Chapter 32: A Book Set at Christmas (Thanksgiving)

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeline L'Engle

I'm fudging this one a little. The challenge says Christmas, but I read one that takes place Thanksgiving Day instead. Sue me.

Planet is the third in L'Engle's Time Trilogy, which became a Quartet then Quintet. But the central characters of the first three are the same, those of the following two are not.

It's been years since we last met Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace. Meg and Calvin are now married and Charles Wallace, a teenager, is constructing models of a tesseract. The whole Murray family has convened for a traditional holiday dinner together, when father gets a disturbing call from the president.

Thus begins Charles Wallace's journey through time to see if it is possible to change one moment to affect change in the future. Unlike butterfly effect theories, Charles Wallace, with the help of Meg via kything, seek to pinpoint and alter one tiny moment to save the future without changing everything else.

Through their mental and spiritual connection, Meg watches as Charles Wallace travels through the genealogy of Mad Dog Branzillo, looking for the right moment to rescue the future. For now I will ignore the moral and ethical criticisms of the novel and just focus on what I specifically liked and disliked.

Well, of course, there is Meg. She's not the same kickass teenager that I love. She's become pretty and content and lacks all the angsty fire I used to love. She's no longer blazing, just some glowing embers. Which, you know, is actually a fine way for a woman to grow. I just don't find much to cheer her for now that she's all mature.

I like that L'Engle blends science and religion without putting them at odds. In this episode, she adds some Paganism to the mix, which is like seasoning an already delicious dish. So many times, I think we get caught in a fallacy of mutual exclusivity, that we miss the duality in nature of the world around us. (There will be more discussion of this at a later date because it ties in to another theme of a different novel.)

I like the family histories. Even when the oft repeated names became confusing. The mystery of which branch the final antagonist will come from is an interesting exercise in word play.

As someone with vertigo, I love the title. It perfectly describes those moments.

It's not my favorite in the series, but I'm sure I'll read it again (and again). Meg's transformation and weak role don't help this one earn any extra Marias. Planet ties up this trilogy with just 3 Marias.

Chapter 30: A Book You Own But Have Never Read

A Wind In the Door, Madeline L'Engle

This is one of those books that I can't believe I never read before. I mean, I've read Wrinkle so many times that I forget other people have not. But for some reason, I've never finished the trilogy/quartet until now.

A Wind In the Door brings us back to Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin together in the backyard trying to solve another major dilemma that no one outside their sphere knows about or understands. Charles Wallace is sick and having trouble adapting to school. This time, Meg's love alone will not save her brother. She'll have to control her temper and ask from help from the one man she believes incapable of caring.

The dragons in the twins' garden are a new fantastical creature that will pair up with Meg and the others to solve, not only the mystery of Charles Wallace's health, but provide proof of the hypothetical farandolae- if only to those who already believe.

L'Engle is a masterful storyteller. Unlike many series, she does not get bogged down in repetition. Each journey is completely new, yet related to earlier adventures. They build on one another in a way that makes theoretical science accessible and entertaining. At the same time, she leaves you believing in a little bit of magic with a dash of generic religion. The three co-exist seamlessly in her skillful hands.

Meg continues to be one of my all-time favorite heroes. She's a real adolescent girl- confused, emotional, unsure. And when she's done saving the planet from doom, she keeps the secret to herself and goes about a normal life with cocoa and tomato sandwiches. I will definitely come back and reads these books again when my own daughter is in this stage.

On its own, Wind would earn a solid four Marias. It's not my favorite in this series, but as part of the series and because it stars Meg, A Wind In the Door earns five Marias.

Chapter 3a: A Trilogy

Divergent, Veronica Roth

Post-apocalyptic Chicago is now home to four factions: Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. The fifth faction, Amity, lives on a farm outside the fence, raising food for all citizens. Children are raised within their parents' faction until age 16, when they undergo a screening process and then choose which faction to join. If they survive initiation, they officially join their faction. If they fail, they are doomed to roam factionless, homeless, and jobless.

Beatrice never feels fully comfortable in Abnegation. Her test results are inconclusive, so she shocks everyone and joins Dauntless. From here, we follow "Triss" through initiation and her discovery of a plan of violent revolt by one of the factions.

Aside from the Harry Potter series, I'm not usually a big fan of YA novels. Divergent is decent, and I am interested to see where the story leads. Even though it follows the basic coming-of-age saga formula, it's written well enough to keep me turning the pages. It's not challenging or particularly original, but I still recommend it for some good, mindless reading. It's dark, so probably not a beach read, but suitable for a snowed-in weekend. I can definitely see why it is so popular, and I do like that the hero is a girl (sorry, heroine just sounds too druggy).

So far in the trilogy, the writing is still fresh. Despite the regular reminders that Dauntless wear black and have tattoos and piercings, I didn't find myself rolling my eyes at overused phrases. At least she uses new ways to convey the same information. And while the novel itself is not challenging, it could lead to some deeper thought and discussion of virtue.

Since each faction is based on a single virtue, Roth plants at least one member in each who uses that characteristic for evil instead of good. Here one could argue that the bad guys don't truly belong to their faction. Or perhaps any virtue can be used for malicious purposes. Throw the Divergent- those who have more than one virtue- into the mix and you add many shades of gray to a black-and-white world.

My major annoyance with the novel is quite petty. I don't like the names of the factions. Why? Because they are not synchronous. I know it sounds silly, but I would like them all to be nouns or all to be adjectives. The mix of both rubs some part of my brain the wrong way.

The next post will not be Chapter 3b. I'm going to have to split the trilogy up and weave some other reading in between. So stick with me and check back to see what else I'm poring over.