SuitabookA Great and Terrible Beauty
Libba Bray
- Reading
- If the bereavement feels close to home, consider checking in before or during reading; the story begins after Gemma’s mother’s suicide, so the topic is present from the outset.
- Themes
- A supernatural mystery: Gemma’s visions of the future sometimes come true, and her connection with the school’s powerful girls leads into exploration of the spiritual world. The supernatural elements are presented as part of the story’s central mystery, with questions about their meaning and consequences.
- Belonging at school: Gemma arrives at an English boarding school feeling lonely, and her reception there is described as chilly; she becomes entangled with its most powerful girls. School life brings loneliness, a chilly reception and relationships with influential pupils into the story.
- Worth knowing
- Gemma’s mother has died by suicide before the story begins, and Gemma is described as lonely and guilt-ridden. These bereavement and emotional themes may merit a check-in.