Rating: 
Summary: Worst L'Engle Book
Review: Perhaps I am a bit harsh with this book but from my favorite author I expect a bit more. In "A House Like a Lotus", Polly had a personality, but in this book she acts like a wishy-washy version of her mother. As Thomas Wolfe says about never being able to go home again is the case in this book. Having Louise the Larger in the book seemed useless. Dr. Colubra was herself, but Mr. and Mrs. Murry seem odd, off-beat to their former loving parent characters. The house is too different. Nase is almost an obnoxious version of Canon Tallis. Zachary Gray played the same role as in "A Ring of Endless Light". You'd think that after what he experienced he would develop a bit and quit the poor-me-'cuz -i-have -a heart-condition -and-i'm-a-little-rich-boy act. But no, he acts that way again. Also, druids are not explained and a big deal is made about Ogam. My final gripe about this book is that this is the third time Madeleine used the "Early Unknown Europeans and Natives Getting Along" scenario. She used it with the Welsh and Quaztino Indians in "Dragons in the Water", and Welsh and New England Indians in "A Swiftly Tilting Planet". It gets old. Snore. A Disapointing Read. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Rating: 
Summary: another great book from L'Engle
Review: Polly (Meg's daughter! ) is staying with her grandparents when she gets mysteriously sent back in time 3,000 years back. she meets druids, some peaceful and some who believe in human sacrifice. after a couple of times of this mysterious time travel, polly finds herself in a couple of sticky situations. i liked a wrinkle in time a bit more, and i look foward to reading the rest of the murry family boks.
Rating: 
Summary: Another fantastic work of time-travel fantasy
Review: Polly O'Keefe is the daughter of Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe from Madeline L'Engle's famous Time Quartet. In this book she follows the family tradition of traveling back very far in time. Except this time it's 3,000 years before our time, to a time where druids and Native Americans populated the United States and life was much different from it is now.Polly O'Keefe is looking foreword for a nice quiet visit to her grandparents house and it starts out like that. She spends her time talking with her genius grandparents and reconnecting with her old friend Zachary. Then strange things begin to happen. It all starts when she starts seeing people dressed in strange clothes. It continues further when she is magically transported back 3,000 years in time. Polly is shocked and doesn't know what to do. When she travels back to the present she discovers from her friend, who also happens to be a bishop, who these people really are and what she's involved in, a tesseract. Polly knows she must not contact these people from the past ever again if she wishes to live, unfortunately they have other ideas and the next time she travels back in time she won't be so lucky. I haven't read a book by Madeline L'Engle since I first read the Time Quartet in 5th and 6th grade but I'm glad I picked up this one. Polly's travels back and forth through time are absolutely fascinating. The "People of the Wind" (the culture of Native Americans she encounters) is a fascinating race, one with it's strengths and flaws that is very different from people today, but just the same in some ways. I found out part way through the book that this is in fact part of a series. Unfortunately for me it's also the last book in the series. Although I usually hate to get into series like this I would actually recommend this series to people who have and have not read any Madeline L'Engle books. It's one of those kinds of books that you can read with or without really knowing the characters in the first place. I would recommend this series to anyone that's looking for something beyond stereotypical fantasy fiction. I look foreword to reading more tales of Polly O'Keefe.
Rating:
Summary: The same wonder and excitement as A WRINKLE IN TIME
Review: Polly O'Keefe, daughter of Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe from L'Engle's beloved A Wrinkle In Time, moves in with her maternal grandparents when the schools on remote Benne Seed Island prove inadequate for her abilities and interests. The two elderly but still active scientists supply the challenges Polly needs with their unique brand of home schooling, and their oldest grandchild savors the peace and undivided attention after a childhood spent as the oldest in a brood of seven. The calm of rural New England in autumn doesn't last, though. The Murry house sits on a spot that 3,000 years ago was considered sacred by those who lived in their valley then, and a retired Episcopal bishop who's their nearest neighbor has inadvertently opened a time gate to that era. Zachary Grey, the self-absorbed young man who appears in several earlier L'Engle books (particularly the Austin series), shares Polly and Bishop Colubra's ability to pass through the gate and to see ancient folk who make the reverse trip. When the gate closes with that unlikely trio on its other side, Polly soon finds herself revered as a goddess - and at risk, made far more deadly by Zachary's cowardly actions, of being sacrificed by tribal leaders desperate to bring their drought-stricken people rain. Of all the later L'Engle time novels, this one came closest to spinning the same magic spell for me that the first book did. It has the same wonder and excitement, but with a slightly harder edge that comes from having a slightly older and more experienced heroine. Or, perhaps, from being written for a different generation of young readers? Anyway, this not-so-young reader (I first read A Wrinkle In Time 40 years ago, at age 11) couldn't put An Acceptable Time down without finishing it. Superb, and - also like the first book - guaranteed to make you think!
Rating: 
Summary: this book is pretty good
Review: Polly, a teen aged girl, goes to her grandparent's house for a while to learn about space and time travel. There she lives at her grandparents house. She goes out one morning and she suddenly gets taken back 3000 years and a group of men are coming towards her with spears. They do not hurt her, and after a couple of minutes, she is warped back to her original time. A girl from 3000 years ago came to polly's time and had been doing for quite a while. Polly finds herselfstuck in an odd situation and finds she plays an important role in time. This book is pretty good, but it is not fast moving and sometimes boring. The book has extremely excellent descriptive properties. The book is based on the Murry and O'keefe families so if you have read other books by L'engle it adds a little spice to the book. it is very interesting and really makes you think, I mean, 3000 years? That's a long time to be just warpin' back to!!!
Rating:
Summary: Very nice tie-in to other L'Engle books
Review: Some other reviews have recounted the story, so I won't, but I wanted to say that I did not find it slow going at all. Do not abandon it because some people are too impatient and wish for action all the time. It is just too subtle for them. But if you're interested, don't listen to them! This book tied into all the rest of her stories and the time travel is wonderfully interwoven. I definitely recommend AN ACCEPTABLE TIME for those of you who like a fascinating tale to wrap your mind around. :-)
Rating:
Summary: This Fifth is Vintage L'Engle
Review: The thing that first pricked my interest to read this book was a negative review about it written, I think, in a library journal. We all know that writers in library journals have axes to grind since a good review guarantees that most libraries will stock the book. Look at the [books] in libraries these days (and pity kids looking for something to read) and you'll see my point. The fact that some knucklehead didn't like this book wouldn't normally have swayed me, but like many detractors she went too far, and described it in order to slam it. Just her description of the story, which she found "far-fetched," convinced me of two things: she had no imagination, and this sounded like a great book. No, I'm not being fair to the reviewer, who perhaps simply had no taste for L'Engle's brand of fantasy, but man, did she make me want to read this book. Like many L'Engle books this one starts slow. Not put-the-book down slow but unpretentious, unassuming, making no attempt to hide the narration. No plunging into the plot, nothing blowing up, not at all Hollywood. Almost too obvious to keep reading. Almost. Almost too simple and kid-level. Almost. But a couple pages in and I couldn't put it down. An Acceptable Time ranks as one of my all-time great reading experiences, hot on the heels of L'Engle's amazing, awe-inspiring Many Waters. The sad thing is that Many Waters features as the fourth book of the Time Quartet, but no one knows that An Acceptable Time is the fifth. Take hope oh forlorn reader--you who have finished Many Waters and long for more L'Engle--another reading experience of great power and wonder yet awaits you.
Rating:
Summary: Lemme get a word in
Review: Theres some much explanation to the story, you can practically think its non-fiction! It was pretty good, something I kept on reading, and no one continues to read a book if it's dull. I really like how she thought love between people are drawn in lines, all connected. Original. I guess my favorite part would have to be when Polly goes swimming in her pool against her grandparents wishes, and finds a necklace that takes her back through time. Who knew your house could be placed on historical ground. Anyway, good book, needed s'more love in it ^_^, other than that it was good.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good, But Some Might Think It Sacreligious
Review: This book is good, but as the title said, it might seem sacreligious to some. It might because it is heavily involved with druids who use their powers to travel through time gates. Polly O'Keefe is caught in the time gate so that she can easily go from her time to 3000 years ago and back again. There are some advantages to this, however: She is able to learn the ancient language of the area and communicate back then, and her grandparents get a dog that comes into their time and decides to stay as a protector and friend. On the downside, the ancient druids are seriously considering sacrificing Polly to their gods to end a drought! This all leads up to a scene with her, the local bishop, a friend called Zachary Gray, the dog, and a snake all trying to survive 3000 years before their present! This is a wonderful book, but the druids might bring some doubt to the minds of others. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a combination of realistic fiction, fantasy, and science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A really good book
Review: This book is really good. Anyone who can't stand R.L. Stine should read An Acceptable Time. It is very thought provoking an exciting at the same time. A book you continue thinking about weeks after reading.
|
