This book provides a snapshot into fifteen year old Camilla's first love and realization of just how human other people can be. I remember being around that age and also starting to see the flaws in the adults around me, the hypocrisy, the pettiness, the messiness that comes when you realize your parents aren't infallible beings. It's a hard time, especially for Camilla when she's experiencing her first love at the same time. 

Frank is your typical seventeen year old boy that thinks he has society all figured out and aims to be above it all when really he's on the same level as everyone else. Still, it's hard to blame Camilla for getting so swept up in him and the exciting, reflective existence he represents. 

The book, while you definitely feel that 50s publication date, still captures these moments of adolescence so perfectly. The parents did irk me multiple times what with the lack of communication with their daughter, but that just mirrors the reality of it. 

It's a book where all the characters are flawed in their own ways, much like real life. Everyone has issues, everyone has their challenges and Camilla as she grows up is starting to finally see the small cracks that make up everyone's life. 

David was weird though. I understand that Camilla did not exactly realize what was going on and saw him as another trusted adult, but calling her "untouched" and "pure" while kissing her unsettled me in a big way. At least going away to boarding school will at least help with that situation.