A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libby Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty
Libby Bray
ISBN 9780385732314
403 pages
Delacorte Press, 2003

Genre: Supernatural

Reader's Annotation:
Sent to live at a school for girls after her mother's mysterious death in 1895, Gemma becomes aware of her supernatural powers and uses them to bring her friends to a spirit realm.

Plot Summary:
It's 1895, and sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle, who has spent most of her life in India, longs to return to England. After her mother dies in mysterious circumstances, Gemma's family sends her to Spence Academy, a finishing school for girls in London. Gemma finds the environment at Spence stifling; the teachers train the students to be nothing more than obedient wives and mothers, and she immediately makes enemies of powerful Felicity and beautiful Pippa, the two most popular girls at school.  Since her mother's death, though, Gemma slowly becomes aware she has magical powers that allow her to glimpse the spirit world. She finds a diary written by two Spence students 20 years ago that details their experiences with similar magical powers.

Miss Moore, Spence's art teacher, urges her students to think for themselves and use their minds. In an art lesson, she teaches the girls about a mythical Order of women, who had the gift of prophecy and could visit the spirit world. Gemma, along with Felicity and Pippa (who have declared a truce), and Gemma's roommate Ann, an unhappy orphan who is at Spence on scholarship, decide to recreate the Order and use the diary to teach them how to do so.  They are successful, and in visiting the spirit world, where they can make anything happen, they become unhappier with the restrictions placed on them in their real lives. They try to use the magical powers to change their own lives for the better.  They realize, too late, that the diary had hidden secrets and that they may have set into motion actions beyond their control.

Critical Evaluation
Bray has created an interesting mix of genres in this book: while primarily a supernatural story, the historical story also has a strong feminist slant.  The girls all struggle with their total lack of power and the limited options available to them. Beautiful Pippa knows she is little more than a marker for her father's gambling debts and will be married off to the first rich man who proposes. Charming Felicity has been all but abandoned by her parents; her father, a famous Admiral, spends all his time at sea, while her mother has run away to Paris and abandoned her family.  Clever Ann, who is an outcast as school because of her plain face, dour personality, and scholarship status, knows she will spend her life as a governess for wealthy families, teaching children who will have opportunities in life she's never dared dream of. And Gemma, who has also been largely abandoned by her family, struggles to understand her new powers and is torn between the power and pleasure she gets from using them and the fear that she is playing at games she does not yet fully understand.

The teachers at Spence, too, show the limited options available for women of this era; Miss Moore has chosen not to marry and urges the girls to become vessels for their own opinions and dreams, rather than just reflecting those of their family.  Their French teacher, Mlle Defarge, pines after a fiance who never calls, and Brigid, the housekeeper who has been at Spence for years and has observed everything, may hold the key to the truth behind the events in the diary.

The supernatural aspects of the novel underscore its feminist aspects; Miss Moore points out how women with powers have always been feared by the men in power, and a brotherhood of men tries to stop Gemma from further developing her powers. While they are in the spirit realm, the girls use their new powers to exert their influence on the world, creating a life that they themselves have defined, rather than blindly accepting society's narrow definition of what a proper young lady should be.

The friendships between the girls feel modern and fresh; readers will both relate to their struggles with parents and with school and be pleasantly spooked and thrilled by the supernatural elements of the Gothic novel.

Other Novels in the Series
Rebel Angels (2005)
The Sweet Far Thing (2007)

About the Author
In addition to the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Libby Bray has written short stories in several young adult trilogies. Her newest novel, Going Bovine, was released September 2009 and is described as a comic fantasy novel in the vein of Douglas Adams.  Bray, who is American, says she envisioned Gemma as a "heroine who kicks butt and takes names--all in a corset and crinoline."

Curriculum Ties
Women's role in historical society

Booktalking Ideas
1. Describe the social power dynamics at Spence and explain how Gemma and Felicity first are enemies, then become friends. But are they really friends, or just "frenemies"?
2. Describe the limits the four main girls feel have been placed on their lives, what they want to do versus what their families want for them.
3. Talk about Gemma's powers and the supernatural elements of the book.

Reading Interest/Level
9th grade and up

Challenge Issues
The girls sneak whiskey and get drunk.  There is some sexual talk, though nothing more happens than a kiss.  There is some violence, including the ritual sacrifice of both an animal and a child, as well as strong supernatural content. One character deals with her pain by cutting.

If the book were to be challenged, the librarian should be aware of the library's selection policy and be able to explain and defend it to the challenger.  The librarian should ideally read the book and familiarize herself with the controversial content, or she is unable to do that, rely on sites like Common Sense Media (http://www.commonsensemedia.org/) that review media for parents and try to objectively detail the title's content.

The librarian could also point out to the book's positive reviews in professional journals, as well as its multiple awards, including being named a 2006 ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

Selection Criteria
Though you can't judge a book by its cover, I have to admit I was drawn in by the book's title and cover image. While reading the back, I realized that it was a supernatural book (my group presentation genre). When I realized that the book was the first in a popular and well-reviewed trilogy, I decided it was a must-read for this class.