The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle, Book 3)

SPOILERS AHEAD SPOILERS AHEAD SPOILERS AHEAD S P O I L E R S A H E A D ! you have one last warning, spoilers are ahead!!! I WILL NEVER... EVER FORGIVE LIBBA BRAY FOR KILLING OFF KARTIK. AND LIKE THAT?? THAT WAS JUST HARSH. THAT ALMOST MADE ME GIVE THIS A FOUR STAR RATING INSTEAD OF FIVE STARS. I AM FOREVER HEARTBROKEN. okay. whatever. forget about my heart now. i’ll talk about the rest of the book. WOW. this trilogy will forever be in my heart (sorry, i mentioned it again, i am sad). i think all of my reviews for these books are extremely similar so i’ll make it quick-HOW DID LIBBA BRAY NOT RUSH A SINGULAR THING IN THIS STORY??? HOW ARE ALL OF THE CHARACTERS CONNECTED IN SOME WAY???? THIS IS INSANE. SHE IS SO SO SO TALENTED. i love her. (even though she gives me trust issues with her characters she writes.) i will never stop thinking about this trilogy and it is almost 1 am and when i wake up i will be in a post-series depression (i am too tired and sad over kartik to realize that I AM FINISHED. THERE IS NO MORE.) THANKS A LOT, GEMMA DOYLE!

I loved all of Libba Bray's books in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. This one is my true favorite by far. It was long, and to some reviewers that was bad but for me it was good, as it means more pages for me to read! Yay! Anyway, it did drag at parts and I did skip over describing the realms paragraphs because we already knew about them. So with that settled I will begin. I was a very bad girl. As I was waiting for TSFT to come for me in the mail I sort of read all of the reviews and discussions just to know what it was about, so I got the whole gist about Felicty and Kartik. I did this to prepare myself, in especially Kartik's case, so I wouldn't cry or pass out or anything. But at by the end of the book, I was in a complete daze. So I'll sort my anger and trivial facts by character. *Big Time Spoilers Ahead* Gemma- Her leaving England at the end really surprised me. I totally wanted her to stay in England and go to all the parties and such. I was actually quite mad at her, even though I know Libba Bray made the right choice. The high society wasn't Gemma's world. But I wanted her to find love again, because I think there is a good chance when she goes to university she will decide she likes being alone as her love is gone. But otherwise I really liked her narration in the books. She is someone I would like to meet and be my friend. I liked how she and Kartik got together, but they never really professed their love for eachother and so that bothered me a little. But I think them being in the cave together and sharing that dream was enough. That moment of them together will stay in my mind forever. Kartik- Although I already knew he was going to sacrifice himself to the tree, I still didn't want him to do it. He is one of the most gallant and kind literary men I have read about, and that is what makes his death (or whatever it is) so much more heart-wrenching. He loved Gemma so truly that he gave his life up for her. That is the most sincere kind of devotion. I knew Libba Bray had to do it though. It's too cliche for the love interests to get together at the end, but I wanted it so badly! After I was finished with the book, I still couldn't believe it. He isn't coming back. He will never come back. It felt like I had been hit with a baseball bat. I am hoping that one day Ms.Bray will come out with a sequel and give us what we want to know (i.e the happy ending) for all our characters. Kartik gave up his "job" and life for Gemma, and I think that should deserve some kind of happy ending. Felicity- Well as I read the reviews before I got the book I knew what was happening between her and Pippa and so started to look for signs in this book and RA too. It wasn't totally out of the blue, but maybe just something Ms.Bray thought of later and was like "Oh, I will put this in!" I have grown to like Fee, regardless of her ambitious and power-hungry nature. I was truly sad to see her go at the end. What she did for Gemma in front of Pippa, how she turned Pippa

This is such an epic, moving story I feel it wholeheartedly deserves five stars. But like many other reviewers here, I also really really really wanted a happier ending! ---WARNING SPOILERS--- I respect Libba Bray for not shying away from an ending that she felt kept the theme of her story intact. However, while self-discovery, idependence and self-ideation are strong themes in this series, I would argue that Gemma's self-discovery didn't have to lead to her being alone in another country. All three books, and this final installment in particular, are heavy on feminism. I support that ideology but strongly disagree that feminism is exclusive of love, romance, marriage and motherhood. I don't think Libba Bray is trying to say that (she's married and a mother too), but the choices of her characters seem to reflect it. All three girls - Gemma, Felicity, and Ann - end up alone pursuing school/careers (or just interests in Felicity's case since she has plenty of money). Did it need to be like this in order to prove a point that women don't need men in order to be complete? I think we all need other people in order to be complete and thought it was extremely disappointing to see Gemma and Kartik pulled apart in the end. I know they can still communicate through dreams, but it's not the same. Couldn't Gemma have had an adventurous life WITH Kartik? Couldn't she have had everything she wanted with him by her side? I don't agree that they couldn't be together because she was English and he was Indian. People have been having *forbidden* romances since the beginning of time and they could have found a way. While the ending may have been poignant and bittersweet, I think the story could have been just as powerful with a more emotionally satisfying conclusion. As for Felicity's sexual orientation - some people felt that it was unexpected and completely out of the blue. I have to disagree on that point. I thought there were signs from the beginning of the series, even in some of the first scenes with her in AGTB. And overall the subject fit in well with the theme of self-discovery, adding complexity to Felicity and Pippa's characters while creating greater depth to Felicity's friendship with Gemma. I'm glad to see this subject being explored more in popular lit. Of all the YA series I've read, this one is the best. I think Libba Bray is a fantastic writer with an incredible imagination and I'm just sorry to see the series end. I'd be happy if it went on forever (preferably with Gemma and Kartik in India with their kids visiting the realms whenever they want!!) but I guess all good things must come to an end. I look forward to reading Libba Bray's future novels and just hope she gives us a happier ending next time around. Please Ms. Bray, if you create another Kartik, don't kill him off or turn him into vegetation!!! It just makes us sad!

I've read many fictional, fantasy books because of my sister. Libba Bray has outdone herself by far in this book. After reading twilight, I never thought that i would find another book that would come close to twilight. This book is the one of two other series that I find a 10 on a scale of 1-10. It is by far the best book in the whole Gemma Doyle trilogy...it is filled with the twists that everyone will enjoy. The romance is not overdone, as it is in some books. Gemma is still stuggling with the magic and believing in herself. In additon to all of this, Pippa doesn't seem to have the ability to do what she must, for some reason or other. Kartik also returns, and thus, the plot twist. I Loved IT! I RECOMMEND IT FOR ANYONE who loves reading fantasy books. I am more of a vampire/werewolf/crime/action kind of bookworm, but The Sweet Far Thing totally surpassed my expectations.

An intense, terrifying, journey and poignant end to a deliciously gothic series. I was delighted to see so many of the main characters triumph over their weaknesses--in their own time and their own ways. I never felt that the story was too long. There was some ambiguity with the details towards the end, and there were some terrible tragedies, but over all the writing quality was compelling, the characters were richly-drawn. and I was held captive until the bitter-sweet end. Fantastic read. One of my favorite YA Fantasy Series.

Well, I spent the first 3/4 of this book racked by horror movie syndrome: you know, when you're watching the girl go down the long, dark hall and reach for the doorknob, having split off from the rest of the group, and you're yelling, "Don't do it!" at the screen? Only in this case, I was yelling at Gemma not to trust all the wrong people and misuse the magic she holds. She does both, repeatedly, for hundreds of pages. Yet Bray's point seems to be that it's hard to know what to do when you're a 17-year-old girl, let alone when you carry far too great a responsibility and everyone around you is clamoring for you to hand it over to them. So while Gemma naturally distrusts the authoritarian Order and the Rakshana, she is more conflicted about her supposed allies in the realms, particularly two--make that three--individuals who are not nearly as dead as they should be. At the same time, Gemma and her friends are trying to figure out what to do about their oh-so-scripted futures, not to mention troubles with family members. And Gemma worries over her feelings for Kartik, who pulls away, then doesn't, then does, even as she tries to make sense of events in the Realms and the warnings she is receiving in visions. It kind of reminds me of how Harry Potter and his friends spend the middle of the last book glumly hiding out and quarreling because they lack all kinds of important information--and simply because they're teenagers and really don't know what to do next. The Sweet Far Thing is a long read, but it is incredibly well written and moves at a surprisingly fast clip. (Watch for some lovely metaphors tucked here and there in Bray's prose.) As for the ending, I would normally object, but I think this story is clearly focused on Gemma's efforts to make good choices and know, truly know, who she is, rather than on a stereotypical happy ending. A key theme of The Sweet Far Thing is that Gemma feels she is all alone, in spite of her friendships and allies and family--a feeling that this book ultimately confirms, though Gemma does manage to make peace with that knowledge. The most telling moment for me is when the gate of the Winterlands demands each girl's greatest fear and greatest wish. Gemma's wish is this: "I don't know! I don't know what I want, but I wish I did. And that is the truest answer I can give." For my part, I wish it were easier for Gemma to untangle the deceit and confusion that buffet her like storm winds, but in the end, she and her friends do what all of us have to do--the best that they can under the circumstances. And yes, they save the world. Bravo, Libba Bray!