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Poodlerat’s book blog

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Rebel Angels

October 12, 2007 at 12:56 am · Filed under Book Reviews, Favourite Books, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, Young Adult Literature

107. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (Young Adult, Historical Fantasy) 548 p.

Rebel Angels2nds Challenge

I’m glad to say that Rebel Angels not only lived up to its prequel, A Great and Terrible Beauty, but also whet my appetite for its sequel, The Sweet Far Thing, due out on Boxing Day.

In A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma Doyle witnessed her mother’s murder, was sent to an English boarding school, and discovered that she had the power of an ancient circle of priestesses known as the Order. Now, she finds that the enemy she thought defeated is still very much alive, that a friend she thought dead is not entirely gone, and that a London Christmas, despite all its glamours, may not be so wonderful after all.

Also, Kartik’s back. After Gemma, he’s my favourite character, and I only wish the two had more interactions. I was also glad to see that Gemma’s brother Tom improves a bit on closer acquaintance; Rebel Angels reveals some details about him that make him a more sympathetic character. Ditto for Felicity: the revelation about her was one I only saw coming a page or two ahead of time.

I’m quite pleased with Rebel Angels; it looks like Libba Bray is well on her way to creating a consistently brilliant series of YA historical fantasy novels.

Books read: 107
Pages read: 31,882

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5 Comments »

heather (errantdreams) wrote, on October 12th, 2007 at 3:36 pm:

Nooo! Not more nifty-sounding books to read! Aiiiieeee!

Nicola wrote, on October 16th, 2007 at 5:08 pm:

Yay, I’m so glad you enjoyed this. Some people didn’t like it as much as the first but I thought it was just as fabulous as Great and Terrible. Can’t wait for the next one.

Danika (OpenChannel) wrote, on October 19th, 2007 at 4:01 am:

Hi Poodlerat! Long time since I cruised in here.

Was historical fantasy a popular genre when we were young adults? (or, I should say when I was a young adult, because I think I’m at least a decade older than you). I just don’t remember reading much of it back then.

107 books… you put me to shame.

I just now finally posted something on my blog about my reading challenge… which hasn’t been so challenging… I have a lot of work before the end of the year.

Poodlerat wrote, on October 20th, 2007 at 5:33 pm:

Heather: Definitely put it on your list. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an awesome book, and it’s heartening that the sequel (the first of many, I hope!) lived up to the promise of the original.

Nicola, I agree completely! The release of The Sweet Far Thing is part of the reason I’m looking forward to Christmas this year (okay, a small part, but still….)

Hi Danika!

I don’t think it was, actually…although I can’t remember reading all that much YA lit, pretty much all of it was contemporary, as I recall.

Actually, although Libba Bray’s books are definitely YA, they’re far more complex and sophisticated in their language and characterization than many adult books. I’m partway through Colleen Gleason’s The Rest Falls Away, which is supposedly an adult novel, and I think it was a mistake to read it so soon after Rebel Angels. I thought it would be nice to read two Victorian fantasy novels back-to-back, but instead, the depth and polish of Rebel Angels makes The Rest Falls Away seem childish and clumsy in comparison.

It’s a shame, because a lot of people whose opinions I trust (like CJ Hill) have really enjoyed it.

Danika (OpenChannel) wrote, on October 25th, 2007 at 10:40 pm:

That’s really ironic, huh? Although, I’ve found several YA-billed books that have been more sophisticated than I would have thought.

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