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Austin Family Chronicles #5
Troubling a Star
For her birthday, Vicky receives the gift of a trip to the Antarctic, where her friend Adam Eddington is working as a marine biologist. But as Vicky meets her fellow travelers, it quickly becomes clear that some of them are not what they seem. Vicki's trip into adventure becomes a journey into icy danger.
296 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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About the author
Madeleine L'Engle
171 books9,202 followersMadeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 378 reviews
June 29, 2016
I know many might find this a terrible thing to admit, but I've always loved A Ring of Endless Light and Troubling a Star best of all Madeleine L'Engle's books--yes, even more than A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels and companions. I'm not sure whether I can even explain why, other than to say that I somehow just really identify with Vicky Austin, more than I ever could with Meg or Cal or Charles Wallace or the twins.
This book is sort of part mystery, part travel adventure, part political intrigue, and part coming-of-age story. Vicky gets in over her head when her friend (and crush) Adam Eddington heads to Antarctica with a research team and she's given the opportunity to join a cruise and follow along behind him, to meet up with him when she arrives. Only not everyone on the ship with her is there for sightseeing, and somebody thinks she knows more than she does. The story starts off right in thick of things and then goes back to tell us how Vicky got into such a dire situation.
Yeah, sometimes Vicky seems a little old-fashioned, but...I don't know, she still somehow feels real, and Troubling a Star is a total comfort book for me that I just read over and over and over again. Plus, you know, I kind of have that whole obsession with Antarctica thing going.
Anyway, this is one of my all-time faves.
This book is sort of part mystery, part travel adventure, part political intrigue, and part coming-of-age story. Vicky gets in over her head when her friend (and crush) Adam Eddington heads to Antarctica with a research team and she's given the opportunity to join a cruise and follow along behind him, to meet up with him when she arrives. Only not everyone on the ship with her is there for sightseeing, and somebody thinks she knows more than she does. The story starts off right in thick of things and then goes back to tell us how Vicky got into such a dire situation.
Yeah, sometimes Vicky seems a little old-fashioned, but...I don't know, she still somehow feels real, and Troubling a Star is a total comfort book for me that I just read over and over and over again. Plus, you know, I kind of have that whole obsession with Antarctica thing going.
Anyway, this is one of my all-time faves.
December 27, 2024
Troubling a Star resembles The Young Unicorns and The Arm of the Starfish — two other Madeleine L’Engle titles — more than it does most of the books in the Austin Family Chronicles. The Austin novels featuring teenager Vicky Austin, a middle child in a large Connecticut family, usually deal with family life in a bucolic town. Instead, Troubling a Star tracks our heroine stumbling into political intrigue in the fictional South American country of Vespugia, a danger that follows Vicky all the way to Antarctica.
The book opens with Vicky stuck on an iceberg, hoping to be rescued. The book gradually reveals how she got there. Does she get rescued? Well, it’s the sixth and final book in the Austin Family Chronicles, so it could go either way, creating a lot of suspense. The novel begins a bit too slowly, but once Vicky’s on her way, it turns into a page-turner. And the ending was a real roller coaster! While not as satisfying as Moon by Night and A Ring of Endless Night, I still recommend it.
The book opens with Vicky stuck on an iceberg, hoping to be rescued. The book gradually reveals how she got there. Does she get rescued? Well, it’s the sixth and final book in the Austin Family Chronicles, so it could go either way, creating a lot of suspense. The novel begins a bit too slowly, but once Vicky’s on her way, it turns into a page-turner. And the ending was a real roller coaster! While not as satisfying as Moon by Night and A Ring of Endless Night, I still recommend it.
August 10, 2022
I recall quickly skimming thorough the last of Madeleine L’Engle’s Austin Family novels a few years ago. And yes indeed, I equally vaguely but still very much definitely remember not really enjoying her Troubling a Star all that much, if at all, finding it, considering Troubling a Star although thankfully not quite as massively textually unpleasant for me as The Young Unicorns (which due to in particular personal reading issues with Madeleine L’Engle’s narration and writing style I was in fact not even willing and able to finish) still not even remotely being all that much to my reading tastes, and certainly, that with regard to its contents and themes, Troubling a Star is in fact just way way too much and widely removed from the realistic family-themed Austin Family novels that have always been and will always remain such a huge and delightful pleasure and joy for me to read, for me to textually sink my teeth into (Meet the Austins, The Moon by Night and A Ring of Endless Light). Furthermore, I also do find Adam Eddington's presence in both A Ring of Endless Light and in Troubling a Star chronologically confusing when I consider him as a character and a possible love interest for Polly O'Keefe in The Arm of the Starfish, in the first of Madeleine L'Engle's Polly O'Keefe novels (not as much an annoyance perhaps as Zachary Gray, but Adam Eddington is definitely a confusing textual problem and presence for me in The Arm of the Starfish and this in turn is now making me rather question him as a character and suitor for Vicky Austin both in A Ring of Endless Light and even more so in Troubling a Star).
Thus with the above in mind, I do thus and certainly feel that especially with Madeleine L’Engle’s Austin Family series, I do actually seem to ONLY ever truly enjoy reading those novels, those stories that strongly and consistently stick to family type accounts based on and firmly grounded in realism. And therefore I also cannot and will not consider more than a two star rating for Troubling a Star (since the themes and contents Madeleine L’Engle’s text presents in Troubling a Star are for the most part and in my opinion rather implausible and convoluted, are too coincidental, and that first person narrator Vicky Austin feels both weakly developed and as such not really a living and breathing interesting and sufficiently relatable character, and for me personally, I will also not ever be recommending either The Young Unicorns or Troubling a Star as they are simply too unrealistic for me and with too many strange and uncanny scenarios and occurrences).
Thus with the above in mind, I do thus and certainly feel that especially with Madeleine L’Engle’s Austin Family series, I do actually seem to ONLY ever truly enjoy reading those novels, those stories that strongly and consistently stick to family type accounts based on and firmly grounded in realism. And therefore I also cannot and will not consider more than a two star rating for Troubling a Star (since the themes and contents Madeleine L’Engle’s text presents in Troubling a Star are for the most part and in my opinion rather implausible and convoluted, are too coincidental, and that first person narrator Vicky Austin feels both weakly developed and as such not really a living and breathing interesting and sufficiently relatable character, and for me personally, I will also not ever be recommending either The Young Unicorns or Troubling a Star as they are simply too unrealistic for me and with too many strange and uncanny scenarios and occurrences).
December 4, 2008
This is a continuation/sequel to A Ring of Endless Light, but it's not nearly as good as that one. There's no magic to it, none of L'Engle's usual mystery.
It is a mystery story, but it's a political mystery rather than a metaphysical one. Our heroine goes to Antarctica and gets caught up in a political power struggle for control of the continent. And, like in the previous book, the girl has three love interests. Three! And the one we're supposed to like is hardly in the book at all. Plus it gets a little heavy handed with the ecology/conservation preachiness.
All in all an interesting read, but not a terribly memorable one.
It is a mystery story, but it's a political mystery rather than a metaphysical one. Our heroine goes to Antarctica and gets caught up in a political power struggle for control of the continent. And, like in the previous book, the girl has three love interests. Three! And the one we're supposed to like is hardly in the book at all. Plus it gets a little heavy handed with the ecology/conservation preachiness.
All in all an interesting read, but not a terribly memorable one.
June 2, 2010
I'd just like writers to know that even if they've published over a dozen books, I hope their editors still have the nerve to edit their work. This was a great idea that was so poorly written, I was so disappointed. I've loved her other work so much and think that L'Engle is a fantastic writer. That this is a part of her body of work stains her reputation for me. I have two other of her books that I bought at the same time as TROUBLING and I am a wee bit hesitant to read them. So basically, stay away from this one, folks. And certainly don't judge all of her books on this 'troubling' one! :)
August 7, 2014
I'll be honest, this is not Madeleine L’Engle’s best work. However, even a second-rate L’Engle story is a treat. This one is rather an odd bird—part a story of an angsty teenager trying to find her place in life; part political thriller; part Antarctic travelogue with a strong theme of environmental preservation. (Also literal odd birds: lots and lots of penguins.) Despite some plot weaknesses, I turned the final page with a sigh of content.
'Troubling a Star' got off to a slow start, but a few chapters in began to develop a taut suspense that was sustained through the remainder of the novel. I've always been a fan of stories that start at the end, and L’Engle uses that technique quite effectively here; I spent most of the book trying to puzzle out how Vicky was going to end up stranded on that iceberg. However, I felt that the flash-forwards to the iceberg peppering the story were distracting and frankly unnecessary. They didn't help to advance the plot at all, and broke up the action of the main plotline. I didn't need the frequent reminders of Vicky's plight; it hovered constantly in the back of my mind anyway, and would have been more effective if left there – as per Wilkie Collins' principle, "Make 'em wait.” (That being said, the scene in which she is comforted by whales swimming past her floe was magical, and well worth interrupting the action for.)
The climax, however, was regrettably – er, anticlimactic; not so much that in it was a bad end to the story, but rather that it happened too quickly, with many crucial plot points explained away almost as an afterthought. Since so much of the bulk of the novel was devoted to building up the tension as Vicky meanders unsuspectingly toward her fate, I was rather disappointed by how abruptly the tension was resolved and dispelled. The final conversation between Vicky and poor old Otto was heartrending, though: L’Engle at her finest.
I've fallen in love with the voice of L’Engle in her mode as mythmaker, philosopher, and poet; murder mystery/ spy thriller mode was a surprise to me, coming from her. Not that there isn't a fair share of introspection in this book as well. Though the majority of the action involves the dangerous international conspiracy our naive heroine inadvertently becomes mixed up in, the troubles occupying the attention of Vicky Austen herself are much more domestic and down-to-earth. She is concerned about preserving the environment and social justice--and equally concerned about what to be when she grows up, sibling conflicts with her popular younger sister, and first love. This is not to say that she is shallow or self-centered: merely human. And is exactly this quality of frank, candid human-ness that makes L’Engle’s characters so relatable, her stories so dear to her readers’ hearts. The real subject of all L’Engle’s works, regardless of setting or genre, is what it really means to be a member of this flawed, childish, bumbling race. And her vision of the human situation is in the end an uplifting one.
'Troubling a Star' got off to a slow start, but a few chapters in began to develop a taut suspense that was sustained through the remainder of the novel. I've always been a fan of stories that start at the end, and L’Engle uses that technique quite effectively here; I spent most of the book trying to puzzle out how Vicky was going to end up stranded on that iceberg. However, I felt that the flash-forwards to the iceberg peppering the story were distracting and frankly unnecessary. They didn't help to advance the plot at all, and broke up the action of the main plotline. I didn't need the frequent reminders of Vicky's plight; it hovered constantly in the back of my mind anyway, and would have been more effective if left there – as per Wilkie Collins' principle, "Make 'em wait.” (That being said, the scene in which she is comforted by whales swimming past her floe was magical, and well worth interrupting the action for.)
The climax, however, was regrettably – er, anticlimactic; not so much that in it was a bad end to the story, but rather that it happened too quickly, with many crucial plot points explained away almost as an afterthought. Since so much of the bulk of the novel was devoted to building up the tension as Vicky meanders unsuspectingly toward her fate, I was rather disappointed by how abruptly the tension was resolved and dispelled. The final conversation between Vicky and poor old Otto was heartrending, though: L’Engle at her finest.
I've fallen in love with the voice of L’Engle in her mode as mythmaker, philosopher, and poet; murder mystery/ spy thriller mode was a surprise to me, coming from her. Not that there isn't a fair share of introspection in this book as well. Though the majority of the action involves the dangerous international conspiracy our naive heroine inadvertently becomes mixed up in, the troubles occupying the attention of Vicky Austen herself are much more domestic and down-to-earth. She is concerned about preserving the environment and social justice--and equally concerned about what to be when she grows up, sibling conflicts with her popular younger sister, and first love. This is not to say that she is shallow or self-centered: merely human. And is exactly this quality of frank, candid human-ness that makes L’Engle’s characters so relatable, her stories so dear to her readers’ hearts. The real subject of all L’Engle’s works, regardless of setting or genre, is what it really means to be a member of this flawed, childish, bumbling race. And her vision of the human situation is in the end an uplifting one.
March 29, 2015
Ugh, I feel horrible rating this at 2 stars because I usually LOVE L'Engle's books but this one, this one I was not into. I was dying of boredom and I had to literally force myself not to skip to the end (which I kind of ended up doing anyways). I loved seeing Vicky and Adam again (Adam my boy!) and meeting Aunt Serena and Cook was a delight but I spent most of this book just missing Vicky's loud family and the bond they all shared. With Vicky away traveling for 70% of this book her family was not in the forefront/background as they were in the previous books and I didn't like that. Also politics and Antarctic stuff isn't really my thing so a lot of the stuff that was being discussed bored me even though I had a inkling it was crucial to the book's plot line (And it was). Also there was too many people on the ship and I couldn't keep track of them in my head and I got annoyed with that. And figuring out who was good and who was bad and ugh. Mainly I just think this book wasn't for me. Not my plot line, not my interests at all.
I don't regret reading it because I wanted to see more of Vicky but I don't think I will be re-reading it any time soon. I'll go back to Ring of Endless Light or Meet the Austins when I want my Austin fix.
I don't regret reading it because I wanted to see more of Vicky but I don't think I will be re-reading it any time soon. I'll go back to Ring of Endless Light or Meet the Austins when I want my Austin fix.
December 12, 2008
It's been since junior high or early high school that I last read Madeleine L'Engle's Austin Family books. I remember LOVING Vicky's experiences with the dolphins. Other than that, I only have vague memories of the storylines. I never reread any of them, as I have the Wrinkle in Time series several times over the years. So I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy Touching a Star, which was published around ten years after I read the others in the series. I did like revisiting the characters, but didn't find it all as fascinating as I did when I was younger. The penguins and seals just weren't a good enough replacement for the dolphins. Also, the mystery aspect of the story was very slow to develop with several hundred pages of vague warnings about possible danger for Vicky. I did learn interesting things about Antarctica, and as always, I enjoyed L'Engle's writing style.
February 10, 2022
ENGLISH: In this novel, fifth and last of the series about the Austin family, Vicky Austin has finally escaped her endless doubts in the previous book (A Ring of Endless Light) about which of her three beaus she likes most. She has chosen Adam Eddington, precisely he who shows least romantic interest in her. Perhaps that's the reason why.
To be with Adam, she travels to Antarctica, thus allowing L'Engle to tell us in detail about her own trip there, a little before. To give the novel more suspense, she involves Vicky in a devious international political intrigue, where one half of the countries are imaginary, and puts her (since the beginning) in an anguished situation: Vicky has been left alone on an iceberg, in peril of losing her life. Really a thrilling adventure!
At a point in the book, Madeleine L'Engle falls into the typical "black legend" of English-speaking countries about the Spanish Inquisition and the evangelization of Spanish America, forgetting that the English persecution and execution of Catholics at the time was awfully cruel, and the evangelization of native Americans in English-speaking countries practically inexistent.
I don't like the self-reference L'Engle makes to A Swiftly Tilting Planet, which is the book in the original Kairos trilogy I liked least. Cross-links between Kairos and Chronos are not to my taste. Perhaps this is also the reason why I didn't like The Arm of the Starfish, the first book in the Kairos second generation, where Adam Eddington has a leading role. But that book was published in 1965, fifteen years before Vicky meets Adam in A Ring of Endless Light, therefore Vicky cannot be mentioned in that book. So Adam's appearance among the Austins is actually an influence in the opposite direction: Kairos to Chronos.
In this Chronos series about the Austin family, the three books I liked most were the first, second and fourth, precisely those where everything is more or less normal, and what happens could happen in everyday life.
ESPAÑOL: En esta novela, quinta y última de la serie sobre la familia Austin, Vicky Austin por fin ha conseguido escapar de sus infinitas dudas del libro anterior (A Ring of Endless Light) sobre cuál de sus tres pretendientes le gusta más. Ha elegido a Adam Eddington, precisamente el que menos interés romántico mostraba por ella, quizá por esa razón.
Para estar con Adam, viaja a la Antártida, lo que permite a L'Engle contarnos con detalle su propio viaje a ese continente, poco antes. Para darle más emoción a la novela, mete a Vicky en una complicada intriga política internacional, en la que la mitad de los países son imaginarios, y la pone desde el principio en una situación angustiosa: Vicky se ha quedado sola en un iceberg, con gran riesgo para su vida. ¡Una aventura muy emocionante!
En cierto lugar de este libro, Madeleine L'Engle cae en la típica "leyenda negra" de los países de habla inglesa sobre la Inquisición española y la evangelización de Hispanoamérica, olvidando que la persecución y ejecución de católicos por los ingleses por entonces fue terriblemente cruel, y la evangelización de los nativos en la América inglesa casi inexistente.
No me gusta la auto-referencia que L'Engle hace aquí de A Swiftly Tilting Planet, que es el libro de la trilogía Kairos original que menos me gustó. Estos enlaces cruzados entre Kairos y Cronos no son de mi gusto. Quizás esta sea también la razón por la que tampoco me gustó The Arm of the Starfish, el primer libro de la segunda generación de Kairos, en el que Adam Eddington desempeña un papel principal. Pero ese libro se publicó en 1965, quince años antes de que Vicky conociera a Adam en A Ring of Endless Light, por lo que Vicky no puede aparecer en ese libro. Por lo tanto, la aparición de Adam entre los Austin es en realidad una influencia en sentido opuesto: De Kairos a Cronos.
De esta serie de Cronos sobre la familia Austin, los tres libros que más me gustaron fueron el primero, el segundo y el cuarto, precisamente aquellos en los que todo es más o menos normal, y lo que ocurre podría ocurrir en la vida cotidiana.
To be with Adam, she travels to Antarctica, thus allowing L'Engle to tell us in detail about her own trip there, a little before. To give the novel more suspense, she involves Vicky in a devious international political intrigue, where one half of the countries are imaginary, and puts her (since the beginning) in an anguished situation: Vicky has been left alone on an iceberg, in peril of losing her life. Really a thrilling adventure!
At a point in the book, Madeleine L'Engle falls into the typical "black legend" of English-speaking countries about the Spanish Inquisition and the evangelization of Spanish America, forgetting that the English persecution and execution of Catholics at the time was awfully cruel, and the evangelization of native Americans in English-speaking countries practically inexistent.
I don't like the self-reference L'Engle makes to A Swiftly Tilting Planet, which is the book in the original Kairos trilogy I liked least. Cross-links between Kairos and Chronos are not to my taste. Perhaps this is also the reason why I didn't like The Arm of the Starfish, the first book in the Kairos second generation, where Adam Eddington has a leading role. But that book was published in 1965, fifteen years before Vicky meets Adam in A Ring of Endless Light, therefore Vicky cannot be mentioned in that book. So Adam's appearance among the Austins is actually an influence in the opposite direction: Kairos to Chronos.
In this Chronos series about the Austin family, the three books I liked most were the first, second and fourth, precisely those where everything is more or less normal, and what happens could happen in everyday life.
ESPAÑOL: En esta novela, quinta y última de la serie sobre la familia Austin, Vicky Austin por fin ha conseguido escapar de sus infinitas dudas del libro anterior (A Ring of Endless Light) sobre cuál de sus tres pretendientes le gusta más. Ha elegido a Adam Eddington, precisamente el que menos interés romántico mostraba por ella, quizá por esa razón.
Para estar con Adam, viaja a la Antártida, lo que permite a L'Engle contarnos con detalle su propio viaje a ese continente, poco antes. Para darle más emoción a la novela, mete a Vicky en una complicada intriga política internacional, en la que la mitad de los países son imaginarios, y la pone desde el principio en una situación angustiosa: Vicky se ha quedado sola en un iceberg, con gran riesgo para su vida. ¡Una aventura muy emocionante!
En cierto lugar de este libro, Madeleine L'Engle cae en la típica "leyenda negra" de los países de habla inglesa sobre la Inquisición española y la evangelización de Hispanoamérica, olvidando que la persecución y ejecución de católicos por los ingleses por entonces fue terriblemente cruel, y la evangelización de los nativos en la América inglesa casi inexistente.
No me gusta la auto-referencia que L'Engle hace aquí de A Swiftly Tilting Planet, que es el libro de la trilogía Kairos original que menos me gustó. Estos enlaces cruzados entre Kairos y Cronos no son de mi gusto. Quizás esta sea también la razón por la que tampoco me gustó The Arm of the Starfish, el primer libro de la segunda generación de Kairos, en el que Adam Eddington desempeña un papel principal. Pero ese libro se publicó en 1965, quince años antes de que Vicky conociera a Adam en A Ring of Endless Light, por lo que Vicky no puede aparecer en ese libro. Por lo tanto, la aparición de Adam entre los Austin es en realidad una influencia en sentido opuesto: De Kairos a Cronos.
De esta serie de Cronos sobre la familia Austin, los tres libros que más me gustaron fueron el primero, el segundo y el cuarto, precisamente aquellos en los que todo es más o menos normal, y lo que ocurre podría ocurrir en la vida cotidiana.
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December 15, 2009I loved Madeleine L'Engle's books as a kid (didn't everyone love A Wrinkle in Time?) and thought I could go for a nice fantasy romp. But Troubling a Star was written in 1994 and didn't have the same magic I'd remembered. The dialogue was stilted and a 16-year-old girl who loves to hang out with an octagenarian and delights in reading Shakespeare so that she can have witty(ish) banter with her far-off love interest seemed charming but hopelessly unrealistic (sadly). I kept thinking that soon Vicky would be in Antarctica and the fantasy would kick in. Around page 125, I started really having to resist putting the book down, so I read reviews that said there is no fantasy in this book - just politics about a fictitious country. Soooo...life is short, and I put it down.
However, despite the disappointment it wasn't a total waste of time and I really loved the author's note (here's the second half of it - brought tears to my eyes):
"Vicky's questions and problems are questions and problems that most adolescents have had, whether in the Middle Ages, in distant countries, or right here and now. The big problems of our growing up are not limited by time, culture, or geography. We share our wonder and confusion: Who am I? Why am I here? Does it matter? Ultimately I hope we all answer with Vicky: Yes, it does. We do matter. What we do matters. And that is both a challenge and a joy."
However, despite the disappointment it wasn't a total waste of time and I really loved the author's note (here's the second half of it - brought tears to my eyes):
"Vicky's questions and problems are questions and problems that most adolescents have had, whether in the Middle Ages, in distant countries, or right here and now. The big problems of our growing up are not limited by time, culture, or geography. We share our wonder and confusion: Who am I? Why am I here? Does it matter? Ultimately I hope we all answer with Vicky: Yes, it does. We do matter. What we do matters. And that is both a challenge and a joy."
April 30, 2018
I think this touched on global warming. At least I remember environmental concerns. I'm going to have to reread this!
On rereading: This seemed a book to sneak in philosophy to young people under the guise of a fictional story. I say this because the ending was very rushed and confused, the confrontation with the boyfriend very curt with a bare apology for the way he treated her. It was more focused on world peace than on climate change but there is a slight reference to that. There was more about the environment than climate change, not surprising considering the book has been around a while. Vicky is looked after by a boat full of people, apparently because she is just that sweet. Or her vulnerability was that obvious. Lowering this from five to three stars, might lower further upon further reflection.
On rereading: This seemed a book to sneak in philosophy to young people under the guise of a fictional story. I say this because the ending was very rushed and confused, the confrontation with the boyfriend very curt with a bare apology for the way he treated her. It was more focused on world peace than on climate change but there is a slight reference to that. There was more about the environment than climate change, not surprising considering the book has been around a while. Vicky is looked after by a boat full of people, apparently because she is just that sweet. Or her vulnerability was that obvious. Lowering this from five to three stars, might lower further upon further reflection.
August 18, 2008
I'm longing for the first two books in the series where normal things happened to normal people. Now the normal people are getting involved in international plots, nuclear weapons, kidnapping, etc. - oh, yeah - in Antarctica. It's a bit much to swallow. I could sort of go along with that kind of thing in the Poly O'Keefe books, but not here. Again, I think this book suffers from the removal of the character from her normal environment. The other problem is even when there are characters who are familiar (the cross-over Adam Eddington), he's absent from nearly the entire book. I'm also not crazy about L'Engle's habit of consistently presenting two stories at once, one current, one as flashback. But that's probably part of some kind of agenda regarding her theories of time.
August 30, 2019
This feels like the old times in Meet the Austins, with part weird upside-down A Swiftly Tilting Planet scenario which was both intriguing and a bit strange to say the least (it does make the events and Charles' and Gaudior's work pointless...I really don't know what Madeleine L'Engle was thinking in ruining the outcomes of the A Swiftly Tilting Planet just to have some sort of background for this one; this one was published in 1994 and A Swiftly Tilting Planetin 1978, so you can't say she did not know what the outcome of the latter will be).
Nonetheless, I did like Vicky in this one, finally getting her bearings, writing poetry, meeting extraordinary people, adjusting and living (even if she still thinks that being 16 is being a grown woman..well, don't we all?!).
So the book starts off with the Austins coming back to Thornhill, trying to pick up the threads of the old life, some doing it better than others, Vicky with a slightly broody disposition, as usual when there is change. We then come across Adam's rich and admirable grandmother, who takes a liking to Vicky, of course, and who sends Vicky off to Antarctica as a birthday present, and then the mood sort of shifts towards that of The Young Unicorns, book III of the series, Vicky getting mysterious and threatening notes, telling her to stop prying in other people's business and not to go to Antarctica, obviously. Prying Vicky does, into the life and diaries of Adam II, Adam III's, Vicky's Adam🤭, uncle, who is supposed to have mysteriously died in Antarctica, and also into the life of another Adam, Cook this time, the grandmother's cook🤪, a former monk with a knack for cooking, and a close friend of Adam II. And of course, there is also talk about war and greed in Vespugia, where things have taken a turn for the worst (and it's really disappointing that the author had to distort the outcomes of A Swiftly Tilting Planet...so sad). We know Vicky got to Antarctica and that she is trapped in a iceberg with a seal right from the beginning, each chapter starting with her telling us about her story of survival, which obviously ends all right. However, this is not a very exciting book, more like suspenseful, because you want to get to the bottom of the mystery, but not much happens. Vicky is of course quite taken with the penguins, although sadly there is no mention of dolphins, and the quite unique and exciting and truly marvelous experience she had with them and Adam. Not to say that she does not say anything about the people she met in A Ring of Endless Light, of Jeb and the dolphins, of Leo and his mom, of Binnie, even if she died, even of Zachary, and of her grandfather, only that he died, this after a whole book was almost dedicated to him. It just feels odd, disconnected, not a sense of continuity as I would have liked, which does not lend much verity to the first person narrator.
Moving on, Vicky and a colourful bunch of people are on board Argosy and they do get on land, marvel at the beauty of the nature, of the effect music has on the penguins, seals, with musings on global warming, pollution, ecosystems, treachery, greed, power, politics, people with petty motives, drugs, things which cover 80% of the book, while the rest 20% goes way fast and intense, but it does end satisfyingly good, where sort of every loose end is tied, though we don't get that sense of closure we can find the The Wrinkle in Time Quintet: Books 1-5.
I found myself quite liking the story, a story which I've come to accept as uniquely Madeleine L'Engle's, written in her own way, at her own pace and with her own way of making characters move throughout the story, develop, doubt and come gloriously alive out of the pits of darkness.
Nonetheless, I did like Vicky in this one, finally getting her bearings, writing poetry, meeting extraordinary people, adjusting and living (even if she still thinks that being 16 is being a grown woman..well, don't we all?!).
So the book starts off with the Austins coming back to Thornhill, trying to pick up the threads of the old life, some doing it better than others, Vicky with a slightly broody disposition, as usual when there is change. We then come across Adam's rich and admirable grandmother, who takes a liking to Vicky, of course, and who sends Vicky off to Antarctica as a birthday present, and then the mood sort of shifts towards that of The Young Unicorns, book III of the series, Vicky getting mysterious and threatening notes, telling her to stop prying in other people's business and not to go to Antarctica, obviously. Prying Vicky does, into the life and diaries of Adam II, Adam III's, Vicky's Adam🤭, uncle, who is supposed to have mysteriously died in Antarctica, and also into the life of another Adam, Cook this time, the grandmother's cook🤪, a former monk with a knack for cooking, and a close friend of Adam II. And of course, there is also talk about war and greed in Vespugia, where things have taken a turn for the worst (and it's really disappointing that the author had to distort the outcomes of A Swiftly Tilting Planet...so sad). We know Vicky got to Antarctica and that she is trapped in a iceberg with a seal right from the beginning, each chapter starting with her telling us about her story of survival, which obviously ends all right. However, this is not a very exciting book, more like suspenseful, because you want to get to the bottom of the mystery, but not much happens. Vicky is of course quite taken with the penguins, although sadly there is no mention of dolphins, and the quite unique and exciting and truly marvelous experience she had with them and Adam. Not to say that she does not say anything about the people she met in A Ring of Endless Light, of Jeb and the dolphins, of Leo and his mom, of Binnie, even if she died, even of Zachary, and of her grandfather, only that he died, this after a whole book was almost dedicated to him. It just feels odd, disconnected, not a sense of continuity as I would have liked, which does not lend much verity to the first person narrator.
Moving on, Vicky and a colourful bunch of people are on board Argosy and they do get on land, marvel at the beauty of the nature, of the effect music has on the penguins, seals, with musings on global warming, pollution, ecosystems, treachery, greed, power, politics, people with petty motives, drugs, things which cover 80% of the book, while the rest 20% goes way fast and intense, but it does end satisfyingly good, where sort of every loose end is tied, though we don't get that sense of closure we can find the The Wrinkle in Time Quintet: Books 1-5.
I found myself quite liking the story, a story which I've come to accept as uniquely Madeleine L'Engle's, written in her own way, at her own pace and with her own way of making characters move throughout the story, develop, doubt and come gloriously alive out of the pits of darkness.
January 13, 2024
DNF at page 33.
Can’t get over the fact that a 15-year-old girl is in a relationship(ish) with a boy in college. 😬
Can’t get over the fact that a 15-year-old girl is in a relationship(ish) with a boy in college. 😬
December 27, 2016
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
In her final Austin book, Madeleine L'Engle sends Vicky Austin on a trip to Antarctica funded by Adam Eddington's Aunt Serena. Vicky unwittingly becomes embroiled in a volatile international conflict involving nuclear weapons, kidnapping, and murder.
Now that I have read all of the Murry, O'Keefe, and Austin books, some of the stories very clearly stand out as the best, while others are obviously the worst. Troubling a Star falls somewhere near the bottom of the heap. L'Engle creates this strange sense of false suspense. I could tell I was supposed to be eagerly anticipating a big bombshell ending, but I never actually felt that sense of urgency. Truth be told, from the time Vicky left home, I was bored and kept checking to see just how many pages I had left to read.
Though I adore Vicky in the early Austin books, in this story she was less of a character and more of a vehicle for allowing the reader to witness events in Antarctica. I constantly kept forgetting that she was Vicky and not Polly, as the two characters basically become interchangeable by the end of the series. I really wish L'Engle had stuck to the more realistic family stories such as The Moon By Night. Even The Young Unicorns, which involves some implausible dangers, is more interesting than this cross between Dragons in the Waters and A House Like a Lotus.
All in all, I am glad to have undertaken this reading exercise, and equally glad to be through with it. I was surprised by how inconsistent L'Engle's writing is over the course of each series, and I couldn't help but wonder whether some of these books would ever find an audience if not for their connection to the beloved A Wrinkle in Time. I appreciate L'Engle's willingness to experiment and try different genres. I just never liked the unshakable feeling that she was often writing fanfiction based on her own earlier works.
In her final Austin book, Madeleine L'Engle sends Vicky Austin on a trip to Antarctica funded by Adam Eddington's Aunt Serena. Vicky unwittingly becomes embroiled in a volatile international conflict involving nuclear weapons, kidnapping, and murder.
Now that I have read all of the Murry, O'Keefe, and Austin books, some of the stories very clearly stand out as the best, while others are obviously the worst. Troubling a Star falls somewhere near the bottom of the heap. L'Engle creates this strange sense of false suspense. I could tell I was supposed to be eagerly anticipating a big bombshell ending, but I never actually felt that sense of urgency. Truth be told, from the time Vicky left home, I was bored and kept checking to see just how many pages I had left to read.
Though I adore Vicky in the early Austin books, in this story she was less of a character and more of a vehicle for allowing the reader to witness events in Antarctica. I constantly kept forgetting that she was Vicky and not Polly, as the two characters basically become interchangeable by the end of the series. I really wish L'Engle had stuck to the more realistic family stories such as The Moon By Night. Even The Young Unicorns, which involves some implausible dangers, is more interesting than this cross between Dragons in the Waters and A House Like a Lotus.
All in all, I am glad to have undertaken this reading exercise, and equally glad to be through with it. I was surprised by how inconsistent L'Engle's writing is over the course of each series, and I couldn't help but wonder whether some of these books would ever find an audience if not for their connection to the beloved A Wrinkle in Time. I appreciate L'Engle's willingness to experiment and try different genres. I just never liked the unshakable feeling that she was often writing fanfiction based on her own earlier works.
March 25, 2011
I know I've read this before, since the names and some of the situations were familiar to me, but it's been a long time. It was good to read it with fresh eyes.
I've never been a huge fan of Vicky Austin...I much prefer the O'Keefe family and books. That said, I was willing to give Vicky a chance. But this book was a little boring. It read like someone's travelogue journal entry where most days were pretty routine and nothing much happened. Also, I found it strange that no less than THREE boys on her trip had crushes on her. Her sister Suzy is described as being the pretty one who gets all the boys, normally. The boys in high school in their small town don't really give Vicky a second glance.
I like Adam a whole lot--ever since I read "The Arm of the Starfish" many years ago. However, he wasn't in this book much. And his letters...especially the last few...didn't make any sense at all. What's the point of sending "clue" type letters if the recipient doesn't figure out much of any of it during the body of the book?
As usual with Madeleine's writing, the supporting characters are fairly colorful and likeable.
I did like the penguin and Antarctica descriptions. It's obvious that the author enjoyed her trip there and really soaked it in and fell in love with the landscape and wildlife. Though the ending plot climax and villains felt rather forced and odd, I am glad I read it, as with most of Madeleine's books.
I've never been a huge fan of Vicky Austin...I much prefer the O'Keefe family and books. That said, I was willing to give Vicky a chance. But this book was a little boring. It read like someone's travelogue journal entry where most days were pretty routine and nothing much happened. Also, I found it strange that no less than THREE boys on her trip had crushes on her. Her sister Suzy is described as being the pretty one who gets all the boys, normally. The boys in high school in their small town don't really give Vicky a second glance.
I like Adam a whole lot--ever since I read "The Arm of the Starfish" many years ago. However, he wasn't in this book much. And his letters...especially the last few...didn't make any sense at all. What's the point of sending "clue" type letters if the recipient doesn't figure out much of any of it during the body of the book?
As usual with Madeleine's writing, the supporting characters are fairly colorful and likeable.
I did like the penguin and Antarctica descriptions. It's obvious that the author enjoyed her trip there and really soaked it in and fell in love with the landscape and wildlife. Though the ending plot climax and villains felt rather forced and odd, I am glad I read it, as with most of Madeleine's books.
October 24, 2017
Troubling a Star: Or, Iceberg Woes
For the last book in the Austin Series, young Vicky Austin finds herself trapped on an iceberg in Antarctica! Oh, that crazy Vicky and the situations she gets herself into. How did she end up on this iceberg you ask? Well, you'll just have to read this book to find out!
Vicky gets to travel down to South America ALONE to meet her "friend" Adam Eddington (THE THIRD) in Antarctica. He's there doing some research or something. What follows is a tale of adventure, intrigue, and quite possibly a nuclear scandal. You heard me right, a nuclear world war scandal. And who should stumble upon this mess? Why Vicky Austin, of course!
That being said, there is a lot of fun in this book. L'Engle has a way with words and continually can paint a tale of mystery, science, family, and friendship. She has a special way to tie in her views on the world and create some sort of feeling of home. Who else secretly wishes they grew up as part of the Austin family or the Murray family? What a shame that there aren't more of these novels.
I enjoyed this volume in the series, but it wasn't my favorite. There were two lines that really stuck out to me though:
"It seems to be a taint in human nature, this need to torture and kill those whose belief in God differs from yours.”
"It is easier to destroy than to create."
L'Engle truths. Out!
For the last book in the Austin Series, young Vicky Austin finds herself trapped on an iceberg in Antarctica! Oh, that crazy Vicky and the situations she gets herself into. How did she end up on this iceberg you ask? Well, you'll just have to read this book to find out!
Vicky gets to travel down to South America ALONE to meet her "friend" Adam Eddington (THE THIRD) in Antarctica. He's there doing some research or something. What follows is a tale of adventure, intrigue, and quite possibly a nuclear scandal. You heard me right, a nuclear world war scandal. And who should stumble upon this mess? Why Vicky Austin, of course!
That being said, there is a lot of fun in this book. L'Engle has a way with words and continually can paint a tale of mystery, science, family, and friendship. She has a special way to tie in her views on the world and create some sort of feeling of home. Who else secretly wishes they grew up as part of the Austin family or the Murray family? What a shame that there aren't more of these novels.
I enjoyed this volume in the series, but it wasn't my favorite. There were two lines that really stuck out to me though:
"It seems to be a taint in human nature, this need to torture and kill those whose belief in God differs from yours.”
"It is easier to destroy than to create."
L'Engle truths. Out!
September 2, 2008
the last of the austin family novels- perhaps not as good as i remembered it, or as good as the others in the series. adam's rich aunt serena, who lives conveniently near the austin's home, takes a shining to vicky and send her on an educational antarctic cruise. a highlight of the cruise, for vicky, will be visiting adam, who is doing some marine biology work or other on the ice. but lo! there is a foul plot afoot.
i found all the other characters on the ship incredibly annoying. they are constantly bringing up fun facts about antarctica in casual conversation. it seems l'engle is trying to subtly educate her readers by working these tidbits into conversation, but the effect is not natural, no matter how interesting the facts. it also makes it seem like all the other characters are preaching down to vicky because she is the youngest person on the cruise. blech.
finally, the end is completely unsatisfying. i don't know if l'engle intended to write more about the austins and give adam and vicky a little closure- it's possible. but after the miles vicky has traveled and the danger she's been in, i would have liked a juicier reunion with adam. i'm just saying.
i found all the other characters on the ship incredibly annoying. they are constantly bringing up fun facts about antarctica in casual conversation. it seems l'engle is trying to subtly educate her readers by working these tidbits into conversation, but the effect is not natural, no matter how interesting the facts. it also makes it seem like all the other characters are preaching down to vicky because she is the youngest person on the cruise. blech.
finally, the end is completely unsatisfying. i don't know if l'engle intended to write more about the austins and give adam and vicky a little closure- it's possible. but after the miles vicky has traveled and the danger she's been in, i would have liked a juicier reunion with adam. i'm just saying.
March 27, 2011
Sometimes I think about writing a review of this, but I never know exactly where to start with the whining. I will note that I felt like I had to rate it three stars because it's entertaining enough and I HAVE read it multiple times. If anyone else had written it, if I didn't know these characters at all, sure, it would be three stars. As a Madeleine L'Engle book, it's only two stars. Maybe one. At least in places. Major complaints: the plot is silly and unrealistic (but not in a magical-realism kind of way), the characters from previous books don't seem like themselves, inconsistencies abound (so, seriously, Adam's beloved great-aunt is a long-time beloved patient of Dr. Austin's, yet no one ever happened to mention that before?), and the general scenario of a good part of the book is pretty much lifted from A House Like a Lotus crossed with Dragons in the Waters. It also contains a line I love for its scorflammity.
"...the envelope was dirty and looked as though it had been through one of our post-office machines that tend to rip mail." --Vicky, age 15
"...the envelope was dirty and looked as though it had been through one of our post-office machines that tend to rip mail." --Vicky, age 15
June 10, 2020
Second read (first time was in Jan of 2000)
This isn't L'Engle at her best. Here, she has too many characters and a complex plot with quite a few storylines intertwined. Some of the major ones include: Antarctica, environmental ethic, penguins, young love, politics, suspense, mystery. Then there are minor storylines: friendship, respect for the elderly, Shakespeare, poetry, angels, ... (I call these storylines because they reappear time and again thruout the book.)
This is typical L'Engle in that the main characters are firmly anchored in family, there's a dash of the supernatural, and good triumphs over evil. The environmental strand brings to mind Jean Craighead George.
Here's a line that reflects L'Engle's beliefs as well as my own:
p 149 all actions have consequences far beyond anything we can imagine
This isn't L'Engle at her best. Here, she has too many characters and a complex plot with quite a few storylines intertwined. Some of the major ones include: Antarctica, environmental ethic, penguins, young love, politics, suspense, mystery. Then there are minor storylines: friendship, respect for the elderly, Shakespeare, poetry, angels, ... (I call these storylines because they reappear time and again thruout the book.)
This is typical L'Engle in that the main characters are firmly anchored in family, there's a dash of the supernatural, and good triumphs over evil. The environmental strand brings to mind Jean Craighead George.
Here's a line that reflects L'Engle's beliefs as well as my own:
p 149 all actions have consequences far beyond anything we can imagine
August 18, 2013
If it has feathers, it must be a bird.
Enough said, really.
Because formative books are formative.
This reread reminded me of that period when I was convinced I was going to be a marine biologist and study penguins. Didn't quite happen (though, I'm not upset about it).
I love this book. I love the sibling relationships between Vicky and John, and even Vicky and Suzy. I love Aunt Serena, I love Cook. I love the trip to Antarctica,and almost everyone on it. I love the discussions they have and the siliness with the penguins.
I just really enjoy pretty much everything about this.
Enough said, really.
Because formative books are formative.
This reread reminded me of that period when I was convinced I was going to be a marine biologist and study penguins. Didn't quite happen (though, I'm not upset about it).
I love this book. I love the sibling relationships between Vicky and John, and even Vicky and Suzy. I love Aunt Serena, I love Cook. I love the trip to Antarctica,and almost everyone on it. I love the discussions they have and the siliness with the penguins.
I just really enjoy pretty much everything about this.
April 4, 2024
I always seem to revisit this series every few years, I love Madeleine L'Engle's voice and the life she gives to Vicky.
As an adult it is a very quick read I can read it in probably a day's commute to and from work on the bus. I so enjoy Vicky and Adam and Cook and all the whole Austin family really, re-reading is a little like visiting friends! The fact that it has stayed with me for almost 20 years should be recommendation enough for you to read it!
As an adult it is a very quick read I can read it in probably a day's commute to and from work on the bus. I so enjoy Vicky and Adam and Cook and all the whole Austin family really, re-reading is a little like visiting friends! The fact that it has stayed with me for almost 20 years should be recommendation enough for you to read it!
January 27, 2020
Another good read by Ms. L’Engle. She wove in her love science, adventure, and poetry.
January 30, 2020
Madeleine L'Engle's books are like comfort food for me, and Vicki Austin is one of my favorite characters.
March 5, 2025
This was a delectable mystery reminiscent of Hercule Poirot, complete with a small but colorful cast of suspects aboard a small ship in an exotic place. Much of the plot revolves around political intrigue and ecological concerns which added depth and maturity. I thought it was a bit excessive to wait until the last tenth of the book to uncover the exact villainous motives and mysteries. But I enjoyed the journey to the big reveal. Only an author such as L'Engle could weave together Shakespeare quotes, scientific facts about penguins, geo-politics and a teenage romance to make a fun and cohesive story.
Aside from the slow build, I am also giving this a 3-star review because the main character was not developed enough for my taste. I finished the book wondering why she had three young men vying for her attention. Although the book is told from her perspective, her only remarkable trait that is shown with any consistency is her education-watered intelligence.
I still consider this a good book and would recommend it if you want some young-adult level fiction. Tomorrow I may switch the rating to 4 stars. I have loved every L'Engle book I've read and this was no exception.
Aside from the slow build, I am also giving this a 3-star review because the main character was not developed enough for my taste. I finished the book wondering why she had three young men vying for her attention. Although the book is told from her perspective, her only remarkable trait that is shown with any consistency is her education-watered intelligence.
I still consider this a good book and would recommend it if you want some young-adult level fiction. Tomorrow I may switch the rating to 4 stars. I have loved every L'Engle book I've read and this was no exception.
January 26, 2025
In my quest to reread books this year, I knew that this would have to make the list.
I remember this series fondly but really zeroed in on this one: all I could remember was that it had mystery, it had suspense, and it undoubtedly contributed to my fascination with Antarctica.
With the distance of 10+ years since my first read, it felt like reading anew but with the familiarity that made it easy to sink into the story.
I remember this series fondly but really zeroed in on this one: all I could remember was that it had mystery, it had suspense, and it undoubtedly contributed to my fascination with Antarctica.
With the distance of 10+ years since my first read, it felt like reading anew but with the familiarity that made it easy to sink into the story.
July 6, 2018
Not my favorite of L'Engle's, but it wasn't a bad read. Adam Eddington is one of my favorite characters, so I am always glad when he is in one of L'Engle's books.
June 14, 2021
After the first book, this is my favorite in the quintet. The story involved a mystery, a slight thriller vibe, and Antarctica. Also, the most annoying character was gone, LOL.
November 4, 2022
Reread.
5 stars from memory if multiple readings in high school and how influential this story was. And I will keep it at that for now.
But definitely more of a 4 star book upon reread. Still lovely. A Ring of Endless Light is my favorite L’engle novel.
5 stars from memory if multiple readings in high school and how influential this story was. And I will keep it at that for now.
But definitely more of a 4 star book upon reread. Still lovely. A Ring of Endless Light is my favorite L’engle novel.
April 17, 2018
this book was extremely stupid, highly highly unrealistic (to the point where it's more unrealistic than anything else that L'Engle has written, and yes, I'm including the Wrinkle in Time series in that assessment), and just flat out BAD. it alarms me how L'Engle went from writing the phenomenal and earth-shattering (for me, at least) Ring of Endless Light and then followed it up with this garbage book where Vicky seems like so much more of a child than she was previously. Was this because she returned to Thornhill and it was like a regression in her character to the 11 year old she was in Meet the Austins? Anyway. This was a Bad ending to the series and L'Engle should have quit while she was ahead. That wraps up the coherent part of this review, now I'm just gonna complain about some specifics a bit lol:
•"Shakespeare's sonnets are lovesick drivel, and you're a lovesick idiot." some might say, "Well, she's not wrong," but Suzy continues to be a total pain in the ass and an annoyance to everyone in this family
•during an entire summer with Adam on Seven Bay Island, how did it never once come up among the Austin family that Adam had an aunt who lived in the town next to Thornhill and is treated by Dr. Austin??
•the entire first 100 pages in CT just pissed me off, Vicky acts like she's too good for everyone around her just because she spent a year in the Big City and has started to read some Shakespeare???
•what parent in their right mind would allow their 15-year-old daughter to go to FREAKING ANTARCTICA with someone they barely know????
•everyone keeps telling Vicky that she's "politically illiterate" and "naive" and well, I got through a BA degree at one of the most politically active schools in the country and i still know next to nothing about politics, this is not necessarily the worst thing in the world ESPECIALLY for a 15-year-old girl
•speaking of Vicky's age: why the HELL does a freaking 19-year-old prince come on to her by saying that she is "innocent and naive" and then KISSES HER OUT OF NOWHERE?? and Vicky literally only goes along with it because she's mad at Adam and literally says flat-out "If it hadn't been for Adam's total rejection of me, I would have pulled back." god, girl, get yourself some standards...
•at this point i was pissed that a.) Vicky had now kissed 3 boys/men at the age of 15 but had NOT kissed Adam, her soulmate (except later on she says that he had kissed her before which confused me bc that had 100% not been in AROEL or in this book before this point), b.) Adam was BARELY in this entire book at all and was very distant at times, c.) what the hell happened to their telepathic communication which would have made things easier at the end of the story, and d.) how in the world does Vicky wind up in a predicament where 3 guys are after her, AGAIN?
•the ending was too confusing for me and i wound up skimming it, i just found it very bizarre as to why anyone would think that a 15 year old nerdy girl from Connecticut would be useful to their political agenda
•the book ends with Adam and Vicky insinuating that they would just be friends and then kissing so what the fuck does that mean
•and the last page says "Vicky is not a penguin." something we obviously already knew, but it made me laugh anyway due to the sheer ridiculousness of this entire plot
•in the end L'Engle produced an interesting though quite badly executed story with one of her most loved characters; you'd think she would have given a better ending for Vicky's story, and would have taken into account the experiences that she had been through and how they had changed her rather than simply saying "Yeah i lived in NYC!" and then continuing on with the same unchanged character we had in the first three books of the series.
•kind of mad at L'Engle rn so I'll wait a bit before continuing with the O'Keefe series!!! lol why am i doing this to myself
(ok and yeah it occurs to me that i take these children's books way too seriously and tend to think of these characters as real people but WHATEVER)
•"Shakespeare's sonnets are lovesick drivel, and you're a lovesick idiot." some might say, "Well, she's not wrong," but Suzy continues to be a total pain in the ass and an annoyance to everyone in this family
•during an entire summer with Adam on Seven Bay Island, how did it never once come up among the Austin family that Adam had an aunt who lived in the town next to Thornhill and is treated by Dr. Austin??
•the entire first 100 pages in CT just pissed me off, Vicky acts like she's too good for everyone around her just because she spent a year in the Big City and has started to read some Shakespeare???
•what parent in their right mind would allow their 15-year-old daughter to go to FREAKING ANTARCTICA with someone they barely know????
•everyone keeps telling Vicky that she's "politically illiterate" and "naive" and well, I got through a BA degree at one of the most politically active schools in the country and i still know next to nothing about politics, this is not necessarily the worst thing in the world ESPECIALLY for a 15-year-old girl
•speaking of Vicky's age: why the HELL does a freaking 19-year-old prince come on to her by saying that she is "innocent and naive" and then KISSES HER OUT OF NOWHERE?? and Vicky literally only goes along with it because she's mad at Adam and literally says flat-out "If it hadn't been for Adam's total rejection of me, I would have pulled back." god, girl, get yourself some standards...
•at this point i was pissed that a.) Vicky had now kissed 3 boys/men at the age of 15 but had NOT kissed Adam, her soulmate (except later on she says that he had kissed her before which confused me bc that had 100% not been in AROEL or in this book before this point), b.) Adam was BARELY in this entire book at all and was very distant at times, c.) what the hell happened to their telepathic communication which would have made things easier at the end of the story, and d.) how in the world does Vicky wind up in a predicament where 3 guys are after her, AGAIN?
•the ending was too confusing for me and i wound up skimming it, i just found it very bizarre as to why anyone would think that a 15 year old nerdy girl from Connecticut would be useful to their political agenda
•the book ends with Adam and Vicky insinuating that they would just be friends and then kissing so what the fuck does that mean
•and the last page says "Vicky is not a penguin." something we obviously already knew, but it made me laugh anyway due to the sheer ridiculousness of this entire plot
•in the end L'Engle produced an interesting though quite badly executed story with one of her most loved characters; you'd think she would have given a better ending for Vicky's story, and would have taken into account the experiences that she had been through and how they had changed her rather than simply saying "Yeah i lived in NYC!" and then continuing on with the same unchanged character we had in the first three books of the series.
•kind of mad at L'Engle rn so I'll wait a bit before continuing with the O'Keefe series!!! lol why am i doing this to myself
(ok and yeah it occurs to me that i take these children's books way too seriously and tend to think of these characters as real people but WHATEVER)
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