|
The Sweet Far Thing (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy) | 
 enlarge | Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $8.57
You Save: $9.42 (52%)
New (38) Used (29) Collectible (1) from $8.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  120 reviews
Sales Rank: 2543
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 832
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 6.1 x 2.1
ISBN: 0385730306
EAN: 9780385730303
ASIN: 0385730306
Publication Date: December 26, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: All orders guaranteed and ship with in 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
IT HAS BEEN A YEAR OF CHANGE since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father a
laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds.
The Order - the mysterious group her mother was once part of - is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 115 more reviews...
 Perfect Ending September 28, 2008
I love this series and the last book is no exception. It is quite long but I was glad for the extra pages as I wanted to spend as much time as possible in this fictitious world. I am a sucker for happy endings so I was upset to hear that perhaps this wasn't going to be a fairy tale ending. I even put reading the book off, nervous that the end would ruin the whole series for me. Luckily I decided to read it, and I am definitely glad. While everything may not end up peachy keen, I think it helps to deliver a subtle message in the book that most YA novels are lacking...*hint - has to do with feminism.* I loved this series and The Sweet Far Thing was a great final installment.
 Mixed Feelings Abound September 13, 2008
To get one thing out of the way, like a previous commenter, I read YA novels as an adult because I find "adult" literature to be over saturated with promiscuity and explicit sex/violence/drug use. I am interested in a good story, not cheap thrills. I got a little wary when Kartik and Gemma were getting more alone time, but thankfully Ms. Bray did not veer into Harlequin territory. For that, I thank her. As for themes of incest, self-mutilation, drug use, and homosexuality; these things have been present since ancient times. The fact that they were so thoroughly hushed up during the Victorian era does not mean they didn't exist, and I think Ms. Bray introduced them in a consistent and thoughtful manner.
I plowed through this book in four days, so I'm certain I must have enjoyed it. However, I remember my overarching feeling while reading was that of frustration. Ann and Felicity were so selfish and petulant for most of the book, unable to spare any compassion or thought for Gemma's feelings, that I found myself hoping Gemma would just tell them off and go on her merry way. I know Felicity had her reasons but she was particularly odious right up until the last 100 pages or so.
I don't have the anger the younger readers might have over the Kartik storyline because I was never that invested in it. I found that burgeoning romance to be a bit gimmicky and a way to shoehorn the issues of race, caste, and sexual repression into the novel. On the other hand, I never expected Gemma and Simon to end up together, but discovering that Simon was a pawn in someone else's game seemed to steal a lot of the weight from the second novel (Rebel Angels, which I enjoyed very much). It also seemed like an afterthought, given the reason why Gemma split with Simon. If he was really recruited for that purpose, shouldn't he have given the right answer to continue the ruse and gain the Rakshana's end?
More than anything else, I had a problem with the pacing of this book. There were numerous drawn-out passages of "parties" in a moldering castle where the girls always danced in circles while Gemma felt left out, then when Gemma did something like travel all the way from London to Spence into the realms up the mountain to the well of eternity, it would be covered in one paragraph! That got a bit confusing, as one minute Gemma would be in bed and the next talking to Circe and I'd have to re-read to figure out what the heck happened. I had a tough time believing Gemma wouldn't realize Circe could use magic to escape from the well after everything, especially when Circe pressed her repeatedly to say she gave the magic of her own will. The endless waiting for Gemma to make a decision about what to do in the realms was quite annoying as well. She never really did decide, either, it all just sort of happened at the end.
I was ok with Ann and Felicity's endings, they seemed somewhat believable. I was glad Ann grew a spine in time to seize her chance, and Felicity has the fortune and force of personality to make her way. Gemma's ending is the one that bothered me. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Seemed a little cheesy and overwrought. Feminism hooray! All the "corseted minds" stuff seemed pretty forced and Disney-fied. One minute she's looking forward to her debut and altering Grandma's mind for the extra-fancy dress, the next she's done a complete 180.
One final observation, I agree with the reader who noted that the girls got away with far too much. The way Gemma was acting she would have been packed off to a Sanatorium long before the halfway mark. The girls were very closely watched when it served the story, then sent alone into a gypsy camp full of men when that was useful.
I feel like they didn't give Ms. Bray enough time to prune and fine-tune. I'd rather have a great read than one that met the deadline.
Imaginative, wonderful conclusion September 12, 2008
I enjoyed the final installment of the Gemma Doyle trilogy very much. I didn't mind the length at all, I savored every minute of it. Gemma has definitely become one of my favorite literary heroines; her independent spirit and desire to do things differently was refreshing during a time when women weren't often taught to have a voice. The Sweet Far Thing, like its predecessors, was once again magical and enchanting, but incredibly heart-wrenching toward the end. Overall, it was a beautiful conclusion to the trilogy, and one of my all-times favorites.
Great ending to seris, but very sad. :( September 2, 2008
I didn't like the ending to this book for one reason. And that reason made me so sad. Kartik dies! How dare that be the end. I hated that. Yeah I know he died for Gemma and that it was true love. But why couldn't they have made it Felicity or Ann who dies? I did really love the travel to the end. It was filled with ups and downs. You learn more about the realms. This book is twice the romance, twice the advanture and twice the magic. To each his own magic! Fans of the previous books will love the ending to the Gemma Doyle seris. I was dissapointed in the end, but this is still one of my favorite books! People who love Harry Potter and people who love the Twilight saga will love this book. Because the Gemma Doyle seris is a cross between the two, Harry Potter because of the magic and Twilight because of the romance. A Sweet Far Thing has many different twists and suprises. Even though the ending is tragic this a great ending to the seris!
Great Series but Such a Sad Ending! August 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing were such great books that I could not put them down. My favorite was The Sweet Far Thing even though it was long and pretty sad. I'm just really disappointed with the ending of that book though when Kartik dies. I acutually cried! I really didn't understand that part that much either but, I was just so sad. Gemma and Kartik should have had a happily ever after ending living back in India or in America. Their love was strong and then he has so die! Also when Miss McCleathy gets sacrificed too and dies, was pretty sad too. Overall, this book was filled with so much thrilling adventures and romance. It was a great book with just a really sad ending that should have been modified!
|
|
|
Copyright 2008 - RailroadBookstore.com
| |
