I enjoyed the book very much. It is a good family and coming-of-age story. I regret that her grandmother hid so much from her. She knew and could have told her. Her mother was the problem and her grandmother did not disclose that. They would not have hurt her as much at an earlier age as they did later. This book is beter than the last two Siddons books. I hope there is a follow up on it. Could resurrect her first love now that some of the southern predjudices are not as strong.