false 14609431 876626 304306 0385732317 9780385732314 178 http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/30/306/304306-m-1255665100.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/30/306/304306-s-1255665100.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/304306.A_Great_and_Terrible_Beauty 3.86 904 Gemma, 16, 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 blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they 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. Gemma is left wi! th the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy. (Ages 12 up) -Patty Campbell

]]> 2526 3.87 33192 5454 2003 3 10 false Thu Jan 31 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 05 06:43:01 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 11:43:23 -0800 2008 more...]]>