"A rare treat . . . beautifully crafted."--People

It has been a year of change since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father alaudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds.

The Order--the mysterious group her mother was once part of--is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.

"A huge work of massive ambition." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A #1 Book Sense Bestseller
A New York Times Bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A USA Today Bestseller
A 2008 New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
CCBC Choice (Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison)