This is the best book that I have ever read!! Ann Rinaldi is an amazing author that paints a very realistic back drop for her heart felt writings. Yes there is a little bit of romance in this story but is very innocently done and the main character handles every romantic situation very maturely and respectfully. When I have a daughter I would be proud to have her handle the situations with boys in her life this way. and yes she does sneak out of the house a couple of times but when she is caught she admits to what she was doing, apologies for it then she faces the consequence in a very mature way. I hated reading before this book but it showed me that reading can be a very rewarding experience. (It does have a few words that the other solders use so I think that you should be 12 or 13 before you read it.)