This is a book of almost heartbreaking beauty, written so well I simply couldn't stop reading it, even the second time. Most of the book deals with the choices made by two sisters, daughters of a one-time author who has one of the worst cases of writer's block in all literature. Rose, the older sister, behaves in ways that don't always seem ethical to Cassandra, the younger sister. Maybe it's just that Rose has endured more years of freezing, starving, and poverty, and is more motivated to escape upwards. But Cassandra's viewpoint is so refreshing, honest and original, with so much love for everyone around her, that I only wish she were real and could be friends with me.

A couple of other notes: 1) I'm bringing this to the Boston UnConvention for KateKintail who has it on her wish list; 2) the cover on this edition is prettier than the one shown. Now, get away from your computer and start reading this delightful book!

Judy Slump brought this to the convention for me. I've heard great things about it and look forward to it. Thank you so much! :-)

I loved this book, lent to me by my daughter. I always like books about sisters and their choices. That this book was written so long ago does not make it irrelevant. Instead, it is very timeless. I guess sisters have been behaving this way forever.

Honestly, I had a hard time getting into this. I think the voice of the narrator just wasn't what I wanted to read/listen to when I started. The tone is more formal than I was expecting, which fits the time period and the culture fine, just not what I wanted to read, I think. So it took me a while to finally sink into this book. But once I did, I had a hard time putting it down. So often I was checking the back cover and the title pages to see if this was a real story or not, that's how believable it felt to me.

This is Cassandra's story, told with great attention to detail, character motivation, emotion, and appearance. She keeps a journal of her time living with her family in a castle and wants to "capture" every bit of it. She wants to be a writer and is using her journal as a way of trying to get better. While other writers would immediately jump to the big moments like marriage proposals, she practices techniques like suspense and themes. And by taking her time and describing things so beautifully, she gets us to care about everything that's going on, as well as her. The romantic dramas read a little Austen to me, but in a more emotional, personal way. There is drama, humor, tension, worry, romance, and even a father locked away in a tower writing word puzzles! By the end, I was definitely rooting for Cassandra to have everything she ever dreamed of. It was a joy to get to read about her.

Giving to a coworker for the holidays! Hope it's enjoyed!

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