Camilla

Life had always been easy for fifteen-year-old Camilla Dickinson.  But now her parents, whom she had always loved and trusted, are behaving like strangers to each other and vying for her allegiance.  Camilla is torn between her love for them and her disapproval of their actions.



Then she meets Frank, her best friend's brother, who helps her to feel that she is not alone.  Can Camilla learn to accept her parents for what they are and step toward her own independence?©2009 Madeleine L'Engle; (P)2009 Listening Library

What a coming of age story should be like

I am working my way through Madeleine L'Engle books. I have not read anything by her in a decade or so and wanted to revisit books of my youth. I have not read this book before and was very surprised how much I enjoyed it. It is a book that is really about coming of age, realizing that all the problems of the world do not revolve around you and coming to terms with what your place in the world really is. It does have a small love story, but unlike many modern coming of age stories does not involve any sex. It is a very internal book, with the main character explicating her thoughts in long internal dialogues. But that fits with the book very well. The content is a bit mature, there is adultery, attempted suicide, divorce, drinking and alcoholism and more. But these are handled well and not in a showy way, just as a matter of the world and part of growing up.