Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion
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A Great and Terrible Beauty by: Libba Bray
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Julie
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Jan 15, 2008 02:38PM

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A third book featuring Gemma just came out in December called "The Sweet Far Thing."
I can't wait to read it!



I think the problem I had with the third one was that I started to really dislike the characters. They weren't particularly likable in the first two, but by the third I really didn't want to hear about their arguing anymore. It's very hard to read a book when you can't stand the characters anymore.





I am having a hard time getting into City of Glass:(
If you feel like Great and Terrible is slow, just keep in mind that Rebel Angels is AMAZING! One of my top five of all time!

I have to wait until my Library gets in Rebel Angels... :P



I'd say that yes, this is 7th grade appropriate IMO.


There are certain elements in the series that I really like, but there is also a rather dark, unsettling undercurrent that rubs me the wrong way.



And THAT is why I bought the book the day it came out and STILL haven't read it. I used to read Libba Bray's blog quite frequently (stopped when the book came out, to stay away from spoilers), and I was NOT CONFIDENT that she was a happy-ending kind of person....







It's a classic! One of my all-time favorites!
<3
MZ

She is very funny, but also sincere and genuine in a way very few people are. She has a wonderful way of really listening to each and every person she speaks to - the kind of author it's a pleasure to support!
<3
MZ


Spoilers
The tree thing drove me nuts too! I used to read Terry Brooks and he turned love interests into trees...TWICE (in two seperate but way to similar book). So by the time Libba turned Kartik who I LOVED into a tree I was fed up. You can have romance with a tree. GRR

By the way that I interpreted it, I got that Ms. Bray hinted that Gemma was going away to "discover" herself, and that eventually she would find a way to come back to Kartik and figure out how to undo it.
Obviously, that's a big interpretation, but it just seems like the story was left very open ended.

Do you guys think it's worth reading anyway, despite that complete and utter fail?
*edit: I just read some of the other posts on here. Glad to see I'm not the only one that still hasn't read the last book! :P





I listened to them all on audio book last summer. The narrator, Josephine Bailey, is a goddess on wheels. For those of you that are having trouble finishing the series, I definitely recommend tracking down the audio versions. When I was done, I bought them all in paperback so I could loan them out and introduce people to their awesomeness.
I suppose I'm in the minority, because I loved the ending. I thought it was extremely fitting. I agree with Stacia, in that the ending was sort of open-ended and Gemma will find a way to make it right - she's just that kind of person.
"There's no such thing as happy endings, because nothing ever ends." -Schmendrick the Magician, The Last Unicorn
I love the last lines of "The Sweet Far Thing." I remember listening to the end of the book on my iPod while on vacation in Maine, sitting on the rocks and staring out at the ocean and getting chills and chills. I'm getting chills right now thinking about it.

Thanks!

No you're right. Although I don't completely remember where her mother was, they were pretty negligent parents; my guess is that since Rebel Angels takes place around the holidays they were together for that reason and maybe to help their image in society since that was a pretty big deal at the time.



The only weird thing is the whole lesbian thing but hey, I can accept that in amongst the awesomeness.