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Now who doesn't like a quirky girl? Or even a quirky family for that matter. The Mortmains do everything differently and you love them even more for it. Cassandra Mortmain keeps a journal and shares her observations, desires and fears that make her oh so appealing to the reader. The wealthy Cottons, an American family, buy the property the Mortmains lease and quickly become part of of the chaos. A few things struck me about the novel, the first being the independence that Cassandra enjoys. She s
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The lovesick moments brought the whole novel down, but I guess it was true to being 17. Dare I say it... I like the movie better (which I saw in the theater when it first came out), but I better watch it again to be sure.
I can’t believe I only recently heard about this 1940s gem. Sweet, funny and melancholy, a coming-of-age story from a delightful young British narrator. It feels one part Austen two parts Bronte but set in a modern, 1930s sensibility. Only after I finished did I discover that the author is most famous for her story “101 Dalmatians!”
This is one of those books which everyone I knew raved about and now that I have read it, I can completely understand what the fuss was about. Cassandra is the most wonderful voice. I felt like I was listening to my best friend as she spoke. Although the story was simple, it was told so beautifully. I sat up until well into the night to finish it because I just had to know what happened. But I think what struck me most of all was that so many of the thoughts that Cassandra recorded matched my ow
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An enjoyable, fun novel that doesn't blow one out of the water, as much as simply entertain and enlighten about certain truths of life. Pride and Prejudice was definitely a model for this, but the (mild spoiler alert!) non-simplistic ending here is refreshing. My advice: don't expect too much and you'll enjoy this even more than you might have otherwise.
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Overall, 3.5 stars. So much talk about beards. Also, I spent most of the book wondering Cassandra's age. I listened to the audiobook, so I must have missed it. Overall, a very brief listen that was done well enough.
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Aug 27, 2010
DeeAnn
marked it as to-read
Jun 27, 2013
Tanya
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Jan 03, 2015
Robin
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Nov 16, 2015
Jennifer AM
marked it as to-read
Dec 12, 2016
Thaly
marked it as to-read
Dec 31, 2018
JoDee
marked it as to-read
