Libba Bray has written a story that is both dark and dear. The first two novels of her trilogy are entrancing. The period is Victorian England. A time when repression is the name of the game. Think corsets, boning, and polite society whispering gossip behind their fans.

Gemma Doyle was not raised in polite English society. She was born in Colonial India, far away from all of that. After the tragic death of her mother, she comes to England to go to school and learns that there was more to her mother than she ever dreamed.

As romantic and A Room with a View-esque the time period is, the characters have witt and spirt. Gemma argues with her mother. Of course she argues and sulks, but when her life utterly changes, she must adjust to a whole new world. She meets other young "ladies" who are mean. She had insecure moments. Moments of clarity, of love, of envy. The all-girl school is a trecherous place for a young outsider.

All of the forces that act upon teens growing up, she faces. There are Queen Bee moments. Gemma is not one to toady up and try to become popular. She IS an outsider. Other girls rule the roost and there are mental campaigns against each other.

To top all of the teen angst off, there is magic involved. No, this school is not Hogwarts. Something sinister is lurking within. And a mysterious (bonus: hawt) young man who seems to be following her.

Libba Bray writes girls on the cusp of womanhood with feeling. These are complex people who are sometimes shallow, sometimes giving and thriving in this period of youth. These young women being molded to live life in a time period where they are raised to be repressed broodmares who live pampered, but empty lives. They are fighting against this fate. And somehow, there is a power within that each girl has that takes them beyond what they are being schooled to be, beyond what people *say* is their fate, to something amazing.

I look forward to the final installment of this series. The world is changing even more for Gemma and her friends and I can't wait to see where life will take them next.