This was the worst book I ever read. I was lost and confused and that was only in the first sentence. You would think that classic had to have some level of goodness, but this book was the worst piece of filth I had ever read in my entire life. It's no wonder that Hawthorn locked himself in his mothers attic, he was mentally ill before he ever wrote the book. If you are a high school student,like I am, you know the hell that I had to go through and I am guessing you never want to put yourself through it again. And to you who have no read this book, don't. You have not, or never will commit enough sin to be put in to the type of hell that this book offers the reader. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. Oh, and by the way who decided that this was a classic romantic book, there is nothing romantic about this novel, nor anything good. If you are in the mood for a good romance shoot for Nora Roberts or Sandra Brown, they can actually write!