A Great and Terrible Beauty has everything I've looked for in a book: fantasy, a bit of mystery, historical fiction, and true to life characters. The girls were around my age, which made it more interesting. It's extremely well written! It opened my eyes to what a girl's life was like in Victorian times. (I think you have to be at least 12 or 13 to understand some of the more complicated sequences in the book, though). I have never read anything like this before, it's intriguing, compelling, has its moments of passion, and some moments of sheer terror! You don't know what to expect when you turn the page. Overall a fascinating and exciting read! I definitely recommend it, especially for teenage girls. Great job Libba Bray!