The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

From the Publisher

IT HAS BEEN A YEAR OF CHANGE since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father a
laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds.

The Order - the mysterious group her mother was once part of - is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.

Publishers Weekly

The concluding volume in the trilogy begun in A Great and Terrible Beautyis a huge work of massive ambition, an undertaking that involves the plaiting and tying off a dozen plot threads-impending war in the realms and heroine Gemma Doyle's control of its magic being the central thread but, perhaps, not the most interesting. In chronicling Gemma's first year at Spence Academy, Bray has, over three books, widened her canvas from finishing school to fin-de-siècle London, weaving in the defining movements of the era-labor strikes over factory conditions, suffrage, the "radical" Impressionists just across the Channel, even fashion trends like bloomers for women daring enough to ride bicycles. Gemma is both buffeted and bolstered by her exposure to these developments, and readers experience how they shape her burgeoning understanding of who she is and who she may become. Some of Gemma's struggle is about power. As exalted as she is within the realms for her role as High Priestess of the secret society, her "otherness" marks her as unsuitable for proper Victorian circles. Gemma chafes not only at the physical constraints of a corset but at the myriad restrictions placed on women. Her quest is to break free, but at what cost? Bray poses these vital questions without sacrificing the gothic undertones of the previous volumes-the body count is high, and the deaths, gruesome. That creepiness is balanced by the fully realized company of players, including the insufferable headmistress, Mrs. Nightwing, the acid-tongued Felicity Worthington, hunky heartthrob Kartik and, of course, Gemma herself, a heroine readily embraced. Ages 14-up. (Dec.)

Children's Literature

This is the third and final book in "The Gemma Doyle" trilogy. It takes place a short time after the events of the second book Rebel Angels. The girls are still at Spence Academy. Gemma has bound the magic to her. Felicity and Ann still long for the freedom to live their lives as they see fit. Along with their upcoming debuts, Gemma and the girls must also face the mysterious Order and the Rakshana. Each group is vying for control of the realms. Within the realms, tensions are also rising. Gemma is the only one who can set everything right again. I do not think it fair to judge a series by a single book. My position only gets worse when the book in question is the last one in the series. As you can already guess, I have not read either one of the previous two books of "The Gemma Doyle" trilogy. But I am forced to say that I have no desire to. This book was enough. It could have been the feeling of being bashed over the head by all the quotes and allusions in an almost juvenile show of intelligence. It could have been the moments when the book's pace slowed to an agonizing crawl. Or it could be the moments of high danger that come to a screeching halt as the main characters frolic in the magical secondary world, the realms. In the end, this book wraps itself around the reader like a tight corset that just keeps getting tighter and tighter—until we pass out for lack of oxygen. This is a must miss book. Reviewer: Monserrat Urena

VOYA

Things have not gone well for Gemma since she bound the magic of the realms to herself. Former ally Kartik becomes an enemy. A mute woman in lavender appears in her visions and sends her cryptic messages. After decades of lying in a burnt ruin, Spence School rebuilds the East wing with disturbing results. Gemma's friends fare no better. Her undead friend, Pippa, grows dependent on magic. Felicity's inheritance depends on the good intentions of a malicious gossip, and Ann struggles to break free of her predestined fate as governess to her cousin's mucus-oozing children. As the magic within Gemma grows more unpredictable and the line between reality and the realms grows fainter, she learns that nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted. All good things must come to an end, and so must Bray's historical fantasy saga. Bray certainly deserves accolades for creating well-written, multi-genre fiction with complex characters. At 800-plus pages, however, the book suffers from too much detail and not enough action. There are many interesting tidbits sprinkled about the book like literary Easter eggs, but by page 500, the reader might begin to tire of repeated descriptions of the strife between the realms' citizens, the political machinations of the Rakshana, and Gemma's indecisiveness. This book is, in short, put-downable, an entirely undesirable attribute for a series finale. Nevertheless readers will want to find out the fate of their favorite characters as the novel moves towards its poignant ending. Reviewer: Angelica Delgado

Product Details

• ISBN: 0385730306
  
• ISBN-13: 9780385730303
• Format: Hardcover, 832pp
• Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
• Pub. Date: December 2007
• Sales Rank: 1,971
• Age Range: Young Adult
• Series: The Gemma Doyle Trilogy