The Sweet Far Thing

The Sweet Far Thing

by

Libba Bray

Kindle Edition, 832 pages

Published July 1st 2009 by Simon & Schuster Children's (first published December 26th 2007)
literary awards: ALA Teens' Top Ten (2008)


About the Book:
 It has been a year of change since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Having bound the wild, dark magic of the realms to her, Gemma has forged unlikely and unsuspected new alliances both with the headstrong Felicity and timid Ann, Kartik, the exotic young man whose companionship is forbidden, and the fearsome creatures of the realms. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test those bonds. As her friendship with Felicity and Ann faces its gravest trial, and with the Order grappling for control of the realms, Gemma is compelled to decide once and for all which path she is meant to take.Pulled forward by fate, the destiny Gemma faces threatens to set chaos loose, not only in the realms, but also upon the rigid Victorian society whose rules Gemma has both defied and followed. Where does Gemma really belong? And will she, can she, survive? (Good Reads)

About the Author:
Libba Bray is the author of the New York Times Bestselling novels A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels.  She has never lived in the Victorian era, is not British, and has no superpowers, though if she did they would involve being able to eat her weight in Swedish fish without feeling the urgent need to shave her tongue afterward.  She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, their son, and a cat of questionable intelligence.  Feel free to visit her at her web site, http://www.libbabray.com/. (from the book)

my thoughts:
I have mixed feelings about "The Sweet Far Thing".  I loved the story.  I loved Gemma the protagonist. I loved Kartik--her soul mate.  I loved her best friends Felicity and Ann.  I loved how this story took place in two different settings as Gemma and her friends traveled from the real world to the magical realms and back.  I loved the dark, occult element that was in such contrast to the Victorian lifestyle of the girls.  I absolutely loved the battle sequence, and the Gorgon was my favorite mythical creature.  I imagined several endings for this book as the story rolled to its climax.  But I can honestly say I was blind-sided at the end.  I just didn't see it coming.  It took me a few days to think about it, but I have decided that it was a good ending and it left me hope that the story could continue and happiness was in Gemma's future.  I enjoyed the series as a whole, with a few exceptions.  It  was all very imaginative, original and intriguing.

I do feel like I need to mention those things I didn't like.
1. Lengthy--As often happens when a series is winding down the author clings to glory and stretches the story unnecessarily.  For a good chunk of this book I felt like I was wading through mud and had to force myself to continue.
2.  Subplots--I've read a number of series where the author develops subplots that don't really have anything to do with the main plot of the story--I felt this way about Pippa's story.  It just wasn't necessary.
3.  Soapbox--I just hate when an author uses a story for a personal soapbox , the voice of the character is lost, another voice takes over and there we are--an author on a soapbox.  (This one was women rights).
4. Blasphemy--I was particularly disturbed by the blasphemy in this book and had to skip a chapter or two.  There was a little at the end of Rebel Angels, but this book had chapters that were downright offensive if you sincerely believe in Christ.  Pippa was a beloved character through most of the series but by the end I dreaded the mention of her name.

There were quite a few passages from the book that were thought provoking, I enjoyed the style of this author's writing very much.

"Greatness lies in even the smallest of moments, in the humblest of hearts, and we shall, each of us, be called to greatness. Whether we shall rise to meet it or let it slip away is the challenge put before us all."

location 942 on my kindle

"Peace is not happenstance.  It is a living fire that must be fed constantly.  It must be tended with vigilance, else it dies out."

location 4365 on my kindle

"Power changes everything till it is difficult to say who are the heroes and who the villains, and [power] itself is neither good nor bad; it is intent that makes it either."

location 5316 on my kindle

"But the past cannot be changed, and we carry our choices with us, forward, into the unknown.  We can only move on."

location 9218 on my kindle

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