The Sweet Far Thing

The Sweet Far Thing, by Libba Bray, kicks off several weeks after where Rebel Angels left off, when Gemma Doyle, the main character, binds the powerful magic of a place called the realms to herself in an attempt to stop the power from falling into the wrong hands. However, holding all of the magic seems to cause a multitude of problems. First she can't enter the realms at all. Then her visions come back, stronger and more powerful than ever before. Gemma fears she may be losing her mind as she's haunted with visions of a woman in a lilac dress and endures warnings from various members of the Order and the Rakshana, telling her to hand over the magic or face the consequences.

Meanwhile, Felicity is at risk of losing her inheritance, and also, her dream of never marrying and living alone in Paris. Ann is offered an opportunity to join a performing company, but her lack of confidence and extreme abundance of self-doubt hinder her progress to inevitable stardom.

Both of Gemma's friends began to resent her for withholding the magic from them, and Gemma begins to feel lonelier and more lost than ever before. Kartik is infuriatingly evasive, helping Gemma with her task and then disappearing for lengths of time. Gemma learns that things and people are not always what they seem, and that putting your trust in the wrong cause may lead to certain death.

The Sweet Far Thing is a terrifying and heartbreaking journey through the mind and life of a girl who thinks she's gone mad, interspersed with bits of romance and tragedy. There's some humor in there, too, bits of sarcastic remarks that will keep you quite entertained.

If never before has a book reduced you to tears, or scared you enough to seek out a brightly lit, well-inhabited spot to read in, where none of the Winterlands creatures could get to you, be prepared. This may very well be the book to do both of those things.

If you read A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels, I highly recommend that you read The Sweet Far Thing. Right now. No, really. Even if you have to rob a bookstore to accomplish the task.