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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
This was a lovely re-read. It made me realize how drawn I have always been to introverted, introspective heroines. So much of this book is interior, and I didn't realize how little dialogue there is. Also, I wish there were a whole series about Frank Rowan.
I was disappointed in the ending but there was a lot to like -- the portrait of mid-sixties New York was intoxicating! I also appreciated how imperfect the characters were -- it does make you wonder how things would have gone on if there were a different ending.
I'm not sure what to make of this coming-of-age YA story written in 1951. It's been compared to Catcher in the Rye, and I can see some of that, though it's not quite as dramatic and high-brow. It's a teenage girl falling in love for the first time while struggling with her mother's infidelities. It's realistic and honest, but it's also, I don't know: Forgettable, maybe? There are a couple great lines in it and you can see a lot of L'Engle's strong ideas about God, science, and relationships.
I call this old-fashioned YA. Very deep. Late 1940s NYC-coming of age story that takes place over the course of a month when there's a crisis in the family. It's been compared to "Catcher in the Rye" but with a female voice, and I can see why. L'engle is such a gorgeous writer, I want to read everything she's ever written.
I absolutely love Madeline L'engle's writing style. Her words are so beautifully crafted, each phrase like a perfect puzzle piece of ideas that fit together flawlessly.
However, I did not enjoy this story. The heroine, Camilla, was far too passive for my taste. She just let people walk all over her most of the time. And a lot of her supposedly good relationships with people were completely inappropriate, unhealthy, and emotionally abusive!
The story line was not pleasant, all about parents cheating and fighting and lying to each other, and how the children deal with the chaos in their family life.
I didn't like any of the characters, even the good ones. These young teenagers are all so jaded, without faith or trust in anyone or anything, without hope.
And I didn't like the writer's religious philosophy. So arrogant, thinking that you can make God be who you want Him to be. He just IS, whether you like it or not!
So... not a great book, but I have enjoyed other books by this author!
However, I did not enjoy this story. The heroine, Camilla, was far too passive for my taste. She just let people walk all over her most of the time. And a lot of her supposedly good relationships with people were completely inappropriate, unhealthy, and emotionally abusive!
The story line was not pleasant, all about parents cheating and fighting and lying to each other, and how the children deal with the chaos in their family life.
I didn't like any of the characters, even the good ones. These young teenagers are all so jaded, without faith or trust in anyone or anything, without hope.
And I didn't like the writer's religious philosophy. So arrogant, thinking that you can make God be who you want Him to be. He just IS, whether you like it or not!
So... not a great book, but I have enjoyed other books by this author!
I just remember reading this when I was young and thinking: "Wow, being 15 is so old!" But now I'm 18 and being 15 is a completely normal thing that has already passed for me. I re-read this again when I was almost 14 and I understood it a lot better.
Camilla is a good read even if I hate the ending. I was never sure it had ended wrong until I read A House Like a Lotus and that book proved that Camilla did not end up with Frank, how annoying.
The book was written in the 60s, making it feel, in some ways, a little outdated. However, I would recommend this book to anyone. She deals with big concepts such as growing up, finding yourself, and recognizing or seeking to understand God's place. While those concepts seem so oftenly discussed, she does it in a natural way woven into the young protagonist's life. It is not action based, but follows a small time in the life of young Camilla as she experiences first love and is thrown into the middle of her Mother's affair. The discussions in the book are quite intriguing and Camilla is a character that is easy to connect to as L'Engle is focusing on a period of growing up that we all face at some point or another.
So, I read this book when I was around 12 and loved it so much that I gave to every single one of my close friends and they all loved it too. I even still have my original copy somewhere in parents house. I read it again now being significantly older and...it's not that great. I think it was a better memory than anything. It's not terrible but I guess I'm not its target audience anymore. It was a bit boring and the characters lacked depth. The dialogues also seemed strange and a bit too formal even for the 50s. Some even sounded like essays, specially if they were coming from Frank. I would give it a 2.5 rating but I'm rounding it to 3 for the nostalgia.