A Great and Terrible Beauty Ausgezeichnet: ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004, Ausgezeichnet: Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List, 2005

A Reader's Digest Best Book for Teens of All Time!

A delicious, elegant gothic. PW, Starred

A Gothic novel touched by modern conceptions of adolescence, shivery with both passion and terror. Kirkus Reviews

A true boarding-school drama, full of cattiness, Victorian repression, and steamy schoolgirl dreams of being ravished by virile gypsies. The Bulletin, Recommended

"This classic boarding school drama with gothic tones deals with real issues . . . a compulsively readable story." --VOYA 

"[An] engrossing, imaginative Victorian-era novel . . . An unconventional book that entertains to the end and stays with you long after." --BN.com

A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy . . . an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy.
Amazon.com

An interesting combination of fantasy, light horror, and historical fiction, with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure Recommend this to fantasy fans who also like Sherlock Holmes or Mary Russell.
School Library Journal

There s no doubt the mystical elements, along with a touch of forbidden romance, will draw a large, enthusiastic audience. Booklist

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A New York Times Bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A Book Sense Bestseller
BBYA (ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults)
Iowa High School Book Award
Garden State Teen Book Award
Pennsylvania Young Reader s Choice Award