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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I loved how this book was so old fashioned and so modern at the same time. And so romantic, but without all the pat happily-ever-afters. And how it made me go "oh, to be seventeen again" and at the same time "oh thank god I'm not."
Reading this on the same day as [b:Drama|13436373|Drama|Raina Telgemeier|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1330157763s/13436373.jpg|18940474] is highly recommended. Go from a semi-naive thirteen year old to a seventeen year old with some serious perspective in just 575 pages, and travel back in time while you do it! (Thanks, vacation!)
Reading this on the same day as [b:Drama|13436373|Drama|Raina Telgemeier|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1330157763s/13436373.jpg|18940474] is highly recommended. Go from a semi-naive thirteen year old to a seventeen year old with some serious perspective in just 575 pages, and travel back in time while you do it! (Thanks, vacation!)
I wasn't quite sure what to rate it but this book did something to me. Whether I loved it or hated it, it definitely did something to me...
I hate all characters barring Stephen and Thomas. Although, I love the eccentricity of all characters. The plot is non-existent...but exciting somehow. It is very well written (although badly edited, lots of wrong words and typos...intentional?)
I hated the decisions everyone makes but I guess the point is that we can't choose who we love...try as we might.
Ultimately, I loved the atmosphere. It felt homey...but also wild and natural.
I will be re-reading in the future...
I hate all characters barring Stephen and Thomas. Although, I love the eccentricity of all characters. The plot is non-existent...but exciting somehow. It is very well written (although badly edited, lots of wrong words and typos...intentional?)
I hated the decisions everyone makes but I guess the point is that we can't choose who we love...try as we might.
Ultimately, I loved the atmosphere. It felt homey...but also wild and natural.
I will be re-reading in the future...
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a coming-of-age novel that pays homage to Jane Austen. Our narrator is Cassandra Mortmain, age 17, who lives in a dilapidated castle with her father (a once-famous author), stepmother (a Bohemian given to outdoor nudity), older sister Rose (a beauty who longs for change), younger brother Thomas (perhaps the most sensible of the lot), and Stephen (orphaned son of their late housekeeper). Trying to find a way out of their dire poverty, and coming up with no plan whatsoever, Rose makes a wish by kissing a gargoyle in the kitchen; what can it hurt, and maybe something – anything – might happen! Enter two charming, wealthy American brothers, Simon and Neil Cotton, who have just inherited the nearby Scoatney Hall, and events – exciting and improbable – occur to change the family’s fortunes.
The strength of the novel is Cassandra’s first-person narrative. She is witty, naïve, intelligent, observant, an ordinary child and an extraordinary young woman. The way she “captures” her eccentric family and their exciting adventures (I loved when Rose was mistaken for an escaped circus bear), is nothing short of endearing. I will admit that the plot moves slowly. We are, after all, talking about a few months time-span, and much time is spent in expounding on the joys of their surroundings (for example, when they stopped to identify the smells and sounds they encountered on a country walk). But there was enough going on to keep me interested: Will father ever write again? Will Stephen become the next cinema heartthrob? Will one of the brothers propose (which brother and to which girl)?
It’s gentle, humorous and has some wonderfully lyrical writing. The setting – the barely-refurbished and mostly bare castle - is practically a character, it is so vividly described. Smith’s novel has endured because it contains some basic universal lessons about learning to love, dealing with adversity, being true to your friends (even when it hurts), and about growing up. Through Cassandra, for a time I was seventeen again – excited, anxious, enthralled, puzzled, and optimistic about my future. Like one of my favorite novels, the ending is ambiguous (“After all, tomorrow is another day!”), and rightly so. I love being able to imagine what will happen to these characters as they go through life.
The strength of the novel is Cassandra’s first-person narrative. She is witty, naïve, intelligent, observant, an ordinary child and an extraordinary young woman. The way she “captures” her eccentric family and their exciting adventures (I loved when Rose was mistaken for an escaped circus bear), is nothing short of endearing. I will admit that the plot moves slowly. We are, after all, talking about a few months time-span, and much time is spent in expounding on the joys of their surroundings (for example, when they stopped to identify the smells and sounds they encountered on a country walk). But there was enough going on to keep me interested: Will father ever write again? Will Stephen become the next cinema heartthrob? Will one of the brothers propose (which brother and to which girl)?
It’s gentle, humorous and has some wonderfully lyrical writing. The setting – the barely-refurbished and mostly bare castle - is practically a character, it is so vividly described. Smith’s novel has endured because it contains some basic universal lessons about learning to love, dealing with adversity, being true to your friends (even when it hurts), and about growing up. Through Cassandra, for a time I was seventeen again – excited, anxious, enthralled, puzzled, and optimistic about my future. Like one of my favorite novels, the ending is ambiguous (“After all, tomorrow is another day!”), and rightly so. I love being able to imagine what will happen to these characters as they go through life.
It reminds me of [b:Cold Comfort Farm|92780|Cold Comfort Farm|Stella Gibbons|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416161594l/92780._SY75_.jpg|847348]. I didn't have the slightest idea of what I was getting myself into. This is a story of a 17-years old girl and sort of coming of age, her adventures with love, and life, and dealing with her father's authorship. I would say it's a rather typical YA novel :-D It's just set and written in the 1930s, so it's a bit different from what it would be had it been written now.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Great opening sentence - "'I write this sitting in the kitchen sink".
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When I first started listening to this, I thought I was going to love this book. The narrator and the writing was good. But it was the characters that undid it for me. This is the diary of a seventeen year old and by the end of the novel, I was ready to be done with her and her lack of growth. This brings up the question of how do you rate a book when you thought the writing was good but the characters had no real depth, were overall dull and the main character was selfish and self-absorbed. Stephen was the only character I still liked by the end of the novel. I have wanted to read this for a while and I am disappointed that the beginning didn't live up to the rest of the novel.