“A Great and Terrible Beauty” by Libba Bray is set in the Victorian era. That was the time when young ladies went to school to learn manners, and prepare themselves for being a wife. They were often married off to rich men, never getting the choice of who they were married to. Gemma Doyle didn’t believe in this, and saw a very different way. After her mother’s unfortunate death, Gemma is sent to Spence Academy, and starts getting visions. Prone to these visions, Gemma is warned by a Gypsy boy named Katrik to stop leading them on, or bad things will happen to The Order. While settling in to Spence, she finds the diary of Mary Dowd, and becomes interested in reading it. Gemma rooms with Anne, who is very shy and quiet, and doesn’t have many friends. Anne gets bullied a lot by Felicity and Pippa because she stutters, and because of her weight. After Gemma catches Felicity sneaking around with a gypsy boy, they form a pact. No one would know about the gypsy boy, and in return Felicity had to stop making fun of Ann. Plus, she owed Gemma a favor when she needed it. Because of the pact, Gemma, Felicity, Anne, and Gemma grow close. …show more content…
Almost every night, they would sneak out of the academy, and go into the forest to read from it. They called themselves “The Order,” after the group that is trying to stop Gemma’s visions, which are getting stronger every time. This time, when she brings one on, a glowing door of light appears. One night, after they read from the diary, the girls open the door. Inside is a world where anything is possible. Anything they think about happens. Gemma sees her mother there, alive and