Rebel Angels (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy) | 
| Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $5.35
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Rating:  122 reviews
Sales Rank: 3996
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 592
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.4
ISBN: 0385733410
EAN: 9780385733410
ASIN: 0385733410
Publication Date: December 26, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
In this sequel to the Victorian fantasy A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma continues to pursue her role as the one destined to bind the magic of the Realms and restore it to the Order--a mysterious group who have been overthrown by a rebellion. Gemma, Felicity and Ann, (her girlfriends at Spence Academy for Young Ladies), use magical power to transport themselves on visits from their corseted world to the visionary country of the Realms, with its strange beauty and menace. There they search for the lost Temple, the key to Gemma's mission, and comfort Pippa, their friend who has been left behind in the Realms. After these visits they bring back magical power for a short time to use in their own world. Meanwhile, Gemma is torn between her attraction to the exotic Kartik, the messenger from the opposing forces of the Rakshana, and the handsome but clueless Simon, a young man of good family who is courting her. The complicated plot thickens when Gemma discovers a woman in Bedlam madhouse who knows where to find the Temple; Ann shows signs of being enamored of Gemma's loutish brother Tom, and their father's addiction to laudanum lands him in an opium den. A large part of the enjoyment of this unusual fantasy comes from the Victorian milieu and its restrictive rules about the behavior of proper young ladies, as contrasted with the unimaginable possibilities of the Realms, where Gemma has power to confront gorgons and ghosts and the responsibility to save a world. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell
Product Description
Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy—spending time with her friends in the city, attending balls in fancy gowns with plunging necklines, and dallying with the handsome Lord Denby. Yet amid these distractions, her visions intensify—visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened that only the realms can explain.
The lure is strong, and soon Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world that Gemma takes 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. Kartik is back, desperately insisting to Gemma that she must bind the magic, lest colossal disaster befall her. Gemma is willing to comply, for this would bring her face-to-face with her late mother's greatest friend, now Gemma's foe—Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task. . . .
This sumptuous companion to A Great and Terrible Beauty teems with Victorian thrills and chills that play out against the rich backdrop of 1895 London, a place of shadows and light . . . where inside great beauty can lie a rebel angel.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 117 more reviews...
Excellent, engrossing sequel! September 2, 2005
ChicBookFiend (MA)
98 out of 100 found this review helpful
A Great and Terrible Beauty was one of the best literary revelations I've had this year. I couldn't wait to pick up the sequel, Rebel Angels. Again, Libba Bray has failed to disappoint me. No sophomore slump here! In this wonderful follow-up to Beauty, Gemma Doyle is getting ready for Christmas and a break from the Spence Academy. This is her first Christmas in London after spending all of her life in India. She looks forward to attending tea parties and balls and traveling around in the city with her friends, Ann and Felicity. Despite her friends' protests, she has left the realms behind and is living a normal life. That is until Kartik, sent by the Rakshana, resurfaces and tells her that the magic of the realms is loose for anyone to grab and this could cause chaos. She had shattered the runes that kept the magic safe and things in order (this happened in Beauty). And now Gemma, with the help of Felicity and Ann, must return to the realms and find the Temple that will put everything in order again. But she will face many obstacles. The Rakshana want the magic for themselves, a mysterious and suspicious new teacher appears at the Spence Academy, and Circe is still on the loose. There are various twists throughout the novel.
This is a wonderful continuation to A Great and Terrible Beauty. It is just as dark, gothic and fanciful as the aforementioned novel. In this offering, the author tightens up the loose ends left in the previous book but leaves new story possibilities for the next installment. The reader gets many answers regarding the realms, that beautiful and wonderful place where all dreams are possible. I was right about the person I had suspected was Circe since the first book. I am pleased with that development. We also get to see Gemma experience Victorian London society in all its glory. She even has a proper suitor, a young, attractive Englishman named Simon Middleton. The characterization is excellent. There are more layers to the characters, especially Felicity and Ann, that add more depth to the story. We see just how much Ann desires to be a proper, upper-crust young lady instead of the scholarship student, governess-to-be nobody that she is in the face of the nobles. We also get to know Felicity in a deeper level. She is sort of a loose canon with shades of gray -- neither good nor bad. I picked up on various foreshadows regarding her desire to obtain her own magical powers. And that is another thing. You are not certain whether she and Ann would be Gemma's friends were it not for the realms. The scenes with Pippa (from AGATB) are quite disturbing. It was nice to see Pippa again, but she is quite changed. There is some development regarding Gemma and Kartik as well. They really are cute when they're together. Despite her special abilities, Gemma is an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl going through the usual teenage angst. She is a three-dimensional heroine through and through. There are great historical references regarding Victorian London. I also like the gothic feel of the novel. And we get timeless, troubling issues like date rape, sexual abuse, and drug and alcohol addiction. The aforementioned issues make the characters all the more real and relatable. All in all, as said earlier, Rebel Angels is an awesome follow-up. There is a lot of symbolism in the language, signs of more wonderful installments to come. I cannot wait for the next book! Hats down to Ms. Bray for creating such a unique world for people of all ages, not just for young adults.
As the story deepens the characters grow more interesting. September 11, 2005
Michelle G. Heinrich (Tacoma, WA/Boston, MA/Cleveland, OH)
46 out of 48 found this review helpful
Libba Bray has lived up to my greatest expectations with her sequel to A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY. More precisely, REBEL ANGELS is the second installment of what is proving to be a well-crafted and nicely plotted trilogy. In this second novel, we are allowed to see the lives of Gemma, Ann and Felicity outside of their finishing school (Spence) as well as outside of the realms. It is generally accurate upper-class Victorian world of dinner parties, teas and evenings at the opera spiced with the gothic-fantasy intrigue of magic and mystery. As I had hoped, Bray further develops her characters - and not just the endearing Gemma. We gain insight into Felicity, Ann, Kartik and even Gemma's brother, Tom. These characters become more complex and compelling as the story progresses and I would imagine that many of those who found the characters to be less-than likable in BEAUTY will find them more appealing. The central plot line revolve around Gemma's quest to find The Temple, now abandoned by The Order, and bind the magic that she freed in the first installment, but the subplots, including a budding romance, the health of Gemma's father and a particularly delightful scheme to present Ann as a member of aristocratic society are just as compelling as what goes on in the magic of the realms. Pippa returns as well, although even more mystery surrounds her new spirit-self.
I must commend Ms. Bray on walking a careful and thoughtful like between historical accuracy and pure enjoyment. While she takes a few historical liberties (for example, the freedom with which Gemma moves about in London), she seems to do so in order to maintain a sense of adventure that modern readers would be able to relate to. And, while still centering her novel firmly in the Victorian mindset (for example, Ann's distress over her future), she introduces some timeless and complex issues (trust, power struggles, racism, poverty, child abuse, self-mutilation) that modern readers face as well.
Above all, this is a novel to be enjoyed by teens and adults alike and I highly recommend it to all. My only negative comment (if you could even call it that) is that I strongly suggest that one read A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY first and then move on to REBEL ANGELS. The plot is so intricate that it would be difficult to simply jump into the middle. Thanks, Libba, for another wonderful story!
Current conditions: Foaming at the mouth September 1, 2005
pickaclover
31 out of 31 found this review helpful
Let's go back, few years, summer 2003. I received gift cards to my favorite book store, and they were just BURNING a hole in my pocket. I toddle my way over to the Young Adult section, popping between rows and rows of everyday, seen that 10 times, novels. There was a neat stack in the corner, a pile of books that seemed odd to me. The cover was of a girl in a corset, red hair in a loose knot on the back of her head. Corsets are always amusing. I pick up the book, read the little expert. Ponder. Think. To get it, not to get it. Spend $17.95, not to spend $17.95. Finally, with a slightly off tempo mother huffing for me to "Hurry up and just buy a book!", I snatched the book and bought it.
Oh. My. God.
I cannot even describe the adventures that Libba Bray has not only accomplished to tell, but made believable. The heroin is not your average, "perfect hair, perfect skin, everyone loves her, people adore her, she has power and wealth"....hoity toity snooby rich girl finishing school product. She is a rebel, with the right amount of ingredients to make her less than perfect. She's not super pretty, in a world ruled by the fair and the dark haired, Gemma is a red-head with a mass of freckles. In a world with outgoing feminist, and stay-at-home wifes, Gemma strives to find a perfect balance where she can speak her mind, and not have the world on her shoulder.
But she does. In a perfect blend of fantasy, Gemma finds a world with everything you can imagine. Grass turns into butterflies, rocks are diamonds. The Relams, a secret garden version of a magical world, only opened to the women of the "Order", a old cultish like group with special powers. Gemma takes her friends to this relam, where they must learn that nothing is perfect, and to forgive is not to forget.
Book two takes off from book 1, perfectly starting with a diary type of the mysterious Katrik, the super sexy, mysterious Indian, who belongs to a cult of his own. The book is written if 1st person, with present tense perspective. (ie, I walk to the door, vs. I walked to the door). Gemma's mind will have you cackling insanely, her sarcasm and wit making you race through the pages. There is mystery, there is romance. Sigh. EVERYTHING! I couldn't go to bed without the LIGHTS on one night, the mystery of the relams scaring me so much. Centaurs and gorgons, everything is a perfect blend of historical fiction and fantasy.
I almost cried when I finished. WHY MUST IT COME TO AN END!? Dare I say it? Better than Harry Potter, better than any series! Rebel Angels and A Great and Terrible Beauty offer retro-spect to Victoria England, where corsets and petticoats shine through the outside, but drugs, alchohal, addictions, loyalties, secrets, murder, and love are hidden beneath the surface.
A must read. A must read. Must I repeat myself? A MUST READ.
Harry Potter for teenage girls... August 27, 2005
D.H.
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
Victorian Era? Snore. A magical world? Been there, done that. Exclusive girls' school? Do we really need more insight into the lives of the rich and fabulous a la Trading Up?
When I picked up Bray's first book, A Great and Terrible Beauty, I was unsure of how good the book would turn out to be. I'm glad that I bought it though because these books are anything but unoriginal or boring. Libba Bray sets up a startling but realistic picture of the Victorian era from the perspective of one of the least powerful people of the time -- a teenage girl. Through her eyes, we're able to get to know the ins and outs of two worlds, the conflicted "real world" we all live in and the seemingly serene "realms" where women can have power and dewdrops turn to butterflies. The main character, Gemma, isn't some overly heroic contrived character either. Bray sets her up to be defiant enough, yet Gemma also has the same concerns and needs as any other normal girl, which is to fit in and be accepted.
I loved these books not only for the intricately weaved plot and the bodice-ripping, fast pace that kept me reading more. I also felt like the books addressed other concerns of teenagers and problems that anyone, from any era, can relate to.
Great read ! September 1, 2005
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Libba bray's novel had me hooked from beginning to end. I was excited to get the second book to A Great and Terrible Beauty, hoping that it would have me spellbound like the first. I loved it and I can not wait until the third book arrives!
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