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Tarfumes.com - A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy)
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List Price: $9.99
Our Price: $9.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780385732314
ISBN: 0385732317
Label: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 432
Publication Date: 2005-03-22
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: 2005-03-22
Studio: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
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Editorial Reviews:
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It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?
From the Hardcover edition.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Enchanting
Comment: Libba Bray's style of writing is beautiful and descriptive, making it easy to get lost in the pages. This is a spell-bounding story that takes you on a mysterious journey with Gemma and a trio of her closest friends. With romantic undertones of a love affair brewing and questions left unanswered, you'll be eager to delve into the next installment of the trilogy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Funny and Smart
Comment: This was a very, very enjoyable book and I look forward to the sequels. Though this is set in the Victorian era (nice change for once) the subject of finding one's place in life, finding happiness, finding good qualities in those around us and compassion was refreshing. The characters were funny, smart and brave and they didn't compromise themselves during the process. Highly recommend!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unable to Put Book Down
Comment: A Great and Terrible Beauty is an exceptionally well-crafted novel that will leave its mark upon its young adult readers. It follows the story of Gemma Doyle, a young girl in nineteenth-century England. After the unexpected loss of her mother, Gemma is sent away to school. She struggles to adjust to her new finishing school, Spence Academy for Young Girls, while also coping with the loss of her mother. At the same time, she begans to have strange visions. These visions of are people, places, and events that she is unable to identify. Are they from the future, the past, or perhaps simply meaningless random thoughts that are the result of the stress she is under. She is confused and has nobody to turn to for help.
When Gemma finds her mother's diary, she reads about strange places her mother called the realms, a parallel world where both good and evil exist. Gemma finds the clues within the diary for entering the realms and soon she and her friends journey there and are able to experience life as they desire. The friends travel back and forth between the realms and the real world, but it isn't long before Gemma realizes that Kartik, a mysterious young man, has been following her. He warns her not to enter the realms and to refrain from having visions. Gemma must decide whether to heed his warnings or continue indulging in the magic of the realms.
There is a reason why Libba Bray is one of the hot new authors of the high school crowd. She knows what type of story will draw teens away from their computers and into a fascinating world of gothic thrills. Her wonderfully descriptive words create a visual world full of action and adventure. Within a few pages, the reader is enthralled with the lives of Gemma and her friends. Because of Bray's descriptive skills, the reader is also easily able to visualize the gothic world the characters live in.
The story is both a Victorian-style mystery and an exquisite fantasy. The characters are easy to relate to and their problems are ones that young readers could easily imagine in their own lives. As Gemma narrates the story, readers will find themselves laughing along with her quirky remarks while also concerned about her safety as she travels to the realms.
Quill says: This excellent story will have readers unable to put the book down.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Comment: When I first started reading this book, I wasn't sure if I would like it very much. All the writing is in the present tense... but the story was very good. I absolutely loved the characters (Kartik *cough cough*) and the plot was great, too. Like almost every other book, it takes a while to start getting interesting, but once I understood the background, I could barely put the book down. Not my favorite of the series, but it's still great! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance, magic, and the Victorian era.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I would give this book 10 stars if possible!
Comment: At first I wasn't expecting much, I thought this book was going to be one of those books about the proper boring girls...but I was sadly mistaken. From India to London to the realms and back; not only is sixteen year old Gemma far from boring, she's not perfect, and she does whatever it takes to fix things, thats what I think makes her so interesting. And not to mention the ability to see the future.
One of my favorite things of the book is that it's realistic fiction with a magical flare! You can feel eerie, suspenseful, mysterious part of the book but then turn the page and feel engulfed in the beauty of Gemma's magic.
After I finished "A Great and Terrible Beauty" I was so excited to hear that there is a sequel...and then a third book too!!
Happy Reading.
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