B is for The Blue Castle

(For the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge, I will be featuring one book each day, that begins with that day's letter, that made an impression on me.  This means that for some reason, I didn't just read that book and forget about it.  No, I still think about it after some period of time has passed.) 

Title: Blue Castle, The

Author: L. M. Montgomery

Original Publication Date: 1926

Date I First Read: 2000
Adult Fiction / Teen Fiction

Basic Category: Romance-ish

Basic Summary: Valancy is 29 years old, and she is still living with her mother and aunt.   She feels stuck.  And then she gets a letter from a doctor who says she had a heart condition and will probably die.   She throws all caution to the wind in the freedom that the idea of death gives her . . . and her life suddenly changes for the better. 

What I Remember About the Book:  Valancy getting the letter.  Her many relatives.   Her letter to Barney. 

What I Took Away From the Book:  I read this book first when I was 25.  I was worried about being in Valancy’s position love and relationship-wise when I was 30.  I took different steps than Valancy did, but I too threw caution to the wind to some extent with my online dating, and found the one for me. 

Quote: "Valancy did not mind so much being an old maid.  After all, she thought, being an old maid couldn't possibly be as dreadful as being married to an Uncle Wellington or an Uncle Benjamin, or even an Uncle Herbert.  What hurt her was that she had never had a chance to be anything but an old maid.  No man had ever desired her," (1).  

Rating (1-5 Stars): 5