Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Ella

Where to begin, where to begin? A Great and Terrible Beauty wasn't one of those books that just went 'Gemma made friends and they found a scarey new realm, but they defeated it together and helped Gemma's mom, and lived happily ever after.' It went into depth and really put the reader into the book. I felt the suspense, the anger, the magic in the book. I really liked how the author didn't make all the girls and Gemma's mother get along perfectly for most of the book (obviously the ending they couldn't). They had fights and disagreements throughout the whole book, just like real friends do. I also, while I wished it didn't have to, thought it was good of the Celia Rees to let one of the characters die. It showed how dangerous and serious the realm was even without Circees (excuse my spelling). Overall this was a book worth reading and at points easy to relate to.