Gemma Doyle
Juvenile Fiction
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
2007
Hardcover
548
Ah, Christmas! Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy, spending time with her friends in the city, attending ritzy balls, and on a somber note, tending to her ailing father. As she prepares to ring in the New Year, 1896, a handsome young man, Lord Denby, has set his sights on Gemma, or so it seems. Yet amidst the distractions of London, Gemma’s visions intensify–visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened, something only the realms can explain...
The lure is strong, and before long, Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world of the realms that Gemma alone can bring them to. To the girls’ great joy, their beloved Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship.
But all is not well in the realms–or out. The mysterious Kartik has reappeared, telling Gemma she must find the Temple and bind the magic, else great disaster will befall her. Gemma’s willing to do his intrusive bidding, despite the dangers it brings, for it means she will meet up with her mother’s greatest friend–and now her foe, Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task.
WrensReads Review:
I need everyone to read this series. It touches on so many topics and it’s just such a pretty tale.
There will be spoilers from the first book, but no spoilers for this current book.
One of the four has passed away from the real world. Felicity, Ann and Gemma are all dealing with the death of their dear friend Pippa in their own ways. Mostly everyone blames Gemma, including Gemma herself, even though no one forced Pippa to eat from the realms.
They have not been back from the realms since. Stage right: Enter Indian boy Katrik who is basically-in-but-not fully in the Rakshana and most definetly has feelings for strong-headed, red-headed, hot-headed Gemma. Back to the point, he tells her that she must go back and bind the magic she let loose in the realms before someone with not-such-great intentions uses it.
So when the girls go back they [this is not a spoiler, it is in the description of the book] are beyond excited to see that Pippa is still there and as beautiful as ever. It is only Gemma, though, that notices the hunger in her eyes when no one else is looking or the strange way she talks about certain topics. Her mother told her that a spirit must cross over or else it will become corrupted… but certainly not their Pippa….
The character growth is a little stagnant, but the learning the background of a character is very active. You learn more about why Felicity has to be in control at all times. You learn more about Ann being absolutely stuck where she is in her social status and how little she can do about it. You see how Pippa feels left out of everything and even less accepted by her dear friend Felicity (you’ll learn more about them in the last book). You see the struggle Katrik has with decision involving his dear club Rakshana and his wanted-beloved Gemma.
I love the idea of this whole magic system. They even hint that other worlds are connect to the realms. So all the creatures that you see in the realms are from different worlds. It kind of reminds me of the place between the world in The Chronicles of Narnia series.
Not to mention Gemma gets attention from a rich suitor of her own..
Side note: People believe that there was an almost-rape in this and I could see how that was gathered. Know there is nothing that triggered (for me at least) and nothing graphic and nothing that actually happened.
And Circe comes to light and it will make your jaw just drop
I love this series so much. I have since I was in grade school. It has helped me through a lot and has enlightened me on my own passion of writing. I say give this a shot, but it isn’t for everyone. If you like time-pieces, undefined magic, school-girl drama, forbidden romance and tragedies… this book is right up your alley.
..and beware you will cry at the end of the trilogy.
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