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burningupasun's review against another edition
4.0
This book wasn't quite a five star book but oh it was close, and it was good! I think this was recommended to me either by a person or Goodreads (I can't remember) as being similar to I Capture The Castle. I definitely see the similarities, though this book was a bit more grown up, and a bit more racy. It had more lipstick and flirting and girls screaming at American male singers, haha. This book was very much about love. About losing love and what it does to you, but I think also on a whole the impact of young love; not just on the teenage characters but on the adults around them who fell in love young, too, and are now dealing with the loss of it, or how it changed them.
I think the main character Penelope and her best friend Charlotte were my favorites, but the whole cast of characters was fascinating. They were realistically well written in that way where there were times when they irritated you, but you still liked them and sympathized with them, too.
And of course I cried at the end, which is pretty par for the course these days when it comes to me reading good books! I definitely recommend if you like a good historical YA fiction, this is a fun, lively, but emotional one.
Some favorite quotes:
“As he started 'Whisky and Gin' and the cheering and the shrieking filled my senses, I thought of Mama, shattered by the war and Papa's death and I wished with all my heart that she could understand how it felt to be us that night - how it felt to be eighteen and unbeaten, eighteen and alive.”
“Men, I thought, were more trouble than they were worth. Really, one should stick to books where one sees the hero coming a mile off.”
I think the main character Penelope and her best friend Charlotte were my favorites, but the whole cast of characters was fascinating. They were realistically well written in that way where there were times when they irritated you, but you still liked them and sympathized with them, too.
And of course I cried at the end, which is pretty par for the course these days when it comes to me reading good books! I definitely recommend if you like a good historical YA fiction, this is a fun, lively, but emotional one.
Some favorite quotes:
“As he started 'Whisky and Gin' and the cheering and the shrieking filled my senses, I thought of Mama, shattered by the war and Papa's death and I wished with all my heart that she could understand how it felt to be us that night - how it felt to be eighteen and unbeaten, eighteen and alive.”
“Men, I thought, were more trouble than they were worth. Really, one should stick to books where one sees the hero coming a mile off.”
kmthomas06's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. Its characters are fun, engaging and utterly realistic. But most importantly, the book takes into what being a teenager in 1950s England was like and it just sounded like fun. This book also reminded me a lot of I Capture the Castle, another great coming of age story in England set around a moldering old country estate.
zuha_kh's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
heather_boo's review against another edition
2.0
This is a coming of age story centered around Penelope who experiences a very unlikely acquaintance in Charlotte, who sees her, and basically says you’re coming over for tea even though we’ve never met, and that’s that. Charlotte is supposed to be special, and somebody to whom one would gravitate; however, the author only tells us this, but quite never shows us. Other than the spontaneous introduction, there wasn’t much out of the ordinary. More intrigue arrives with the introduction of Charlotte’s brother Harry, and their Aunt Clare who clearly recognizes Penelope. I had to push to get through the book since much of it is watching the characters interact, but not like a tableau of Jane Austin , where there are layers of meaning, just basic superficial conversation. And finally, please do not let me hear the name, Johnny Ray one more time.
cerisecarrot's review against another edition
4.0
Not my normal type of read and rather predictable, but I quite enjoyed it for something different.
sienna_26's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
acciomahika's review against another edition
4.0
this book brought me to a different era and period. I can even imagine myself having a tea in the late afternoon at Europe. Ha!
mbenzz's review against another edition
2.0
Gave up. After almost two weeks I only got through 40% of the book. The characters were flat and boring and I had no desire to continue on.
book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
Penelope Wallace meets Charlotte Ferris at a bus stop, when the latter insists Penelope accompany her to her Aunt Clare’s for tea. It is 1950s London, and the two young women, seemingly very different, become fast friends, moving through elegant parties, sharing a crush on singer/heartthrob Johnnie Ray, and exploring various love interests. Together they weather the changes in British post-war society, and in their own family situations.
I really enjoyed this novel. Through her characters, Rice lets the reader experience a taste of high society and Bohemian counterculture, landed gentry living in genteel poverty, the excesses of youth, and the fascination with flashy Americans. Despite our many differences (age, nationality, social standing, etc), I connected to these characters. I loved how they developed as they matured. Penelope, Charlotte, Harry and Inigo are witty, thoughtful, confused, eager, charming and vulnerable.
I applaud Rice for what she did “not” have the characters say and do, as much as for what she did have them comment upon and experience. They felt real to me, and while I have no desire at all to relive my teens, I was happy to go along with them on their journey towards adulthood.
I really enjoyed this novel. Through her characters, Rice lets the reader experience a taste of high society and Bohemian counterculture, landed gentry living in genteel poverty, the excesses of youth, and the fascination with flashy Americans. Despite our many differences (age, nationality, social standing, etc), I connected to these characters. I loved how they developed as they matured. Penelope, Charlotte, Harry and Inigo are witty, thoughtful, confused, eager, charming and vulnerable.
I applaud Rice for what she did “not” have the characters say and do, as much as for what she did have them comment upon and experience. They felt real to me, and while I have no desire at all to relive my teens, I was happy to go along with them on their journey towards adulthood.