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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There were parts of this novel I appreciated and other parts that didn't seem to fit as well. Although none of the characters were particularly likable, they were flawed enough to be interesting and create unique relationships. Many of the conversations regarding faith didn't quite seem believable from certain character perspectives.
Not my favorite Madeleine L'Engle book, but it was a good summer read. YAish, though quaint and dated.
A New York City coming of age story that is occasionally dated in the details but still rings true in all those crazy 15-year old feelings. I wish I had read this when I was in junior high -- I think the occasionally melodramatic action and heavy-handed philosophy would have worked much better in my younger mind. Much of the book is dark and it doesn't flinch away from hard realities or dumb down complicated feelings. Give this to a young girl you know to help encourage all those independent thoughts.
A lovely, inspiring book that is heavy with truth and darkness. You won't be the same after you read it.
A wonderful read. I liked how I was never quite sure what was going on with Camilla's parents. Because we were seeing things from her perspective, it was easy to slip into her awakening.
It's very disturbing to discover that your parents are people, not just your parents. I think L'Engle did a great job portraying this realization.
Of course, I was frustrated with Frank by the end of the novel. But it consoled me to remember he is only a 17 year old boy. :)
Because this book has a very similar feel to A Small Rain, and even mentions music in the same way, I was happy that L'Engle chose science to be Camilla's career. Sometimes I forget when I read a L'Engle book that's written for adults that she is also the author of A Wrinkle in Time and The Arm of the Starfish. I was happy to see the marriage of awakening and her fascination with science. And I thought astronomy was a good thing in this novel. It helped to define Camilla, to understand her fascination with God, her understanding of God and her deeper self.
I'd recommend this book. Looking forward to revisiting Camilla in the sequel, A Live Coal in the Sea.
It's very disturbing to discover that your parents are people, not just your parents. I think L'Engle did a great job portraying this realization.
Of course, I was frustrated with Frank by the end of the novel. But it consoled me to remember he is only a 17 year old boy. :)
Because this book has a very similar feel to A Small Rain, and even mentions music in the same way, I was happy that L'Engle chose science to be Camilla's career. Sometimes I forget when I read a L'Engle book that's written for adults that she is also the author of A Wrinkle in Time and The Arm of the Starfish. I was happy to see the marriage of awakening and her fascination with science. And I thought astronomy was a good thing in this novel. It helped to define Camilla, to understand her fascination with God, her understanding of God and her deeper self.
I'd recommend this book. Looking forward to revisiting Camilla in the sequel, A Live Coal in the Sea.
The writing has the weird, ethereal quality her books do, and it reads quickly and has a good sense of place. I like Camilla, but pity her (which she would hate). I hate that almost everyone else sucks in this book though, if they’re at all a halfway fleshed out character. It’s compared to Catcher in the Rye, and I see why, but it has this clunky, dated romance superimposed on it that is uncomfortable after all this years.
But seriously (spoilers):
—her mother’s affair
—her father’s cold, 50s style fathering style
—her boyfriend who shakes her til her teeth rattle, says misogynistic things, is deeply self-absorbed and frustrating
—her shitty, possessive, mean-spirited friend
—her friend’s deeply troubled parents (and everyone saying the woman should give up her job and is the worse one in the pairing, giving the man more understanding, when they both suck)
—the legless veteran who is 27 and kissed her multiple times in a romantic fashion (she’s 15), and all the teens act like he’s some worldly oracle, when he’s instead a veteran suffering psychological trauma
—all the misogyny of the time
Basically, I like Camilla and the prose is decent. But everything that happens is so much, and so bleak, and it ends abruptly after some long philosophical and religious ramblings by an annoying teenage boy, so it wears out it’s welcome and doesn’t end up feeling moving or engaging. All the female characters are controlling and immature and all the male characters are violent and domineering and condescending.
But seriously (spoilers):
—her mother’s affair
—her father’s cold, 50s style fathering style
—her boyfriend who shakes her til her teeth rattle, says misogynistic things, is deeply self-absorbed and frustrating
—her shitty, possessive, mean-spirited friend
—her friend’s deeply troubled parents (and everyone saying the woman should give up her job and is the worse one in the pairing, giving the man more understanding, when they both suck)
—the legless veteran who is 27 and kissed her multiple times in a romantic fashion (she’s 15), and all the teens act like he’s some worldly oracle, when he’s instead a veteran suffering psychological trauma
—all the misogyny of the time
Basically, I like Camilla and the prose is decent. But everything that happens is so much, and so bleak, and it ends abruptly after some long philosophical and religious ramblings by an annoying teenage boy, so it wears out it’s welcome and doesn’t end up feeling moving or engaging. All the female characters are controlling and immature and all the male characters are violent and domineering and condescending.
Note to self: For a long time I've been trying to remember a certain Madeleine L'Engle book that had a romance and which I'd loved, and I thought it was one of the Austins books, but maybe it was this one.
Madeleine L'Engle is just a fabulous writer. I had a hard time not reading this entire book in one sitting (one day is very nearly one sitting, right?) This young adult fiction was clearly written at least a generation ago, but I didn't really care because L'Engle is great at writing and covers themes that are still important.
I didn't like this one that much. Camilla is a young 15-year-old, grappling with the disintegration of her parents' marriage, and taking it hard. She starts hanging out with her best friend's brother, who wants to talk about God and death a lot. I didn't buy the premise of their relationship much - it just didn't work well for me. Camilla also seems pretty immature and self-involved and just kind of bugged me. At the end, her parents decide to send her off to... where else? boarding school. Madeleine must have *really* been scarred by her boarding school experience. Sheesh.
The thing about Frank is that he's not the best at all, but Camilla's so in love with him that she doesn't notice his flaws. I can't tell if Madeleine L'Engle meant Frank to be a paradigm of romance, but I don't care. To me, the fact that Camilla thinks Frank is perfect is the point. This is her first love, and she's trying so hard to be grown up, and those two things mix together.
Even though Frank is a flawed person, the moments of romance were still really exciting because they made me feel like I did when I was a little kid reading these books. They made my heart so warm. I seriously felt Camilla's emotions.
A lot of this book went over my head when I read it in elementary school, I think. It's very cool to return to it years later and understand it on a different level. Like realizing that Frank kind of sucks a little. I used to accept Frank with blind wonder just like Camilla, but now I'm like, Frank, stop throwing temper tantrums and shaking your girlfriend.
So many times I'm disappointed with books from my childhood, but the writing in this is so beautiful. Camilla's burgeoning awareness of her parents' interiority propelling her entrance into adulthood feels so painful and so real.
There's also the fact that the book is set in Manhattan in the 50s. It makes the city feel so exciting again. I love when Camilla rides the subway. Also, the Met is described in such loving detail. Actually, most of the outdoor setting is described lovingly.
Even though Frank is a flawed person, the moments of romance were still really exciting because they made me feel like I did when I was a little kid reading these books. They made my heart so warm. I seriously felt Camilla's emotions.
A lot of this book went over my head when I read it in elementary school, I think. It's very cool to return to it years later and understand it on a different level. Like realizing that Frank kind of sucks a little. I used to accept Frank with blind wonder just like Camilla, but now I'm like, Frank, stop throwing temper tantrums and shaking your girlfriend.
So many times I'm disappointed with books from my childhood, but the writing in this is so beautiful. Camilla's burgeoning awareness of her parents' interiority propelling her entrance into adulthood feels so painful and so real.
There's also the fact that the book is set in Manhattan in the 50s. It makes the city feel so exciting again. I love when Camilla rides the subway. Also, the Met is described in such loving detail. Actually, most of the outdoor setting is described lovingly.