I’m not sure what to say about this book. I feel as if I should warn potential readers that the book is rated R for nasty sexual behavior and that the protagonist makes immature choices and finally chooses the right thing for, mostly, the wrong reasons. I wanted to recommend this book to Dancer Daughter since the main character is a dancer, but I can’t do so in good conscience because of the R rating.

Still, I liked Pippa. I liked the atmosphere of Venice where most of the story takes place and the vivid portrayal of the world of professional dance. I thought Ms. Godden did a good job of showing the coming of age of a young, sheltered girl as she goes out into the world and yet meets with danger and seduction in her own backyard where she least expects it. Pippa reminded me of my own daughters, confident that they are prepared to meet any crisis, and yet so woefully unprepared for that one unexpected confrontation with raw evil. For that matter, I was reminded of myself at that age. I thought I knew everything because I’d read about it all in books.

Rumer Godden tells a good story. Her novel about the world of a Roman Catholic convent, In This House of Brede is one of my favorite books of all time. Pippa Passes is OK, but you can probably pass it by in favor of In This House of Brede if you’ve never read it. Now there’s a good story, and it deals with the same themes as Pippa Passes —loyalty to one’s calling, recognition of human weakness, the loss of innocence— in a much more nuanced and, at the same time, accessible way.