A Great and Terrible Beauty

It just seems like there's got to be more middle ground. I've always cherished my male friends as much as my female friends. We are different. We have different things to contribute, and that is great. We also need to be aware, as women, that we often hold ourselves back. I often say that the most radical question a girl or a woman can ever ask is "What do I want?" We are not conditioned to ask that. But only by asking yourself that, by knowing what you want, can you really go and get it. Only by knowing what you want can you stop waiting for other people to supply it for you, which just leads to frustration and a feeling of powerlessness. What you want is valid. What you care about is important. Who you are, all of it--not just the "nice" qualities--is important. And if anybody wants to photograph you for the cover of a major magazine wearing only a thong and an expression like you've gotten something in your eye, just tell them to...well, just say no.

Libba Bray, author of A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy) 

I'd love to write a review of A Great and Terrible Beauty but I haven't yet formulated the right words. It can be classified as a suspenseful fantasy novel set in Victorian England with a definite feminist twist. Oh, and it's written for young adults, but like the wonderful and incredible Harry Potter series, it's not dumbed down for kids. Bray really understands sixteen-year-old girls and how they exist and survive in the world, no matter what era.

I'm currently reading the second in the trilogy, Rebel Angels.