A review by luisasm
Camilla by Madeleine L'Engle

2.0

Ehhhhh I liked what this book tried to do. But it was very philosophical and existential, and every character had some deep issue that they all seemed to be able to express through very fluid, beautiful language. Because apparently everyone is perfectly eloquent. It just seemed like random introspective. It annoyed me how overly dramatic it was. There were some nice moments, and the characters were not one dimensional (except Camilla, oddly, who actually seemed the least likable character.) But overall, it took too lightly issues which should have been major plot lines (suicide, PTSD) and focused on inconsequential events that we honestly don't care about (dolls? Really?) And I thought I would die from the pages and pages of dialogue about existence and love and life. Too many cliches for me. One more note, Luisa was particularly annoyingly written, because honestly, how many times have we heard the ugly girl with self esteem issues taking advantage of another girl? And the drunk depressed mother? The cold architect father? The spoiled rich girl? The player who meets his true love? I expected more from Madeleine L'Engle, who's written so much greatness.