Literary Luminary

"Its a lot to think about, but I'm at the river's edge now. Pippa's pale face pushes up against the ice, her loose, dark curls spreading out underneath the surface. I use a rock to break through. Water rushes up through the cracks. To pull her out, I have to plunge my hand into that murky, forbidden river. Its warm as a bath. Inviting and calm. I'm tempted to submerge myself in that water, but not yet. I've got hold of Pippa's hand and I'm pulling with all my might, yanking her free of the wright of the water, till shes on the bank. She sputters and coughs, vomits river water onto the grass.
"Pippa? Pippa!" Shes so pale and cold. There are great dark circles beneath her eyes.
"Pip, I've come to take you back."
Those violent eyes open.
"Back." She turns the word over softly, glances longingly at the river, whose secrets I both want to know and want to keep far from me, for now. "What will happen to me?"
I have no more magic left for lies. "I don't know."
"Mrs. Bartleby Bumble, then?"
I say nothing. She strokes the side of my face with her cold, wet hand and I already know what shes thinking, not because its magic but because she is my friend and I love her.
"Please, Pip," I say, and stop because I'm starting to cry a little. "You have to come back. You just have to."
"Have to...my whole life has been that."
"It could change..."
She shakes her head. "I'm not a fighter. Not like you." In the winter-brittle grass, she finds a small handful of shriveled berries, no bigger than seeds. They rest in her palm like coins.
My throat aches. "But if you eat them..."
"What was it Miss Moore said? There are no safe choices. Only different ones." She takes a last look at the river, and her hand flies to her mouth. There's a moment when its so quiet that I can her the ragged edges of my breathing. And then color flows beneath her skin., the hair curling into ringlets, the cheeks a vibrant rose. She's radiant. All around me, the land is coming alive again in a ripple of blooms and golden leaves. On the horizon, a new pink sky is born. And the knight stands waiting, her glove in his hand. The warm breeze has pushed the boat to our shore.
This is a time for goodbyes. But I've had too many goodbyes of late, a lifetime of them to come, so I say nothing. She smiles. I return the smile. That's all that's needed. She steps into the boat and lets it carry her across the river. When she reaches the other side, the knight helps her out, into the sweet green grass. Beneath the silver arch of the garden's gate, Mother Elena's little girl, Carolina, watches too. But soon she realized this is not the one shes waiting for and she drifts out of sight, cradling her doll in her arms." page 394-396

• Do you think Pippa made a wise choice?

Literary Luminary

"I cant think. Can barely breathe. Overhead, the sky roils gray and black. We sat here and counted clouds in the blue. Blue as my mother's silk dress. Blue as a promise. A hope. She came back for me. I cant leave her to this.
Those black swirling orbs lean closer. The smell of rot fills my nostrils. Tears sting at my eyes. I have nothing left but that hope and a whisper.
"Mother...I forgive you."
The grip loosens. The things eyes widen. The hideous mouth opens. Its power shrinks. "No!"
I feel my strength returning. I voice grows, the words take on a life of their own. "I forgive you, Mother. I forgive you, Mary Dowd."
The creature writhes and screams. I roll from is grasp. It is losing the fight, diminishing. It howls at me in pain, but I don't stop. I repeat it like a mantra as I grab a rock and smash the first rune. It crumbles in a shower of crystal rain, and I smash the second.
"Stop! What are you doing?" it shrieks.
I smash the third and fourth runes. For a moment, the thing changes shape, becomes my mother, and weak on a patch of straw like grass.
"Gemma, please stop. You're killing me."
I hesitate. She turns her face to me, soft and tear stained.
"Gemma, it is me. It's Mother.:
"No. My mother is dead."
I smash the fifth rune, falling back against the hard earth. With a great gasp, the things loses its grip on my mothers spirit. It shrinks in on itself, becomes a thin column of twisting moans, until it is sucked up into the sky and all is silent.
I lie still.
"Mother?" I say. I'm not really expecting an answer, and I don't get one. She's truly gone now. I am alone. And somehow, this is as it should be." page 392-393

• Do you think it was hard for Gemma to destroy the creature? Because even though it was evil, her mom would be out of her life forever...

Literary Luminary

"Why not call ourselves the Order?" I say.
Felicity sits up so quickly I can still feel the warmth of her next to me, trailing behind her by seconds. "How absolutely perfect! Gemma, you are our genius." I'm a little embarrassed, so I twist the stem of the apple in my hand till it breaks with a snap. Felicity pulls my hand to her mouth and bites into the fruit cupped there. Her mouth is sticky sweet from it as she kisses me full on the lips. I have to put my hand to them to stop the tingling, and a blush has flooded my entire body.
Felicity raises the apple and my arm into the air, both held tight in her pale fist."Ladies, I give you the Order, reborn!"
"The Order, reborn!" we all echo, our voices bouncing around the cave in ripples of sound. Pippa actually embraces me. We're alive with our new secret, with the way we belong to each other an do something other than the dull passing of hours with nothing to look forward to besides our routines. It makes me feel even more powerful than the whiskey, and I want it to go on forever.
"Do you suppose there was really such an order of women?"
Felicity snorts. "Don't be daft, Pip. It's a fairy tale.
Pippa is hurt. "I only wondered, that's all."
I don't want the spell of our evening to be broken so fast.
"What if it were true?" The slim leather-bound diary is in my hands and out in the open before I can really think about it." page 142-143

• How do you think that Gemma came upon the name, "The Order"?
• Do you think that might have something to do with the diary of Mary Dowd?

Literary Luminary

"She leans in close to Felicity. "What were you doing with her?"
"I do believe that one headmistress is enough, Pippa,"
Felicity scoffs. "Really, your imagination is so brilliant you should put i to use as a novelist someday. Gemma, walk with me."
She loops her arm through mine and we pass Pippa, who can do nothing to save face now but make a show of snubbing Ann to run off and talk with other girls.
"Sometimes she is such a child," Felicity says when we're a few steps being them all.
"I thought you were best of friends."
"I adore Pippa. Really. but she's very sheltered. There are things I could never tell her. Like Ithal. But you understand. I can tell that you do. I think we're going to be great friends, Gemma."
"Would we still be great friends if I didn't hold a secret over your head?" I ask.
"Don't friends always share secrets?"
Would I ever share my secrets with any of these girls? Or would they run in horror to know the truth about me? Up ahead, Miss Moore shepherds the younger girls through the trees and put onto the great lawn. She watches us with a curious expression, as id we're windows into the past. Ghosts.
"Come along, girls," she calls. "Don't dawdle."
"Dawdle? I can barely breathe from trudging up this hill at a gallop!" Felicity sniffs.
"How long has Miss Moore taught at Spence?" I ask.
"She arrived this past summer. She's a breath of fresh air in this staid old place, I can tell you that. Oh, what's this?" Felicity says.
"What's what?" I ask.
"This remnant in your bodice. Bit torn. Ugh, and muddy. If you need a proper handkerchief, you only have to ask. I've got scads of them." She puts the scrap i my open palm. Its blue silk, torn and soiled around the edges, as if it might have been ripped by a branch. My legs shake so that i have to lean against the first tree I see.
Felicity looks puzzled. "Whats the matter?"
"Nothing," I say, my voice whispery tight.
"Its as if you've seen a ghost."
I might have.
The muddy blue silk is a promise in my hands. My mother was here. I'd choose her. It's what I said before I fell asleep. Somehow, I've changed things. I've brought her back with this strange power of mine. For the first time, I want to know everything about it. If Kartik wont tell me, I'll find out on my own. I'll hunt down Mary Dowd and get her to tell me what I need to know. They can't stop me.
Felicity gives my hand a pull. "Don't be so slow."
"I'm coming," I said, quickening my pace till I'm clear of the trees and into the warm sun again." page 117-118

• What do you think was the reason Gemma asked: "Would we still be great friends if I didn't hold a secret over your head?"
• So why all of a sudden does Gemma want to know all about these powers after saying that she doesn't? Do you think its just because she go ta glimpse of her mother and because of the blue silk?

Literary Luminary

"Is this the Mary who thinks she knows me? I dont know any Mary Dowd. My head aches and I'm cold out here in just my nightgown.
"Tell Mary to leave me alone. I dont want this power she's giving me."
"She's not giving you the power, miss. Just showing you the way."
"Well, I dont want to follow! Do you understand Mary Dowd?"
I'm shouting at the cave till my voice echoes in my ears. Its enought to pull me had from the vision, until I'm alone in the cave, the diary in my hands." page 87-88

• Why do you think she didnt want to follow the way that Mary wants her too?
• What did this passage show you while you were reading?

Word Wizard.

"In every end, there is also a beginning."



So I think this quote is constatly stated by many people and in many books. What do you think about the way they have stated it in this book.. ? Did it make you think about anything else, personally or something like that?

Word Wizard.

"I refuse to let the past find me here."

When i read this part it reminded me of what we talked about in class a few months ago about trying to escape fate. And then like how most of us had different opinions on how we agreed and disagreed with the idea.

Now after reading the book what are some of the ideas you guys have on this, has your views changed knowing that she's in a way trying to escpae fate and avoiding her past.