A Great and Terrible Beauty

JJJ

My View:   Pretty good, but I can't quite put my finger on why. One complaint I have was that the whole story could have been squished into 50 pages if Bray had wanted to do it, because there is no story. I kept trying to compare it to Harry Potter (because the fantasy aspect connects them), and that led to my biggest complaint: there was nothing to reach for at the end. And without knowing what you were trying to get to in the end, it didn't work very well as a fantasy novel. Fantasy needs progression and a goal, or it loses its adventure. It wasn't stuck in the doldrums of predictability, really, but since the only depth in it comes from Gemma, and even she becomes too routine quickly, it was boring. I might read one of the next three, and I see why so many people recommend these books, but it's just not my favorite.

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_great_and_terrible_beauty

Link: http://www.libbabray.com/agreatandterriblebeauty.html

General Information:

Method of Reading:	Public Library hardcover novel, 403 pages
Dates of Reading:	April 28, 2010-May 6, 2010
Author:	Libba Bray
Publication Year:	2003
Recommended To:	Teen girls, but just those who don't mind a slower read. It kept me wanting to read more, though.
Quotes:
Movie?	No.

Always,
Your Bibliomaniac

Bibliographic info:
Bray, Libba. A Great and Terrible Beauty. New York: Delacorte, 2003. Print.