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" In the first of this two-part novella, I found myself charmed by Sagan’s poetic narrative more so than the story. The story itself was interesting as it portrayed a young, well-to-do French girl enjoying a Mediterranean party lifestyle free of responsibility. The family composition and moral attitude not typical for the 1950’s era it was written in also contributed to the interest of this story. However, when the setting and situation of a motherless girl partying with her playboy father on the French Riveria was stripped away the story actually struck me as a story depicting something very normal.
Teen angst, confusion, a question of responsibility and sexual experimentation are all highlighted in this book.
Seventeen-year-old protagonist, Cecile, was essentially just embracing the teen experience. She did, however, express it in a way that was unusually well-spoken and thoughtful considering Sagan was only 18 at the time she wrote this book. It wasn’t until the second part that my curiosity peaked and my fondness was completely won. When Cecile became aware of things like her own selfishness and the needs of other people, I found myself developing more of an attachment to what I was reading, as this was the point that I could see Cecile as a whole person. Although in many ways she is a child, she is also is also in many ways a grown up. Her laziness, combined with the decisions that she makes solely on her own desires are reflective of her youth. However, her ability to not linger on the small things or take the actions of others too personally is mature and admirable. I also enjoyed the way she found beauty and fault in all the characters mentioned. She seemed to be personally interested in the human character and her descriptions of those around her were affectionate yet honest. Descriptions of herself and how she felt her social position was in relation to the other characters was of interest to me as it offered yet again another candid and introspective observation from in a voice perfectly suited for a narrator stuck in an age somewhere between child and adult.
The unsuspected and sudden ending, although sad, was just the sort of thing I was content to leave with as I felt confident that this would lead to a maturing or faster self realization for all the characters involved." — Valerie Baber
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