Rating: 
Summary: Captivating, I couldn't put it down!
Review: I started this book around midnight and read for the next four hours straight. And then for some godforsaken reason, this book gave me an urge to go for a very early morning jog. I came home refreshed after my run and you know what I did then? Picked up the novel and resumed reading. This book was a breath of fresh air, it really makes a person hopeful. Cassandra Mortmain is witty and funny and makes you feel as if you are literally there with her in the castle. Some people may think it moves too slowly, but I think that is part of the charm. Every detail is "captured." This has become one of my favorites! Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A classic in every sense of the word and more!
Review: I stumbled upon the book through recommendations and was interested to learn that the author wrote this in the 1940's and the book is set in the 1930's. I also loved the fact that Dodie [the author] had written 101 Dalmatians. To be honest I did have very high hopes for the book. While it was written with wit and wisdom I was bothered at finding the usage of the same extraordinary rare words over and over. I thought the story started out wonderfully; a girl loving where she is and loving who she is and being content while wanting so much more. It is the life of a young girl who wants only the best for her father, sister, brother, step mother, and friend/hand-boy. It was no surprise and I knew it was coming ... that she would fall for the wrong man which was disappointing. I hoped that there would be a better end; that somehow for once an author could actually pull it off. As the author had our young main character put it ... she loved a book that "left you wondering." Some just do not care for the way it is done, I being one. Overall the book was worth reading and I did enjoy the time I spent.
Rating: 
Summary: Will capture your heart
Review: Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, an aspiring author, is keeping a journal in which she chronicles her life in a ramshackle old English castle. Life is not easy for the Mortmains. Most of the family's possessions and furnishings have been sold off, they do without electricity, and there is barely enough to eat. In spite of all this, the family keeps a cheerful outlook and manages to get by, thanks in part to the generosity of the wealthy American Cotton family who has inherited the estate upon which the castle sits and who have taken the Mortmains under their wing. The Mortmains are an offbeat family. Cassandra has flights of fancy and unusual schemes that often have unexpected results. Father, an eccentric and innovative writer, is suffering from severe writer's block and can no longer support the family. He spends his time holed up in the gatehouse reading novels. Stepmother Topaz is a flighty artist's model who enjoys roaming the estate in the buff. Cassandra's older sister Rose is tired of living hand-to-mouth, and she decides to find a way to marry the landlord's wealthy grandson. Handsome Stephen, a hired hand who stays on with the family even though the Mortmains cannot afford to pay him, has difficulty hiding his unrequited love for Cassandra. First published in 1948 and set in the 1930s, the story has an old-fashioned feel to it, especially on the subject of courtship and marriage. It also highlights the cultural differences at that time between the Americans and the British. Possessing a wisdom and maturity beyond her years, Cassandra spends much time analyzing the people and events that surround her and then recording her observations. "Contemplation," she says, "seems to be about the only luxury that costs nothing." Through her journals, Cassandra's voice is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always endearing as she describes her concerns, her hopes, and her first love. "I capture the Castle" is recommended for both young adults and adults as a warm coming-of-age story. Eileen Rieback
Rating:
Summary: Will capture your heart
Review: Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, an aspiring author, is keeping a journal in which she chronicles her life in a ramshackle old English castle. Life is not easy for the Mortmains. Most of the family's possessions and furnishings have been sold off, they do without electricity, and there is barely enough to eat. In spite of all this, the family keeps a cheerful outlook and manages to get by, thanks in part to the generosity of the wealthy American Cotton family who has inherited the estate upon which the castle sits and who have taken the Mortmains under their wing. The Mortmains are an offbeat family. Cassandra has flights of fancy and unusual schemes that often have unexpected results. Father, an eccentric and innovative writer, is suffering from severe writer's block and can no longer support the family. He spends his time holed up in the gatehouse reading novels. Stepmother Topaz is a flighty artist's model who enjoys roaming the estate in the buff. Cassandra's older sister Rose is tired of living hand-to-mouth, and she decides to find a way to marry the landlord's wealthy grandson. Handsome Stephen, a hired hand who stays on with the family even though the Mortmains cannot afford to pay him, has difficulty hiding his unrequited love for Cassandra. First published in 1948 and set in the 1930s, the story has an old-fashioned feel to it, especially on the subject of courtship and marriage. It also highlights the cultural differences at that time between the Americans and the British. Possessing a wisdom and maturity beyond her years, Cassandra spends much time analyzing the people and events that surround her and then recording her observations. "Contemplation," she says, "seems to be about the only luxury that costs nothing." Through her journals, Cassandra's voice is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always endearing as she describes her concerns, her hopes, and her first love. "I capture the Castle" is recommended for both young adults and adults as a warm coming-of-age story. Eileen Rieback
Rating:
Summary: A really cute book!
Review: That opening sentence does hook one, doesn't it? I wish I'd discovered this years ago back when I was heavily reading Jane Austen.
Rating:
Summary: Rich, Romantic--Didn't Want it to End!
Review: What a gem of a book! "I Capture the Castle" is a magnificent coming-of-age book, which reminded me of the best of the Brontes, "Little Women" and Jane Austen. It is just so good...
Cassandra, the 17-year old heroine, lives with her well-born family in near poverty in a castle in England. Her father, a true English eccentric, once wrote a bestseller--but that was a long time ago. Her sister, Rose, is a beauty with ambition--to marry well. Her stepmother Topaz, a kindhearted and beautiful soul, trudges into London to pose nude for artists and bring income into this colorful crew. Cassandra dreams of becoming a writer. When two rich American brothers and their mother move in next door, well she believes that she has found her heroes and her story. And so indeed a story, actually several stories unfold into wonderful tales of adventure and romance in 1930's England. You see the world of well-born bohemians, subtle class snobberies, interwar London and lots of romance through the eyes of the young Cassandra. You also see-and feel-Cassandra maturing and growing into a woman through her experiences. I would recommend this book highly to individuals (most likely women) who enjoy coming-of-age stories, romances, and English life tales in the interwar period. A warning: this book is very well-written, but well-written through the eyes of a 17-year old. That may not be your taste--other reviewers have found it a young person's book. Yes it is--but you don't have to be young in years to enjoy it.
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