Young adult fantasy novels seem to be a very popular hit in the movie world nowadays and I often wonder if my favorite fantasy series will ever hit the big screen.

The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray is one of fantasy, horror and love. What more could Hollywood want?

In the first book, A Great and Terrible Beauty, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle yearns to leave India for England. She finally gets her wish after she see a vision of the eerie death of her mother – and it comes true.

Gemma is then shipped off to Spence Academy, an all-girls boarding school, where she makes an odd friendship with the powerful Felicity Worthington, the beautiful Pippa Cross and the plain Ann Bradshaw.

But Gemma is being haunted by visions and followed by things she doesn’t understand.

After a spirit leads her to the diary of a past student, Gemma learns how to use her visions to enter another realm with her friends.

This book is a good example of a modern gothic novel. By modern, I mean written in the 21st century.

A gothic novel is a genre that combines horror and romance. While there is a bit of love interest going on here and there, the romance I’m talking about is the fantasy.

The girls have access to enter a dream-like realm where they can escape their real world burdens and the bleak lives of girls living in the Victorian era. But this other world isn’t exactly as wonderful as it appears to be.

A lot of dark and terrible things lurk there. I guess you could say that this realm is a great and terrible beauty.

I first read this book in middle school. And probably a hundred times since then.

I was the type of kid who couldn’t leave a bookstore without a purchase or resist a pretty cover.

I also have a thing for history, so when I saw a girl with a corset on the cover and read that it takes place in 1895, it didn’t take me long to make up my mind.

This superficial purchase was one of the best decisions I’ve made in regards to literature.

The descriptions in this book are beautifully structured and the characters are very relatable despite living in a society that is over 100 years old.

I really liked Gemma as a character because she is a flawed character. A big mistake that many young adult writers make is that they try to put their hero on a flawless pedestal.

Bray gave Gemma the personality of the 16-year-old girl that she is. She may be strong and mysterious, but she was also immature and naïve.

My favorite character is Felicity because she is a very conflicted person. I found myself loving her and hating her every few pages I turned.

As the books progressed, Felicity and Pippa’s storyline became my favorite thing about the books and has been inspiration for my own writing.

The only thing I dislike about the book is that looking back at it over the years I noticed some mannerisms and dialogue that seemed a bit too modern for the Victorian era.

Although I think that may have been why I loved this book so much as a child.

A good book is one that you reread seven years later and still love every word of it. A good book is one that still has the power to excite you even though you have reread it more than Harry Potter.

I’m confident that this story will be able to entertain college students and keep them on the edge of their seats. I also think a movie would be awesome. I give A Great and Terrible Beauty 4/5 stars.