Book Review: The Gemma Doyle trilogy

Title: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing

Author: Libba Bray
Year Published: 2003-2007

Genre: Young adult, supernatural, gothic, historical fiction

The Gemma Doyle trilogy is a supernatural Victorian boarding school story for young adults. That alone should tell you whether you want to read this series (for me the answer was, of course: hells yeah). There’s an indulgent, ‘comfort read’ quality about it despite its dark themes. While this normally would be fine for me, some of these themes weren’t your typical dramatic fantasy problems but rather actual real life issues. And that’s why I ultimately found the series problematic.

There are a number of seeming contradictions in the nature of the series itself, as if it is trying to be too many things at once. On the one hand, it's easy to luxuriate in the girly girl passages about the girls’ shopping expeditions and the social niceties of Victorian London – reminiscent of your Jane Austen type of stories, which the author references a number of times. On the other hand, there are plenty of gruesome ghostly things mentioned in the supernatural part. Then again, there are your ‘serious’ scenes describing family dysfunction, abject poverty and child sexual abuse – the latter of which I really wasn’t expecting in such a squishy sort of read.

There was so much going on that I felt that a number of these heavier themes shouldn’t have been included at all. Other than creating mood whiplash, I felt they weren’t given their proper dues. I kept thinking of the phrase ‘out of sight, out of mind’, as each ‘problem’ rarely transcends the scene in which it’s mentioned. For example, Gemma spouts a lot of pretty and ~profound~ insights about her dysfunctional family, but only ever seems to think about them when she’s in their actual physical presence.

While Gemma describes problems – particularly the ‘ordinary’ real-world ones – and how horrific they are, we can’t disagree; at the same time though, they’re given so little attention that there’s almost a passive tolerance of them. In this regard, it was Gemma’s musings on child sexual abuse that really made me irrationally angry – she talks as if she knows all about it, but then she doesn’t seem too bothered about it in the next scene, nor does she ever do anything about it – to be fair, I don’t know what she could do in those cases, but nevertheless I felt it made her concerns seem ungenuine.

Despite it being 1895, the behaviours and voices of the heroines are very, very modern. When the girls have ‘radical’ thoughts, it doesn’t feel very radical at all as they haven’t actually moved very far from who they already are. As for Gemma, well, her decision at the very end came as a surprise to me – her thoughts were so varied and unfocused throughout the series that it was surprising she even had that goal in mind: she never once mentioned it during the entire series.

Now, despite all my groaning, there’s still a lot you can enjoy in this series. I don’t doubt that a lot of people would be attracted to the gothic setting of the series, and there’s an indulgent pillowy quality you can get lost in – indeed, despite my misgivings I read all three books pretty quickly. This is the sort of series you let wash over you, without trying to keep track or think too much about, lest you spot the problems. There isn’t a lot of plot to be honest – it gets worse in the second and third books, where there’s more and more telling instead of showing, and the tale expands in breadth rather than depth. It seemed to unravel as things went on, and became a bit of a chore to read in the end. Be warned also that the ending isn’t exactly a happy one.

I did like that the main love interest was Indian, but I’m in two minds as to whether this series provides a positive example of non-white characters. There was surprisingly more sensuality than I would’ve anticipated, particularly given how simple the language is, so I’d probably say it’s suitable for those aged 13+. I was a little disappointed in the character development too – some of Gemma and Kartik’s relationship is retconned in the third book, and I was surprised to hear Felicity, Pippa and Ann described as Gemma’s “best friends” in Rebel Angels after their uneasy and bullying-tinged interactions in A Great and Terrible Beauty, as well as the fact that none of them seemed to actually like each other, except for Felicity and Pippa. I’m not sure what it says about me, or the book, but I found Felicity and Ann to be a lot more likeable and interesting than our heroine Gemma.

So in conclusion, I had a number of issues with this series – namely plot, character development and the handling of themes. It’s also very faux Victorian, if that’s something that will bother you. What’s left to recommend it then? Well, there’s an addictive quality in the writing, and an attractiveness in the mood and setting. There are also moments of great tenderness and poignancy, though these instances were too few and far in between. I don’t regret reading this series, but I doubt I’ll read it again.

Alex’s Rating: 2.5/5

Book Review: The Woman in Black

Title: The Woman in Black
Author: Susan Hill

Year Published: 1983

Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Gothic

A junior solicitor by the name Arthur Kipps is summoned to attend the funeral of Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House. It is not until he sees a strange woman dressed in black wondering the premises that he realises the cold, dark uneasiness of Eel Marsh House is not just from the marsh lands nearby, but from the presence of something evil.  

*This review is purely from the book itself and not the movie.*

The pros about a horror novel is the reader can stop when it gets too ‘scary’ and, depending on their imagination, the supernatural world can be altered for the ‘less brave’: rather than having a pitch black room, add a tiny window for some extra natural light etc.

That’s how I get through a horror novel; however I did not need to utilise my own advice for The Woman in Black. There is horror and the supernatural, but the main reason to read the book is for the ‘why’ and the 'end'.

The Woman in Black starts with Arthur explaining his present life after the incident before talking about the past. From the first couple of pages it is clear Arthur survived the ordeal and lives a normal life, of course still been haunted by bad memories. By starting like this, the story loses some suspense on what happens to the main character. To find him living normally doesn’t make his experience serious or frightening enough for the story to be terrifying. I would have prefered if Susan Hill had just dived straight into the main story.     

There is a slow build up in the first part of the novel. From his present describing how he wishes not to mention the past and to the start of the past, the story trugs along. Something’s going to happen but when…… I found myself thinking.

Keep in mind this book is fairly short. Only 200 pages so the first half is more than bearable.

The second half is when things get exciting, from hearing strange noises, phantom winds and … obviously…. seeing a woman in black. It is like a dark cloud has descended into that half of the book, refusing to leave and making the reader wanting to know ‘what happened and why’ desperately. I loved the sudden noises, the uncertainty of where the cold wind is from and the old creepy house. Having the story told from Arthur’s voice and his descriptions makes the story more visually and mentally enhancing.

The Woman in Black is set during the Edwardian era (1901-1910) which just adds to the haunting texture of the book.

The ending was a surprise. I like it and I hate it.

Please skip to the next paragraph to avoid spoilers.

The idea of the unsolved evil bothers me. I like that it’s not a happy ending, but I hate the story of this woman still lingering around the town and house taking lives. I think I would have been more content with the story still lingering if Arthur’s future, after the incident, wasn’t so normal and he was mentally shredded from the experience. He would be one of the many that were and will be victims of the Woman in black. 

But on a happy point, the story is set so precisely during a specific era, a specific place and a specific kind of evil that after reading it, the Woman in black should not suddenly (with no help of the imagination) appear in front of you thanks to the story being so well grounded with no link to the present day (unless Eel Marsh House does exist).

I would love it if Susan Hill made this novel longer and maybe stretched the suspense a bit further. I didn’t get enough of the book especially near the end. I enjoyed it very much and would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good scare but does not want to read a long novel.

After reading this, I am so looking forward to seeing the movie.

Terri's Rating: 3.5/5

Book Review: Florence & Giles

Title: Florence & Giles

Author: John Harding

Published date: 2010

Genre: Historic, Gothic, Horror

The cover of Florence & Giles resembles the raven in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. Just like the poem, it successfully delivers the same eerie gothic vibe to the reader.

1891. In a remote New England mansion lives 12 year old Florence and her younger brother Giles. Florence spends her time reading in secret, against her uncles’ will. At night she sleep walks the dark old corridors and has a recurring dream where a mysterious woman threatens her younger brother.

What thought to be dream becomes a reality to Florence who begins to witness strange phenomena when the children’s second governess, replacing the first who died a terrible death, arrives. She becomes certain the mysterious woman in her dream is the new governess and must find a way to protect her brother from harm.

The best word to describe Florence & Giles is eerie. It flows throughout and makes friends with horror. This book is narrated by Florence. The author did well in translating a protective 12 year old thoughts and actions into words. Simple language is used with made up words only a 12 year old would create.

The first couple of chapters explain the closeness of the siblings and Florence's talent for hiding when reading. The eeriness does not start till Florence’s dream is explain by the appearance of the new governess. Florence starts to see things she can’t explain and no one will believe her.

This novel is a good read. It has the perfect mixture of horror without gruesomeness. It is much more than a straight forward child verse evil governess.

From the beginning, there is no doubt the governess is hiding something but nothing out of the supernatural. Nothing to fear. But the further I read, the more the governess scares me.

There is a battle between Florence and the Governess, good versus evil until the end. The end is when everything makes sense. It explains why the governess is there, why she wants to harm Giles and why Florence is the only one who sees the truth.

The end is when the horror is realized and is, I think the scariest part of the novel. Then again I don’t read horror or gothic books. I get scared easily when it comes to the supernatural. There is nothing bad I can say about this novel. The pace was perfect, the characters written well and the depth of Florence belief is solid.

Florence & Giles is worth a read. It is a horror, gothic novel and will scare you and maybe even make you see things in the mirror that are not really there (or are they?). The twist in this novel might be typical, but it is still captivating enough to hold attention and provide indication that horror comes in different forms. 

A must read.

Terri's Rating: 3/5