A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Oct 29, 2008 Shannon rated it it was ok

I picked this up at a used book store a little while ago and thought it sounded like a quick and easy read. It was quick and easy, but not in a very satisfying way. I thought the book's failings were:

-Weak Character Development: It took a long time for me to begin to see the characters as more than two dimensional stereotypes. Even after the characters came alive a bit, I thought scenes that should have been emotional fell flat, partly because I didn't really believe in the characters.

-Slow Plot I picked this up at a used book store a little while ago and thought it sounded like a quick and easy read. It was quick and easy, but not in a very satisfying way. I thought the book's failings were:

-Weak Character Development: It took a long time for me to begin to see the characters as more than two dimensional stereotypes. Even after the characters came alive a bit, I thought scenes that should have been emotional fell flat, partly because I didn't really believe in the characters.

-Slow Plot Line: While the book starts with a pivotal event that gets the book rolling, I thought it took the author a long time to get to the point. I wasn't pulled right in.

There were some good things as well:

-Unique Perspective: I liked thinking about the role of women in Victorian society and how that has and hasn't changed over time. Placing the action at an elite boarding school (or perhaps I should say grooming school) caused me to think about what expectations we have and set for our daughters. I'm certainly not explicitly sending the message that daughters need to hone skills that will snare them a husband, but am I subtly doing that in ways I don't see? (I hope NOT!)

-Spots of Nice Writing: Every now and then, I felt the author found her voice (although it was largely a 20th century voice, not a Victorian one). Here's a passage that I found provoking: "We're all looking glasses, we girls, existing only to reflect their images back to them as they'd like to be seen. Hollow vessels of girls to be rinsed of our own ambitions, wants, and opinions, just waiting to be filled with the cool, tepid water of gracious compliance." If there were more of that in this book, I would have gladly given it three stars, but as that didn't occur until page 305, it only merits two stars. Actually, had I seen some of this type of thinking acted upon, I would have rated the book higher. As it was, the main character, Gemma, was never portrayed as strong enough to go against the grain. Sure, she dabbled in the occult, which is not common, but I can't say I see that as a valid path for changing perceptions of women in society. ...more

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Dec 31, 2018 Christina rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, ya

3.5 stars. This book definitely had interesting themes, particularly feminist themes and issues related to choices and consequences. My biggest issue was that I had a hard time connecting with the main four characters including Gemma herself (though I felt closest to her than anyone else). I appreciate that they are all flawed, which is important for any character, but is definitely important for this story, but I often felt there wasn't enough about them to appreciate, period, in order to feel ...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Terri rated it it was ok

Shelves: all_part_of_the_job, paranormal

the jury is still out on this one...there seemed to be a lot of build-up which was boring and just when i would be about to stop listening they would throw something out that would pull me in...going to try and read the second book instead of listen to it and see if that makes a difference

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