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orchidlilly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Madeline L'Engle write a book without the same stereotypical depiction of native cultures challenge: impossible. Seriously though, this is like her fifth book that has the exact same good native/bad native schtick. Please, I am begging you, find another way to critique modern society. It's getting so repetitive. The return to sci-fantasy is appreciated, as that was the main draw of her original books for me in the first place. I think the whole, "Zachary is afraid of death because he's an atheist and this drives him to do horrible things" narrative is kind of dumb, but it's Christian lit so I'm not entirely surprised. The romance with Tav was unnecessary, but not all that bothersome because it barely existed. I would have liked to see a little more exploration on the whole time travel thing; namely, how did this all affect the future? Besides grandad saying there are some ripples (how does he know, he's in the modern day, shouldn't he not be able to tell that things have changed?), we don't get much on the repricussions. Swiftly Tilting Planet does the whole time travel thing better, or at least more cohesively. The story doesn't really feel like a solid end to Polly's narrative; it doesn't give her any sense of conclusion. The book as a whole is fine, but that's about it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness
Minor: Grief, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Blood, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Colonisation, and Child death
librarymouse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed this final instalment of the Time Quintet. I feel like I should have read the other books in the Polly O'Keeffe series first to not feel like I was being dropped in to a middle of an unfamiliar story and a familiar setting, but they weren't technically necessary to understand what happened in this book. The characters are different than I remember them being. Lucille Calubra and Mr. and Mrs. Murray are far more pessimistic then they were in the past books. Meg, Charles Wallace, Sandy, and Dennis didn't really share their adventures with their parents. They didn't try to explain them and the parents rarely went on fantastical adventures with them, but there was still a sense of suspended disbelief and an understanding that weird things could happen, especially with Mr Murray tessering in the first book. I think it's meant to be an aspect of the time gate trying to keep people not involved in the pattern out of the pattern, but it felt like they were out of character for who they've been when the main characters of the first four books were young. I enjoyed Polly and Bishop Calubra's characters. They're kind and the bishop is my favorite type of religious figure. His pursuit of compassion and understanding over converting those he meets to his religious perspective is really neat. Zachary is a deeply unlikable character, and I'm glad about how his story ends up at the end of the book. Overall, an enjoyable story, but quite different from the books that preceded it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual harassment
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