I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

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Cassandra Mortmain leads an off-the-wall life set in a medieval castle in the English countryside. Her father is a celebrated novelist suffering from writer's block; stepmother Topaz is an artist's model and lover of nature; older sister Rose is beautiful, bitter and desperate to escape from the semi-poverty the Mortmains live in; younger brother Thomas is a schoolboy. And then there's Stephen, a nobly-souled young man who works for the family is in love with Cassandra, and Miss Blossom, the dressmaking mannequin is Cassandra and Rose's bedroom.

The ebb and flow of life in the castle is altered when an American family buys the neighboring estate; a family with two sons. Cassandra and Rose are determined to snag one of them for Rose to marry and bring the family out of destitution.
Their efforts do not always go smoothly, but eventually they pay off and Rose is engaged. Life looks hopeful for the entire family, and that should be the happy ending of the story . . . but then Cassandra surprises herself by realizing that she is in love with the man her sister is going to marry.

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This novel was in the form of the main character's journal, and I usually don't like books told in that way. But I Capture the Castle was different, in the sense that it was such an honest journal! Cassandra freely wrote about her rapidly-shifting emotions and thoughts in such a poignant, often humorous way that it was impossible to find them corny or fakey.
Her feelings are certainly not the only part of the journal, however--Cassandra relates her experiences wooing the brothers, trips to London, and life in the castle just as winsomely and truthfully.
The characters were definitely my favorite part of the story. (Surprise, surprise.) Everyone was well-developed and interesting, and the balance between believable and unique was perfect. Cassandra is espeacially good. She's 16 on the first page and 17 by the last, and she matures and grows through the story in a well-crafted sequence.
Oh yeah . . . and the last page is one of the best last pages I have ever read.

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There were several curse words throughout the novel, as well as some references to Topaz's peculiar habits while communing with nature and an artist photographer's photoshoots. I would recommend this book for ages 13 and up.

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Aside from hints of objectionable content, I can't find anything bad to say about this book. I Capture the Castle, like almost every other novel out there, had lots of chances to be tacky and "Yeah, right" worthy. But it never was. It is a novel that is purely winsome, quite often funny, and sometimes heartbreaking.