by Libba Bray
December 2003
Delacorte Books
Gemma Doyle isn't like the other girls.
When I picked up these books the only thing I knew about them was "Victorian boarding school meets otherworldly fantasy." But these books are so much more. Yes, there is a boarding school full of petty girls, an old mystery to solve, a romance with a mysterious young man from India, and adventures in a magical yet dangerous world with otherworldly creatures from the realms. The thing that really spoke to me, however, was the message throughout these books about the liberating carelessness of youth. Gemma, our heroine, is constantly complaining about her stifling corset and the suffocating rules that guide her life as a young girl about to make her debut into Victorian society. But when Gemma and her friends step into the Realms, magic makes anything possible. The girls can do anything or be anyone they want to be -- and it empowers them beyond their wildest dreams. The themes and issues that this trilogy deals with have not remained in the Victorian past, but are relevant in society today as lessons for girls of all ages. And by all ages, I actually mean sixteen and up, as there is some sensuality and thematic material that may not be appropriate for younger audiences.
The Gemma Doyle Trilogy
A Great and Terrible Beauty
Rebel Angels
The Sweet Far Thing
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