your heart beating faster? Do the clouds seem to be gathering on the horizon? Does the skin on your neck feel stretched tight, waiting for a kiss you both fear and need? Will you be scared? Will you know the truth?” (pg 86-87)

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) This is a truly great book. Rarely do you find the tumult that is teenage friendship so realistically rendered. Though our problems may be different, there is still the constant re-working of the social pecking order, and the making and breaking of alliances within a clique that Gemma and her friends experience. I think it is the realistic portray of her friendships and the timelessness of the four girls’ desires: beauty, power, love, self-knowledge, that make this book so wonderful.

The motto of Spence Academy clearly outlines what is expected of the girls: Grace, Charm, Beauty. But these three characteristics aren’t enough to satisfy Gemma, Pippa, Felicity, and Ann. While each of the girls admits to wanting these traits, they also want more and who can blame them? It is scary to read about how scripted their lives were, and how little choice they are allowed. Even the decisions that they do have to make are tainted, as Miss Moore warns them, “There are no safe choices. Only other choices” (pg. 267).

Pippa’s choice to stay in the Realms was the most difficult of all. It is awful to think of beautiful, flighty Pippa living a life where choosing to die is preferable to a life in which she has no choice at all. But at the same time, it was gratifying to see Pippa choose her own path for once. Do you think she’ll be happy in the Realm with her knight? I’m not so sure the Realm is such a magical place now that Gemma destroyed the runes.

What about Miss Moore? She could also be seen as a victim of circumstance, a tragic heroine. She dared to try and teach the girls to think for themselves and because of this has lost her job and sullied her reputation. She seems like she should be the perfect victim, but is she? There’s something suspicious about the way she encouraged the girls to think about the Realm, and she certainly had plenty of knowledge about it. Without her prodding, it’s doubtful that Gemma would have gotten up the courage to explore her powers. Am I simply being too suspicious of a powerful woman in Victorian times, or is there truly something devious about Miss Moore? I guess I’ll have to read the sequels to find out!