A Great and Terrible Beauty
by Libba Bray (Author)
Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she manipulates her way into the treacherous clique. Meanwhile, Gemma’s prophetic visions continue and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control.
Recognition: ALA Teens' Top Ten (2004); Iowa High School Book Award (2007); Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2007)
Recognition: ALA Teens' Top Ten (2004); Iowa High School Book Award (2007); Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2007)
Gemma Doyle Trilogy Series—Summary and Book Order
Series: Gemma Doyle TrilogyReading level: 12+
Books in series: 3
Read in order? Yes
Next release: Finished
Tags: paranormal fantasy historical illness & grief
Print series book list
Books in series order
1. A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003)2. Rebel Angels (2005)
3. The Sweet Far Thing (2007)