A Great and Terrible Beauty

As a reviewer, I think I am coming to realize what genres are really my favorite and which ones are not. I haven't read that much fantasy but even though I did enjoy this book and it was very well written and laid out, the genre just isn't my absolute favorite. When something is so out there and has a small chance of happening in reality, I tend to have a much harder time fully immersing myself in the story. Don't get me wrong, I would recommend this book for any and all fantasy lovers a million times over, just wasn't my favorite genre is all.

The story follows a young girl named Gemma, who is forced to attend a school in England named Spence, after her mother mysteriously commits suicide. We follow her as she navigates this new world and also tries to make sense of her newfound powers and such. The plot was a very unique one, in my opinion, even though I haven't read much fantasy to begin with. I definitely enjoyed getting lost in Gemma's world, where magic is possible and girls are definitely inferior to men. Libba Bray has a great writing style and I could not stop reading this book, even if the fantasy was a little too out there for me.

Further, the characterization was pretty good. I loved that we got to see what Gemma was thinking because her thoughts were often written in the book in italic font. I love that she is this strong-willed, young woman and her strong spirit is one I absolutely admire myself. The other characters weren't as in-depth but we got somewhat of a picture of them and they definitely all changed and developed as the story progressed and I always love to see that growth in books. Of course, Gemma grew the most and she will definitely be one of my favorite heroines forever. I will absolutely, without a doubt be reading the other books in these series. Although I will probably take a break with some other books before that.

I think the school girl me would have devoured and loved this book without a doubt but since I am older now, it doesn't quite have the same affect. But that's what happens when we get older, we change and our priorities also change as a result. I would absolutely say that this was a terrific book and one of the best fantasy YA novels I've ever read. I can't wait to pick up her newer books, since this one is older. All in all, this was a very enjoyable read!

I wanted to like this but I felt like half this story was a cheap knockoff of A Little Princess. Girl losses a parent, has to leave India to go to a strict boarding school. The other girls don't like her, she befriends a girl who is unpopular or a “charity case”. I liked the beginning, but once they went back to England I lost all interest. I Googled the ending and I'm glad I didn't waste anymore time on this book. Huge let down