The Flight Of Gemma Hardy (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Loved it and would give it 4 1/2 for sure. This was a Cinderella story, with more bad things going on in Gemma and yet the dead helped her get though it all. Taken place from Iceland to Scotland and back and forth. Can one child grow up with such stenght to plow threw so much bad luck, and end up with so much. Not loved and loved by so few and so many. Follow along Gemma journey and ask you self could you have survived what she did. How lucky are we. Or how lucky was she. This book is, shortly, a modern day Jane Eyre. The protagonist, Gemma, is known as the outcast in her aunt's family and is sent to a boarding school at the age of 10 under the guise that she was awarded a "scholarship" for being intelligent. However, she ends up being an "working girl," and is in some regards similar to Sara Crewe in "A Little Princess"--an intelligent person who is treated like a maid while attending classes. Throughout the book, Gemma has a determined air about her, which I admired. She made the best of her circumstances and made up her mind to do her best when she had no other option. I didn't like how the end felt rushed, and no resolution to finding herself (identity, familial, etc.) was ever truly found. I would definitely recommend this book to teenagers and younger readers in the sense that they can relate more to the characters, story line, etc. in comparison to its predecessor Jane Eyre. Also, the reader can learn to lean on their haunches and inner strength when the going gets tough. The imagery of a bird and one's soul and personality taking flight and shape is prevalent in this book. Further, the book is about how one must be ready to fly when need be to develop and move on.
What do You think about The Flight Of Gemma Hardy (2012)?
I really liked it - sort of a modern day (from 1956!) Jane Eyre. Loved the character of Gemma.
—babyelephant
A slow starter but turned out to be a good read about an unusually spunky orphan.
—wale
4 stars mostly for the Iceland and Scotland imagery.
—Nyx
