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This book is also noted in the American Author challenge. Camilla by Madeleine L'Engle contains wonderful images of New York City, and the character development is so well developed that I didn't want the book to end. I very much enjoyed this book. The story of Camilla Dickerson is an in-depth study of a young girl who is forced to mature when she discovers her quite beautiful mother is cheating on her father. Camilla is exceedingly disappointed in her mother, especially when time and time again she arrives home (in the Upper East side of New York City,) to find her mother's "friend" Jacques in an embrace with her mother.

Camilla finds a good friend, one whom she can share her life experiences with. And, this friend happens to have a brother who is drawn to Camilla. It is through her experiences with her friend and her friend's brother, Frank, that Camilla understands she is not alone. While her friends parents marriage is breaking apart, Camilla finds a lot of emotional support in the fact that Frank and his sister also are in the middle of their parents arguments and breaking apart.

Frank becomes Camilla's first love. He opens her world to new people and experiences.

Highly recommended for the excellent reading style and clear depiction of disappointment with parents who cannot seem to follow vows of "forsaking all others!"

I was disappointed in the "ending" which really did not have a sense of an end. ( )

Just to be clear, I love Madeleine L'Engle's storytelling, ever since she swept me off my feet with A Wrinkle in Time. I think this YA novel deals with the questions of growing up and discovering the humanity of oneself and one's parents and one's peers is very well done. It was written in either 1951 or 1955 (Wikipedia vs. author website), and considering it is nearly 70 years old it has aged very well. Some attitudes are slightly dated, but the questions and emotions of young people on the cusp of adulthood are still relevant. I like the fact that the ending isn't all wrapped up in a bow, because that's not how life generally is. The character of Frank is abrasive, as is his sister, and Camilla sometimes lacked agency, but honestly that's how people are. A mass of contradictions and good and bad points. Overall I enjoyed re-reading this, which is more than I can say for The Catcher in the Rye. ( )

Camilla is a good read even if I hate the ending. I was never sure it had ended wrong until I read A House Like a Lotus and that book proved that Camilla did not end up with Frank, how annoying. ( )

I read this book for the first time when I was about 13 years old. I loved it then. I discovered it again recently, and the story is just as compelling to me now, and I am over 60.
Camilla's relationships are complicated and the author draws us a picture of what life is like for her, dealing with people who are not happy.
I am very glad that I found this book again. ( )