Reviews

Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle

robivy's review against another edition

3.0

This book has a fairly interesting story line and I do like the Biblical tie-ins, but I had one major issue with the book. My 9 year old son and I have listened to the first three audiobooks in this series together and all were completely kid-friendly. This book had a number of references to sex and got so uncomfortable that I had to stop listening to it with him and finish it by myself. I thought these were unnecessary and didn't really add to the story...disappointing.

melissa_who_reads's review against another edition

5.0

L'Engle's take on the Flood of Noah ... wonderful, spiritual book, with Sandy and Dennis Murry, the practical twins from A Wrinkle in Time, as the main characters.

Loved it.

breakfastgrey's review against another edition

1.0

There's no way around it: this book is terrible. You could literally lift the two main characters out of the story entirely... and it wouldn't make one bit of difference to the plot. In 350 pages, all that happens is (mild spoilers) Sandy and Dennys get transported to the past, get sunburnt, heal, then go home. Also, an absurd amount of deus ex unicorn. That's really it. I was originally intrigued by the Old Testament-inspired fantasy setting (there seriously need to be more books that do this), but the lack of a story, repetitive dialog, cardboard thin characters, and weird obsession with lust/sex killed this book dead.

nahanarts's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

spiderelsa's review against another edition

3.5

I feel like I learned a bit from this book as a kid - the concept of virtual unicorns struck me as especially poignant in my early 20s. I loved seeing the twins as equals to their heretofore more adventured siblings. 

On this pass, I clearly feel like I've outgrown the series. (I'm now wondering if I may like the adult Meg books. I never gave them a shot before.)

parcoeur's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

thatokiebird's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

Many Waters is the fourth book in the Time Quintet, and definitely my least favorite so far. It is Sandy and Dennys's solo adventure book, and it is so weird and so off the themes of the other books. I mean, there's still time travel, but past that it relates very little to Charles Wallace and Meg's adventures. They basically accidently travel back in time to Noah and the Ark's world and do little, if anything, to alter events that happen after they return to their normal world moments after they left it.

First of all, this book has far more sexual mentions than I think I've ever found in a middle-grade novel? The term "rosy breasts" and "kissed all over" has been mentioned multiple times. As well as unicorns only accepting virgins to touch them, and quite a few references on the fact that the twins are "unexperienced". Like ew? This book is written for pre-teens, right? The physical attraction between the twins and the granddaughter is a little more explicit than you would expect? Like seriously what happened to Madeleine L'Engle between A Swiftly Tilting Planet and Many Waters? Did she have children hitting puberty and wanted to include a morality lesson about purity culture? 

And the way my eyes rolled when the father introduced himself as Noah and Dennys immediately thought “oh good I’m still on earth but just before the flood.” Like why would the name Noah immediately mean and the ark? Has there never been another Noah in the entire history of the world? 

eletricjb's review against another edition

4.0

Can't resist a retelling of an old myth! But dang, this is for sure the weirdest one of the Time Quintet.

yanskeedoodle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

fabulousdave's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5