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orchidlilly's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
So I appreciate what L'Engle is trying to do here. It hasn't aged quite so well, and I think even for the time, she didn't super manage to convey what she wanted to perfectly, but it was at least an attempt. We're still falling into her classic writing tropes of having "Noble Savages" and assimilating all foreign religions into being actually Christian the whole time. L'Engle clearly heard these criticisms at the time of publishing, because she goes as far as to deny that she does these things in universe through Polly, who is starting to feel more an more like an author insert. I don't love that despite trying to preach tolerance, we still have Max as a predatory lesbian. And, in general, I don't love the romantic relationships in this one. Polly's love interests are all men in their mid 20's. Polly is 16, just no. Surely people knew this was weird in the 80s, right? Also not loving that Polly has devolved into the "not like other girls" girl who puts down and relishes in one upping girls who are too normal or popular or pretty or whatever it is that "other girls" are like. Still, it did well enough to go back up to the middle of the road 2.5 Decent enough of you're into coming of age Christian lit, but now that we've completely abandoned the fantasy and sci-fi elements, I'm losing steam.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Sexual content, Homophobia, Animal death, Outing, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Chronic illness, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, Drug use, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, Classism, Vomit, Death of parent, Body shaming, Ableism, Antisemitism, Bullying, Pedophilia, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
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