The Sweet Far Thing – by Libba Bray

It has been a year of change since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father a laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength to turn catty schoolgirls into loyal friends, and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances with headstrong Felicity and timid Ann; with Kartik, an exotic young Indian man whose companionship is forbidden; and with the fearsome creatures of the realms. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test those bonds. The Sweet Far Thing is the final book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy, and weighs in at a hefty 819 pages. Ironically, I found it also to be the the quickest read, with a lot of action spread out over it’s pages. Gemma’s character has steadily grown and matured over the course of the three books. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for her two “friends” Felicity and Ann. While in the last two books you find out things about each of them that makes you a little more sympathetic to their plights, they still remain selfish, immature, and completely indifferent to what Gemma is going through. I honestly wondered at times during this last entry why Gemma even bothered with them. In my opinion she stayed a loyal friend far beyond reasonable expectations. That said, I still enjoyed the book, especially the developing relationship between Gemma and Kartik, and Gemma’s newfound confidence in herself and her abilities. All in all a satisfying conclusion to a rather unique trilogy.