30
Jan 2009

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

By 19 Comments

Historical England, boarding school, magic and realms, strange creatures, evil forces, and a group of teenage girls: these make up the Gemma Doyle trilogy. The Sweet Far Thing picks up where Rebel Angels left off.

Gemma and friends are back at Spence Academy and under the watchful eyes of their headmistress, Mrs. Nightwing, they learn decent manners, curtsies, and everything else ladylike. Gemma is unable to fit in with the mindless chatter and gossip of the other girls at her school. She feels that there’s more to life than just attending parties and dancing with men.

Now Gemma holds all the magic of the magical realms where she and her friends, Felicity and Ann have been going. She’s expected to share the magic with all the tribes in the realms but not so soon. Since Felicity desperately needs a Lady Markham to sponsor her debut in order to claim her inheritance, she needs some of Gemma’s magic to make it happen. As for Ann, well, she needs some magic to escape from being a miserable governess.

What about the beautiful Pippa who’s stuck to wander in the realms forever? Felicity is always delighted to spend time and play with her best friend. However, Gemma feels that there’s something suspicious about Pippa and that she must be careful around her.

In the meantime, Gemma keeps having dreams/visions of a lady in a lavender dress. The lady seems to be trying to tell her something but no sound comes out from her. Who is she? Is she dead or alive? What is she trying to say? What is the Key and what in the world is the Tree of All Souls? Absolutely mysterious and frustrating!

Gemma also needs to find out why the school is restoring the ruined East Wing now. Many years ago, two girls supposedly perished in a fire that destroyed the East Wing but they survived anyway. One of the girls was Gemma’s mother. The other girl, Circe, became an enemy and murderer. It is also said that the then headmistress, Eugenia Spence, sacrificed herself to the Winterlands. The Winterlands is an evil place, by the way.

Oh no, I did not forget the handsome and elusive Kartik. He returns to stay with the gypsies and occasionally has little secretive chats with Gemma. He keeps telling her that he’ll leave someday which only irritates and saddens her. His old brotherhood, the Rakshana, is also on the lookout for him as he failed to kill Gemma in the previous book.

That’s quite a lot to digest, isn’t it? Well, you can expect much more than that from this 819-page book. There are five acts and there is a quote at the beginning of each act. In truth, I enjoyed reading every page of this book even though it took me more than a month to finish it.

Some things I just didn’t like though. I thought Gemma’s friends selfish, especially Felicity. Most of the time, I felt that Felicity’s only using Gemma to enter the realms so she could be with Pippa. I’m also quite surprised at Ann who eventually leaves Gemma alone in her troubles too. Like Gemma, I thought that perhaps her friends are only her ‘friends’ because she has magic which can reduce or wipe out the unpleasantness in their lives. Well, nobody’s perfect.

Besides her school chums, Gemma has to deal with Kartik, Pippa, Miss McCleethy who’s watching her every move, Fowlson who’s working for the Rakshana, her father who’s addicted to laudanum, and her obnoxious brother, Tom. She definitely has a lot on her plate.

I’m quite sad to see the end of the Gemma Doyle trilogy. It’s been a thrilling journey following Gemma, her friends and their battle against being helpless women in a rigid English society that expects little and yet so much from them.

Other reviews: Debbie, Susan B. Evans, Emily, Em

Popularity: 6%

Categories: Authors B, Genre - YA Historical Fantasy, Titles S Tags:
28
Oct 2008

I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

By 15 Comments

Wouldn’t you like to own a pair of shoes that fit like it was made for you? Ah, how nice that would be! Coriander Hobie is one lucky kid. She receives a pair of silver shoes and they fit her perfectly. But then, there is another story altogether behind those pretty shoes.

In this book, Coriander tells her tale in seven parts. She also lights seven candles to represent each part and blows them off one by one as she finishes one part after another. Now this candle-blowing thing is really intriguing but I don’t understand what it means.

First, Coriander introduces herself (she was born in 1643) and her parents. Where they lived, how her parents met, how her mother could ‘cure’ the neighbours by recommending them to take some of her homemade remedies. Some people secretly called her mother a witch or a cunning woman but they still flock to her home to be treated.

Now one day, a package arrives for Coriander and what does she find in there? Why, it’s the pair of silver shoes that fit her so darn well. Unfortunately, her mother doesn’t allow her to wear them. Six-year-old Coriander who has fallen in love with the shoes just couldn’t understand why she wasn’t allowed to wear them. She knew that the shoes were made especially for her.

Unable to resist not being able to have those shoes, Coriander sneaks into her father’s room and discreetly wears them. She panics when she couldn’t take them off, as if they wouldn’t come off. Well, it was only temporary. The shoes acted normally after that and Coriander’s parents let her wear them freely.

After a while, something odd happened to Coriander’s mother. She died not much later and the family’s broken-hearted. To make matters worse, Coriander’s father is advised to take on a Puritan wife so that he can keep his properties. Mr. Hobie was supportive of the Royalist cause and the Royalists had lost the English Civil War.

Mr. Hobie’s new wife, Maud, is like the wife/step-mother from hell. She finds fault with almost everything and is set on making the house more Godly by removing and changing many things which she considers to be linked to witchcraft. She also brings a preacher, Arise Fell home and insists that he stay with them.

Arise Fell is definitely one person whom I would never like to meet! He’s an extremist, heartless, cunning, and just a really hated character in this book. I felt angry and sympathetic towards Coriander and the others who had to suffer from Arise Fell’s ‘hand of wrath’. He even forces Coriander to change her name to ‘Ann’ because Coriander is not a suitable name for a God-fearing person. Ridiculous!

You’ll enjoy reading I, Coriander as it’s magical and beautifully-written. The parts with Arise Fell were quite disturbing because he just seemed so cruel! He’s quite remarkable because he can influence people with what he preaches but things go too far when he takes matters into his own hands. For example, the part where he and Maud deliberately kill an old, defenseless woman while other people just stood by watching.

I should like to see this book turned into a movie. It would be quite fascinating to watch Coriander, Arise Fell, Tycho (Coriander’s love), and other characters on screen.

Other Reviews: Jenne, Jen Robinson, Casey

Popularity: 9%

Categories: Authors G, Genre - YA Historical Fantasy, Titles I
09
Apr 2007

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

By 17 Comments

You should read Rebel Angels after completing A Great and Terrible Beauty. Gemma, Felicity and Ann are back and Christmas is near. It is the holiday season so Gemma is about to experience life in London during the Christmas season.

There is also a new teacher at Spence Academy and she is Miss McCleethy. Gemma and her don’t really get along well. Gemma also finds Miss McCleethy a little bit suspicious and several incidents that occurred confirmed her suspicions even more.

Now, Gemma keeps having visions of three girls in white who are trying to tell her something. She is quite afraid of them since they looked pretty scary, judging from the descriptions about them. Well, they are ghosts anyway, so go figure.

On the day Gemma goes home, she meets the handsome Simon Middleton while waiting for her brother, Tom, at the train station. The meeting happened by chance because she was trying to lose someone whom she thought was following her. Simon shows interest in Gemma immediately and continues pursuing her. Soon, Gemma finds herself caught between Simon and Kartik.

Yes, Kartik from the Rakshana, is back too. His task is to help Gemma find the Temple before her enemy, Sarah or Circe finds it first, where she has to bind the magic, which has become loose since she destroyed the Runes of the Oracle in the realms. In fact, he has another crucial and difficult task, too but he’s not telling Gemma about it.

Gemma continues bringing Felicity and Ann to the realms where they are reunited with Pippa, who died in the first book. Pippa is obviously very happy to see and spend time with her friends again. Somehow, Gemma thinks that Pippa has changed and feels that she should not be trusted too much. Kartik did warn Gemma that nothing in the realms is to be trusted.

I was surfing the Internet for more information about the books by Libba Bray and stumbled upon the Wikipedia page. I couldn’t contain myself and went to the page with information on Rebel Angels. As I was reading about the summary of the book, my eyes caught the sentence that revealed Circe’s true identity! It was an accident but I was quite glad it happened. It made the reading a bit more fun.

It was hard to put down this book, as the story was so very interesting! I did not want the book to end at all. That’s the feeling I got while reading it. I’m utterly delighted that there is a 3rd book, The Sweet Far Thing coming out in September 2007/Autumn 2007. Truly, both Bray’s books are among the best fantasy books I’ve ever read.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: A High and Hidden Place, Becky

Popularity: 53%

Categories: Authors B, Genre - YA Historical Fantasy, Titles R Tags:
26
Mar 2007

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

By 14 Comments

I finished this book last night and was a little freaked out after that. Well, I was already scared out of my wits many nights before too. I tend to be a little bit afraid and extra-imaginative when I read stories that involve ghosts or dead people coming back to haunt. Pretty creepy, if you ask me.

Anyway, this book was not so bad. It’s an interesting story and I even bought the book that follows it, Rebel Angels. The 3rd book in this trilogy will be released in autumn 2007.

Gemma Doyle is the main character. She’s just turned 16 and lived in India her whole life. On the day of her 16th birthday, her mother took her own life. Gemma saw this in a vision and was shocked to know that her vision came true. She was also shocked that she had such powers, too.

Then, she was sent to Spence Academy in London to learn to become a well-mannered, proper lady, ready to be married to some proper gentleman. At Spence, the new girl was not so welcomed at first. Gemma had to bear with the group of highly stuck-up girls, which included Felicity and Pippa.

But, as things turned out, Gemma finds herself always in the company of Felicity, Pippa, and Ann, her roommate. They also take turns to read the diary of Mary Dowd, a girl who used to be at Spence 20 years ago and who supposedly died in a fire with her best friend, Sarah. Gemma is also very curious to find out more about these two girls who also had the same powers like her.

There is also the mysterious Kartik, whose brother, Amar was killed by the ‘thing’, which was after Gemma. Gemma finds herself attracted to Kartik but is not sure if he feels the same way towards her too. All he ever does is warn her not to have any more visions. He also spies on her to see what she is up to.

Oh, this book is quite different, too because there is a Reader’s Guide. There are Questions For Discussion and also an interview with the author herself, Libba Bray! So, after reading the book, you can ponder over the questions asked.

All the same, I have to say that A Great and Terrible Beauty is a well-written one. It is the type of book that is difficult to put down. I can’t wait to get started on Rebel Angels!

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: A High and Hidden Place, Iliana

Popularity: 53%

Categories: Authors B, Genre - YA Historical Fantasy, Titles A Tags: