When I went to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference earlier this year, one of the speakers – an editor from a publishing house – raved about a book called I Capture the Castle. I’d never heard of it, but I was determined to understand why this particular editor loved this book so much. I finally requested it from the library and just finished it over the weekend.

It was a bit slow to start, but ultimately, I ended up really enjoying it. It was written in 1948 and set in 1930’s England. Told from the perspective of a teenaged girl, the author (Dodie Smith, who also wrote 101 Dalmatians) does a fabulous job of portraying the uncertainties and feelings that plague young girls.

Through the book we get a peek into Cassandra Mortmain’s life in a ramshackle castle that is falling down around her family. Her father is an eccentric and famous author struggling with writer’s block and unable to provide for the family. Living without electricity and slowly selling off all of their valuable possessions to survive, the family is very poor, often hungry and yet still maintains (mostly) a sense of humor. When two wealthy Americans arrive while Cassandra is bathing in the kitchen, things liven up.

It’s a very light romance, so there’s a little bit about pining for boys, but it’s also about family and the oddities that we cope with as part of a family, odd or not, rich or poor. It’s about choosing to care, and living life to its fullest. I would think that this would be an excellent book for teenage girls or even as a read aloud for younger girls. There is some reference to “making love”, which in this case is simply kissing. I’ll recommend it to my boys, but I think it might be too slow for them. We’ll see.