Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

21 reviews

bzliz's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Although this is categorized as YA, I don’t think I could have endured or enjoyed it as a young adult. I picked it up because I remember the cover from when I was younger but I don’t recall ever reading it. Even after finishing, I can’t be sure if I read it and forgot or if the cover is just burned in my brain for some reason. 

Gemma Doyle leads a group of sheltered girls into a world of magic that she herself doesn’t understand and has only just begun to experience. The group discovers the past tragedy of a group before them called the Order whose desire for power had deadly consequences and tread the fine line of falling into that same tragedy. 

Portions drag on a little and to enjoy this you need to endure the historical trappings of misogyny and racism, plus the performative propriety and customs of the time. The magic system explored is less of a system encountered in many fantasy novels and is more like a nebulous innate ability that no one can explain and at times it left me outright confused. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Racism, Self harm, Sexism, and Vomit

bekahzabel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

4.5/5 🌟 I read this series in middle school and circled back to it in effort to re-explore some favorites as an adult. I’m so happy I started with this one, it felt like slipping back into a cozy familiar dark bedtime story. Libba Bray’s writing style is suitable for both YA and adults in this series. 

I noticed so much more allusion, foreshadowing, and hidden gems this second time around.

If you like:
Coming of Age Witches
Discovering & Developing Power
Found Family
Sisterhood
Dark Academia
Secrets & Plot Twists 

then this trilogy will hit the spot for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Self harm, Grief, and Murder

ricksilva's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle witnesses the terrifying murder of her mother in colonial India, seemingly by supernatural forces. Back England and enrolled in a girls boarding school, Gemma discovers a diary of a former student who sought the secrets of an ancient Order of sorceresses, and the power of a dream-dimension called the Realms.

In spite of warnings to stay clear of these secrets, Gemma and three friends begin to explore their own magical potential, eventually finding their own way into the Realms in the hope of changing the fate that awaits them all back at their dreary school.

This story careens headlong toward tragedy with little effort on the part of any of the main characters to stop it, in spite every possible warning. 

The characters are definitely not always likeable, but they all do grow beyond their original simple impressions, and the character development helps keep things interesting and keeps the reader engaged even as terrible and obvious mistakes are made again and again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Self harm and Sexism

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This was an interesting mix of being a woman in the 1900s and futuristic magic. I felt like it was a slow start because it took a while to get to the magic! But once they find the diary and get some magic, it gets good. There’s a lot of themes of women finding freedom within their minds when society beats them down and hollows them out. I enjoyed it but not enough to continue it as a series. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

madisone's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Though this book was written in 2003 (a sometimes rough period for Y. A. books featuring a female protagonist), it was quite enjoyable in 2022. The best way to describe this book is a gothic fantasy that takes place in the Victorian era. It was a slow pace at the beginning, but as you get more into the intricacies of the plot, it gets much quicker. The characters were complex and intriguing because of their flaws and opinions. This book covers topics such as the restrictions put upon women (especially in the Victorian era), female relationships, and forgiveness with just a touch of a mystery. While I would have liked to see more into different characters family life, I realize this is only the first in a series. Would recommend this book, but there are a few trigger warnings you should look up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and Sexual content

haleymaxinee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Self harm, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Classism

emilylovesgoodbooks's review

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Self harm

zombiezami's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I first read this book when I was a teenager, and I rated it 5 stars at that time. I value the book for what it gave to me at the time, feeling seen for having experiences like wondering who I truly am and wondering who would ever understand me. Plus, there's fulfillment of the teenage girl urge to have a magical world where you're all powerful for good measure. This book is, in a lot of ways, an aged up spiritual successor to The Secret Garden. 

Reading this as an adult, there are parts that I'm not so enamored with, hence the lower rating. The friendship between the main characters strikes me as much more toxic than it did when I was a teenager, especially since Pippa and Felicity never apologize for tormenting Ann. I also find it hard to root for Kartik to be with Gemma, since Gemma keeps implying threats that she will get him arrested, which, at that time period, would basically be a death threat. That being said, I still really like Ms. Moore as a character. 

I look forward to my re-read of the rest of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Neglect, Antiziganism, Seizures

atrkula's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

celery's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism