The Guineveres

I enjoyed this book even though I don't know where or when the events occurred. Four girls named Guinevere are each dumped by their respective family into a Catholic home run by nuns. They can't leave until they are 18, for them a lifetime. The girls form a clique and do everything together. It's a lovely story, with flashbacks as to what caused each of them to be abandoned. The chapters are named for saints or for the liturgical season. I think that non-Catholics would have a hard time “getting” it. For that matter, I really think one would have to have had a Catholic school education to really understand it. I had my own fascination with the lives of the saints when I was a young student so I did enjoy their stories as told through Vere (one of the Guineveres) or as portrayed by Sister Fran. But the story is that of fitting in, being accepted for who we are, having faith, being loved and wanted and needed– everything that allows us to grow into adulthood. I found the end disturbing at first as I wanted so much more for Vere. But upon reflection, I think it was fitting.