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Kirsten, August 18, 2006

Cassandra Mortmain, who lives in what remains of a crumbling castle with her eccentric family, starts a journal to record her daily life and hone her writing skills. Her family is completely destitute because her father, who is a writer, has suffered from writer's block for years and spends his time doing crossword puzzles and reading mysteries. When Cassandra's sister, Rose, desperately announces that she would marry rich just to avoid living in poverty any longer, everyone pretty much takes it as a joke -- until the new American owner of the estate where the castle is situated appears. With the appearance of Simon and Neil Cotton, everything changes for the Mortmains, and Cassandra records it all in her journal.

Oh wow, I loved this to bits! It may have helped that at the same time I was reading this, I came across one of my old journals from when I was about the same age as the narrator, which had the effect of totally reminding me of how Important everything was then. Smith captures the voice of a very bright but inexperienced teenage girl perfectly. This is set in the 1930's, but I would highly recommend it to people who like Jane Austen.

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