So, I caved on Saturday and purchased the final book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy in hardback. (Sam Weller’s, my local independent bookstore, was having an awesome sale so Matt and I went crazy.) Anyway, I am about 300 pages into The Sweet Far Thing. Each chapter I read in the series makes me change my mind about Libba Bray and her writing style. The books are set in Victorian England, largely at a finishing school for girls. However, many of the elements and character traits are pretty modern. For example, one of the main characters, Ann, cuts herself. Another character, Felicity, was sexually molested as a child by her father, a well regarded admiral. Further, the heroine, Gemma, thinks a lot like a modern girl would. She often makes witty asides in her head. Also, the book makes a clear statement about the limitations on women’s lives during that time and, perhaps, during these times.
One of the most frustrating things about the story, for me, is the relative lack of knowledge any of the characters, and therefore the readers, have about the “realms”—a kind of alternate, magical universe. Without a list of rules to follow, it is hard to suspend disbelief and allow the characters to flitter about in the realms. Also, it sometimes feels as if the author makes up the rules as she goes along.
In any case, the books are terribly readable. I find myself reading several chapters in one sitting. I would recommend the books to older teens (say, over 14) and adults who are not turned off by teenage wist.
*More on The Golden Notebook soon.
Buy The Sweet Far Thing (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy)
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