A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty

By Libba Bray

  • Release Date: 2003-12-09
  • Genre: Fantasy for Young Adults
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 143 Ratings
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Description

The first book in the critically acclaimed New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Gemma Doyle trilogy, the exhilarating and haunting saga from the author of The Diviners series and Going Bovine.

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?

“A delicious, elegant gothic.”—PW, Starred 

“Shivery with both passion and terror.”—Kirkus Reviews 

"Compulsively readable." --VOYA 

A New York Times Bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A Book Sense Bestseller
BBYA (ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults)
Iowa High School Book Award
Garden State Teen Book Award
Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award

Reviews

  • Childhood Favorite

    5
    By AddPainting
    I remember getting this book when I was ten years old. I’m now 30 and it’s still one of my favorites. This book was so imaginative and descriptive. I remember feeling joy, fear, sadness and so many other emotions whilst reading this phenomenal book and I still feel all of those emotions as an adult. Bravo, Ms. Bray.

  • Favorite book trilogy EVER.

    5
    By aestheticshalsey
    Amazing. Brilliant. Wonderful. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this series. It inspired me to write and was what made me the book worm I am today. What I will say is how mean everyone is in this book, but either way this is definitely a MUST read.

  • Enjoy

    5
    By clydesbonn
    So descriptive! Brilliant

  • Wonderfully Imaginative

    5
    By asapr212
    I bought this book on a lark and thought it might be mildly diverting - and it started that way. But as it unfolds it is very imaginative and by the end I was hoping there would be more. So I am. Excited to see there are two more books. Here's to more of the realms!

  • Beautiful and Tragic. Amazing.

    5
    By Bella526266262
    This is the most beautiful book I've ever read.. It inspired me in many ways and it made me very emotional. It actually make me think about life and I've wished that all of it could be real!

  • MUST READ.

    5
    By Snazzylady12
    I read this boom six years ago and I fell in love with the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. I reread the books every summer and I just fall in love with them over and over again. I was really hoping that this would be made into a movie, but part of me think that it's for the best that it hasn't, because nothing could ever live up to how great these books are!!

  • The Best Book!

    5
    By Supertezz14
    This is the one book that I've ever read that I could read twice, and I have! I recommend it to any teen with a passion for a story with love, freedom, and magic. A MUST read!!!!

  • Mind=Blown

    5
    By Wallydrag Wyvern
    This book was incredible, I couldn't put it down! The trilogy just got better as I read! This book is pure genius. I never cry over books (except Harry Potter of course) but these books touched my heart and made me feel like I was apart of the story.

  • Good read

    2
    By Ebonydahll
    It took me awhile to actually get into it but at the end I could barely put it down. Too slow at the beginning. It took me over a year to complete. That doesn't generally happen with me.

  • The best book in the world

    5
    By k1irsten
    So, this is my favorite book series! In this book, it totally captivated me and I felt so engrossed in the book that I seriously read the book non stop. I read it in all of my classes, in the car, everywhere I could go! It is one of those books that is the perfect historical fantasy book!. It gave me everything that I wanted, and highly recommend it to any person looking for a good book!

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