The Sweet Far Thing

The concluding chapter of Bray's trilogy (A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY, 2004, and REBEL ANGELS, 2005) is again given voice by Josephine Bailey, who creates the many characters of this rich Victorian world. As Gemma Doyle and her friends at Spence Academy deal with the strictures of their society--worrying about making their debuts and escaping from under the tight control of their fathers and brothers--they must, at the same time, sort out the lethal mystery that surrounds the Realms, a complex alter-universe peopled by mythical creatures and the undead. Bailey's narration establishes the necessary continuity with the previous books, allowing listeners of the first two volumes to resume their connection to the Realms and Victorian England. S.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from October 29, 2007
The concluding volume in the trilogy begun in A Great and Terrible Beauty
is a huge work of massive ambition, an undertaking that involves the plaiting and tying off a dozen plot threads—impending war in the realms and heroine Gemma Doyle’s control of its magic being the central thread but, perhaps, not the most interesting. In chronicling Gemma’s first year at Spence Academy, Bray has, over three books, widened her canvas from finishing school to fin-de-siècle London, weaving in the defining movements of the era—labor strikes over factory conditions, suffrage, the “radical” Impressionists just across the Channel, even fashion trends like bloomers for women daring enough to ride bicycles. Gemma is both buffeted and bolstered by her exposure to these developments, and readers experience how they shape her burgeoning understanding of who she is and who she may become. Some of Gemma’s struggle is about power. As exalted as she is within the realms for her role as High Priestess of the secret society, her “otherness” marks her as unsuitable for proper Victorian circles. Gemma chafes not only at the physical constraints of a corset but at the myriad restrictions placed on women. Her quest is to break free, but at what cost? Bray poses these vital questions without sacrificing the gothic undertones of the previous volumes—the body count is high, and the deaths, gruesome. That creepiness is balanced by the fully realized company of players, including the insufferable headmistress, Mrs. Nightwing, the acid-tongued Felicity Worthington, hunky heartthrob Kartik and, of course, Gemma herself, a heroine readily embraced. Ages 14-up.

July 1, 2008
Gr 9 Up-Set in Victorian England, Libba Bray's novel (Delacorte, 2007) is a complex, multilayered finale to her Gemma Doyle Trilogy. Daughter of an aristocrat, Gemma struggles to fend off those who want the extraordinary magical powers she inherited from her late mother. She's also trying to understand the denizens of the Realms, a mystical nether world beneath the Earth. At the same time, Gemma is uncertain about her relationship with her love interest, the gypsy Kartik. All this happens amid the debutante season that's the focus of her Spence School classmates. This novel is packed with realistic characters and otherworldly nymphs, centaurs, and a gorgon. Gemma copes with her grieving, laudanum-addicted father, the societal constraints imposed by her pretentious grandmother, and her brother's connection to a secret power-hungry club. After a dangerous confrontation with the dark forces, Gemma takes her life in a bold new direction. Combining passionate emotion and eerie mystery, narrator Josephine Bailey creates distinctive voices for the diverse cast of human and mythological beings. Both heterosexuality and homosexuality are discreetly presented in the context of this mystery-fantasy with its romantic, historical fiction setting. This unique combination of genres and a strong female protagonist are sure to attract adolescent girls. Libraries that already own the first two volumes will definitely want to complete this intriguing saga.Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT

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