Madeleine L’Engle, author of the Wrinkle in Time series, drew on her own childhood experiences of Swiss boarding school and a nomadic lifestyle to write this boarding school romance novel.
When Philippa (nicknamed Flip) is sent from Connecticut to Switzerland she struggles to adjust. Out of place and teased by the other girls, she must learn to overcome her self-pity and shyness. Flip finds a true friend in Paul, a war orphan with a past full of questions, and together they grow in confidence (on and off their skis), overcoming great losses in their pasts. The slow transformation Flip undergoes is wonderful to watch: from the awkward serious girl who sees school as imprisonment to a brave friend.
And Both Were Young doesn’t cover the normal TCK themes seen in other young adult fiction (cultural identity, reentry, etc.) but has a matter-of-fact approach to making friends and readjusting to life after the loss of loved ones. It’s the kind of book you can enjoy as a young girl (or boy) and reread throughout your whole life, going back to the Swiss Alps and châteaus with Flip and Paul again and again.