A Great and Terrible Beauty: Monthly Review

For what audience(s) is this book intended, and how can you tell? (In other words, for whom would you recommend this book?)

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray is an intense gothic novel, with mystery, intrigue, betrayal, and romance. While the novel is written with a comedic edge and is narrated by the main character, Gemma, it is rooted in darkness. Gemma loses her mother at the beginning of the book, and Libba Bray spends the majority of her pages unraveling the mystery that is her mother’s murder, culminating in the realization that Gemma is apart of a secret Order. This book is intended for readers who like losing themselves in the impossibilities of a great book. A Great and Terrible Beauty explores a magical realm where extraordinary things become ordinary, and it concentrates dramatically on the magic that can be found in this parallel world. Teenagers, I believe, would love this novel not only because it is mysterious and intriguing but also because it is narrated by a teenager itself, a young girl with adolescent thoughts and emotions, immature and irrational behaviors and lustful desires. While I think that adults will be able to appreciate this book for all its creativity, the book itself is geared more towards the youth of today. Another reason that I think this book is intended towards teenagers is for the sheer fact that the voice of the novel is living is 1895. Teenagers reading this story will not only look at the magical realms and enchanted Gypsy-infested woods that can be found at the Spence Academy where the storyline takes place, but will look at the alternate reality that is life centuries past and see it as a different, otherwordly environment that coincides with the magical mysteries of A Great and Terrible Beauty. I would recommend this book mainly to young girls, because the life of men is barely delved into, and the childish interpretations of the novel are completely feminine and in no way relatable to a teenage boy’s lfiestyle. While the novel is a great read, those of us who cringe at tension and cliffhangers are not meant to read this novel: the mysteries of this book are always multiplying, and are rarely solved quickly.

If you've read other books in this same genre, how does this one compare?

A Great and Terrible Beauty is a novel completely unlike any others (with the exception of it’s sequels). I have read many fiction novels with magical roots, ie. the Harry Potter series, but this novel is so uniquely individual, it stands out far more than any other book I have read in this genre. One of the misconceptions that are associated with teen novels, I have realized, is that they are frivolous, indulgent excuses for novels, because the age they are geared towards is simply shallow. Surprisingly, this pathetic statement has been backed up by some seriously pathetic novels written for the teenage groups, especially mystery novels with magical roots. It takes a special book, like this one, to handle this genre in a relateable way, and while it was scary and disturbing at times, I think that is what makes this book so outstanding. A Great and Terrible Beauty takes the idea of a magical order of young women, an alternate reality where both good and evil creatures reside, constantly waging battles and false aliances, and makes it so much more adult than it’s meant-for-teenagers exterior. The deaths in this book are deep, with not only emotional ties, but also evil corruptions. This book introduces us to four young, youthful women with romantic dilemmas, personal self-doubts, and troubling realizations, and transforms the characters into women who will do anything to keep the magic of the realms within their grasps. Unlike other books in this genre, A Great and Terrible Beauty claims the deep darkness of the magic they are messing with, and then shows it to us. The women turn wild, kill helpless animals, become animalistic themselves, and give in to the power and lust that is the demonic side of the main character’s magical essence. In this novel, not all is “faith, love and pixie dust”. It is about disappointment, loss, grief, and overcoming all those demanding emotions. This novel will inspire its readers, but not before it shocks them with visions of untouchable darkness.

Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth.

Gemma Doyle, the main character, is the most inspiring of all the girls in A Great and Terrible Beauty. At the beginning of the novel, she is nothing but a white girl living in India, craving the taste of the civilized culture that is London. But when her mother dies, she is brought into that world, carrying with her the burden of a unique heirloom: the ability to disappear into another world, harness its power, see visions, do amazing and horrible things. She realizes soon that her mother’s death was actually a murder, and she is the next planned victim. Yet inspite of this, inspite of the loss she faces and the overwhelming confusion she feels towards her new gifts, she stays strong. She is sent to school in a place where magic is bred, where great evil deeds have been done, and where the temptation for her to hide in herself is unbearably strong. But Gemma prevails. She forms friendships with girls who originally bullied her and through this friendship she shares with them the magic of the realms. What inspired me the most was the fact that she could use her gift to torment the others, if not actually, then in the form of bribery, but she did not.These girls thrived on leaving the world behind and going into these realms, so much in fact that one of them commits suicide to stay forever in this land. But while the power is in her grasp, the temptation is right in front of her, Gemma never gives into it. She sees past the incredible power she can have through evil, and instead resolves to fight against the people who killed her mother, the ones who threaten the lives of her friends. Although she is just a fictional character, she is incredible. She is the true hero in the story, not for what she is able to do with her powers, but because of who she is able to be.

A Great and Terrible Beauty: Lit Circle III

The first thing that I did when I finished reading the third section of the novel was to go into my room, scour through my dresser drawers, and find the sequels that have been collecting dust for years. This novel is so amazing: it is mysterious but relatable, and deeply dark. Now that the novel has finished, the four main characters Gemma, Ann, Felicity and Pippa have grown so close that their friendship actually managed to touch me. The magic of the realms that Gemma has introduced to all her friends reveals itself as we end the book: it is no longer just this wonderful escape from the harsh realities that greet these girls as they journey through the “door” Gemma can create, but it is a living, breathing thing that hosts evil as much as good.

The temptation of the magical realm in this novel was so strong, I wanted to delve into it myself. When Pippa relinquishes herself to the unknowns of this world, my heart physically ached because although some mysteries involving the land have been solved, more mysteries are yet to be unveiled. However, I think this plot twist was necessary: nothing was left for Pippa in her life in London. Her illness no longer plagued her when she was in the realms, and she was not faced with the idea of living life with a man much older than her, a life where her wildness would be beaten out of her by her social responsibilites.

The book managed to transform all these characters in different ways: Gemma became more powerful and self aware; Ann found a place for herself, and with that, discovered self-worth; Felicity became more caring and loving; and Pippa’s growth, while it led her to her grave, was able to save her from everything she was living for. A Great and Terrible Beauty is so untouchable, so mysterious and tempting. It is everything that a great novel should be, and that in itself is enough to make me delve into those sequels.

A Decade Later

Seniors. That very word depicts a feeling of maturity, of youth coming to a close. Being a senior in high school is a time of realization, when the pressures of the last four years fall away, and you start integrating to yourself into society. Some teenagers who reach their Senior year have begun working, experiencing life outside of only parents and peers. Others may find themselves at a fork in the road: should I go on to college, take a gamble and spend four plus years under the thumb of men and women who drill me with knowledge, of should I take a more direct and risky route by going for my dreams as a fresh-faced, if a little naïve, eighteen-year-old?

I am not a senior; I am a Junior who has hopped from schools in a handful of states, befriended Freshmen and Seniors both, and I have finally come to this conclusion: I do not want to be a Senior. The pressure they feel, the fact that their life at home, their life with the friends they have to day, has an impenetrable expiration date. Sure, the school system tries to make its sharp nudge into the cold, brutal world slightly more comfortable by showering us with diplomas and special end-of-the-year, 0ne-last-hoorah type dances. But the fact of the matter is, Senior year is not the cake walk most Seniors with a light course load seem to be dealing with. Senior year is about growing up, moving on, being on your own, and personally, I feel that Senior year would be my toughest year even if Seniors were not given Math homework or countless essays.

When did we get this old? I understand that the majority of society looks down at us as clueless adolescents, interchangeable with infants and toddlers, but the fact is, we have lived seventeen long years. And every year, we have new classes, new friends; every few years, we have to integrate ourselves into a new school; and even though we fall into routine, routine never lasts more than a few months. How do we do it? While some adults are homeless or still living with their parents, not knowing what tomorrow will bring, the majority of adults have a synchronized routine that they fall on a daily basis.

What scares me the most about being a Senior is that there are no more steps to adult hood. Until now, we have taken every opportunity we can to be adults: getting a summer job, buying a car, even simple things like shopping alone. But once we get into Senior year, us students know that it is the last step. Yes, hopefully the majority of us will be going to college, but even if we merge with higher-education, we will be adults. Senior year, we are the personification of our schools. Senior year, we have to start realizing how we want to contribute to our society. The clock is ticking, and while I don’t know how I will be like April 13th, 2011, I know that my days of dependency will be numbered.