Reviews

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

dadandmom12's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

thebeab's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

- absolutely delivered on premise of YA coming of age story e.g. Mrs Button the mannekin becomes an embarrassing relic of her childhood once she takes on an adult mindset - great!
- Brilliant twists I didn't see coming
- Fantastic characters, loved the MC, her father, sister, the Americans, the MC was so witty and funny and smart but made stupid and interesting "heat of the moment" mistakes that sent the plot in interesting and unanticipated directions
- beautiful descriptions and gorgeous prose
- insanely satisfying ending -

I love that she DOESNT end up with Simon (who was a cad!) You know they're in love with each other BUT he has quite some making up to do so I love that they don't neatly end up together -

so forward thinking considering this book was written in the 1940s.

venealosille's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

cxppatee's review against another edition

Boring, nothing really happened 

kelspeth's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

sweetlemonwater's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

reydeam's review against another edition

3.0

I Capture the Castle is about Cassandra - 17 years old - and her coming of age. Through her eyes, the reader is taken into a period of her life that is stricken with poverty, a family she loves, a dysfunctional father,and a first love. That tiny summary may seem all rather boring, but it really is not. Yes,the beginning of the book drags, somewhat. I thought maybe it was due to my poor state of reading these days, but my daughter confirmed that it dragged for her too. She said that the story picks up and gets a whole better. She is most certainly right. After page 100 - or so - the story starts to move a bit more, and around page 180 it starts to fly. And I burned through the last 100 pages in one night, and lately for me folks, that is crazy fast reading which also means that the story got crazy fast intensely interesting.

I cannot truly tell you what happens in the story, even without spoilers, because life is what happened and as like real life, many events happen with little significance but when added all up there is a lot of significance. I can say, I simply adore the way Cassandra brings in the details of her life and how she relates to her family. I adored Cassandra and applaud her for how she handled life. The ending suited the story well,but I cannot help but want to know where Casssandra went from there; how did she tackle life,and where did she eventually land. I suppose that is what my imagination is for; it is continuining Casanadra's story -coming up with all sorts of directions her life took and wishing the very best for her.

Bottom Line: When all is said and done, I liked this book a whole lot. A favorite? Hmmm....probably not as there is another book that ranks as a favorite that deals with similar themes; poverty and coming of age. But,I would recommend I Capture the Castle as a book to read.

My rating: 7/10
Polishing Mud Balls

happylilkt's review

2.0

This came highly recommended, but there must be something broken in me because I almost never like popular coming of age novels unless they are at least 100 years old. Is it because I was born an old woman? Probably.

Evidence:

Other coming of age novels I DO NOT like:
[b:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn|14891|A Tree Grows in Brooklyn|Betty Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883484l/14891._SY75_.jpg|833257] by Betty Smith
[b:How Green Was My Valley|40496|How Green Was My Valley|Richard Llewellyn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440708862l/40496._SY75_.jpg|2329482] by Richard Llewellyn

Coming of age novels I DO like:
[b:The Secret Garden|2998|The Secret Garden|Frances Hodgson Burnett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873635l/2998._SY75_.jpg|3186437] by Frances Hodgson Burnett
[b:Up a Road Slowly|65954|Up a Road Slowly|Irene Hunt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390965383l/65954._SY75_.jpg|63954] by Irene Hunt (a rare exception to the 100 year rule)
[b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934._SY75_.jpg|3244642] by Louisa May Alcott
[b:An Old-Fashioned Girl|246546|An Old-Fashioned Girl|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347469119l/246546._SY75_.jpg|3719102] by Louisa May Alcott
[b:Anne of Green Gables|8127|Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)|L.M. Montgomery|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390789015l/8127._SY75_.jpg|3464264] by L. M. Montgomery

mrsguin's review against another edition

5.0

I am not sure how to write a review for this wonderful novel, so I will take a cue from its narrator Cassandra and think it over before I put it in writing. However, I can highly recommend this to lovers of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters!

sjbloomstone's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0