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mkmwriter 's review for:
The Sweet Far Thing
by Libba Bray
This book was wonderful! I'm very sad to see the Gemma Doyle trilogy come to an end, but Bray sure took it out with a bang in The Sweet Far Thing.
Rather than talk about what happens in the novel, I want to touch upon one thing that really held my interest throughout all three novels: the discontent that Gemma feels over the restraints and limitations placed upon girls and women. Bray takes the opportunity through Gemma, Felicity, and Ann to make her female readers aware of the expectations placed upon women during that era. Gemma and Felicity, most markedly, do not want to fall victim to the rank and classification system in regards to being female. Ann tries her best to not fall into the social class of servitude, although she doesn't have nearly quite as much spunk as Gemma and Felicity. These girls see no reason why they shouldn't be able to be who they want to be, dress the way they want to, live they way they want to, etc. There's a good little history lesson here for young girls about the fight that in which women have had to engage in order to gain respect and equality in this world. Bray doesn't go overboard with the idea, but she does drive the point home.
One of my favorite passages from this book is below:
Felicity takes both my hands in hers. My bones ache from her grip. "Gemma, you see how it is. They've planned our entire lives, from what we shall wear to whom we shall marry and where we shall live. It's one lump of sugar in your tea whether you like it or not and you'd best smile even if you're dying deep inside. We're like pretty horses, and just as on horses, they mean to put blinders on us so we can't look left or right but only straight ahead where they would lead." Felicity puts her forehead to mine, holds my hands between hers in a prayer. "Please, please, please, Gemma, let's not die inside before we have to." (page 601)
To me, it seems as if Bray might have left this series open-ended enough for another novel. A reader can always hope, right?
Rather than talk about what happens in the novel, I want to touch upon one thing that really held my interest throughout all three novels: the discontent that Gemma feels over the restraints and limitations placed upon girls and women. Bray takes the opportunity through Gemma, Felicity, and Ann to make her female readers aware of the expectations placed upon women during that era. Gemma and Felicity, most markedly, do not want to fall victim to the rank and classification system in regards to being female. Ann tries her best to not fall into the social class of servitude, although she doesn't have nearly quite as much spunk as Gemma and Felicity. These girls see no reason why they shouldn't be able to be who they want to be, dress the way they want to, live they way they want to, etc. There's a good little history lesson here for young girls about the fight that in which women have had to engage in order to gain respect and equality in this world. Bray doesn't go overboard with the idea, but she does drive the point home.
One of my favorite passages from this book is below:
Felicity takes both my hands in hers. My bones ache from her grip. "Gemma, you see how it is. They've planned our entire lives, from what we shall wear to whom we shall marry and where we shall live. It's one lump of sugar in your tea whether you like it or not and you'd best smile even if you're dying deep inside. We're like pretty horses, and just as on horses, they mean to put blinders on us so we can't look left or right but only straight ahead where they would lead." Felicity puts her forehead to mine, holds my hands between hers in a prayer. "Please, please, please, Gemma, let's not die inside before we have to." (page 601)
To me, it seems as if Bray might have left this series open-ended enough for another novel. A reader can always hope, right?