Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

March 6th, 2008 at 9:57am |

Audience: Young Adult

Rating: A

Synopsis:

Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are home for their Christmas break, but the magical world they discovered at Spence, is also with them in London. For Gemma, the world of society she finds in London is just as mysterious as the realms. She has difficulty navigating the expectations of her family; especially when she begins to be courted by a highly desirable suitor and the enigmatic Kartik. There are other pressures on Gemma as well: the magic she released in the realms is sought by many, and it’s her responsibility to see that it is properly controlled.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) This book is all about secrets. Each of the girls has one. Their teachers, Miss Moore and Mrs. McCleethy do too. The image that the female characters show to the world is very different than the one they feel is true to them. But then again, none of the girls is really sure about who they are.

Simon is an interesting suitor. I switched between loving him to hating him, but in the end I was hopeful. The author has clearly set him up to go either way in the last book. He could be the hero who accepts Gemma for who she is, or he could be shallow and cowardly. There is evidence for both of these outcomes. Coward: he gossips about poor Miss Weston, he is committed to societal rules and roles, he becomes uncomfortable with Gemma asks if he could handle her secrets. Hero: he praises Gemma for being adventurous, he pledges himself to her and visits each day while she is sick, he resends the velvet box with the note “a place to keep all your secrets.” Perhaps he’s not so adverse to her having secrets after all? Simon’s behavior at the Christmas ball needs to be factored in as well… his little rebellion showed that he is more than a society puppet, but did it show this in a good way?

Kartik is also an interesting option, but I don’t like him as much. True, he knows all of Gemma’s secrets, but that’s about all he knows about her. Kartik is so critical of the rest of Gemma’s life and only seeks to know her because of her connection with the realm.

These suitors represent the same struggle Gemma has within herself: is she more than just a member of the Order? What is her true “self,” the part that is magical, or that part that is outside the realms. I would tend to lean towards Simon and the non-magical part of Gemma because otherwise she’s no better than Circe. If Gemma were to lose the magic, would she be as desperate and conniving to get it back? I hope not!

Her identity is something that Gemma really struggles with. On page 397 she says, “ To Father, I am a good girl… To Simon, I’m a mystery. To Kartik, I am a task he must master…. You are Gemma Doyle. And I’ve no idea who you really are.” I guess we’ll have to wait and read A Sweet, Far Thing before we learn the answer as well.