The Arm of the Starfish (Laurel Leaf Books)
by Madeleine L'Engle
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of The Arm of the Starfish.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1438)
Read in January, 1995
joey carr's mother was a librarian at one of the local high schools, and she found out i was a huge fan of l'engle. she recommended this to me, telling me that she had actually written books for adults and teenagers, outside of the wrinkle universe. (or as l'engle herself divides them, chronos (austins) and kairos (murrays), with characters intersecting both worlds - canon talis, zachary, and adam.)
anyway, i saved this book for a particularly rotten day, thinking that i...more
anyway, i saved this book for a particularly rotten day, thinking that i...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I just love Madeleine L'Engle books. I love the families she gives most (main) characters-- strong, unique, loving, intellectual, spiritual families. I've only read her YA and JF books, but the themes aren't childish-- they deal with death, hard choices, and good and evil-- but she doesn't leave you feeling like the world is a horrible place to live. I would say that if there is any set of "book families" that I would want to model my parenting after, it would probably be the ones f...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
Really good young adult fiction here. Goes up on the list with Z for Zachariah, Ender's Game, and Feed as one of my favorite books written for young people. A few things I really liked about it:
• There was genuine ambiguity in the characters. L'Engle wrong-foots you from the beginning, and even when you think you've got everything sorted, she'll throw another monkey-wrench in the gears.
• The links to previous L'Engle books was fun. I was really confused when Adam got to the O'Keefe'...more
• There was genuine ambiguity in the characters. L'Engle wrong-foots you from the beginning, and even when you think you've got everything sorted, she'll throw another monkey-wrench in the gears.
• The links to previous L'Engle books was fun. I was really confused when Adam got to the O'Keefe'...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Somehow I have managed to work around my busy movie-watching, clothes shopping, lunching schedule to reread some of the kids books in my basement. Frankly, I think this book is amazing, A lot of adult novels (and movies for that matter) tend to go so far out of their way to make a point that they lose track of plot. This plot, although written for 12 year olds, is perfectly paced and still manages to make a point. Yes, some of the teenage stuff is awkward, but still. I'll take it over Zach Braff...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1980
This book influenced me to become a scientist. It takes a heck of a lot more skill to write a really good "kid's book" than a best selling adult novel. Madeleine L'Engle once said that when she had something really important to say she put it in a children's book.
Not only did this book influence my career choice but I would like to say it reinforced my character. If you only choose the right way when its easy what's the point?
Not only did this book influence my career choice but I would like to say it reinforced my character. If you only choose the right way when its easy what's the point?
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
hmmm...
found on the freebie shelf outside the smallest library i've ever seen, caught my eye b/c i was always a huge madeleine l'engle fan as a kid. but what a strange book. it was a mix of imaginative marine biology, spy-novel intrigue, and social commentary. impressing complexity for a juvi fic book when it starts out, but then it wraps up in about 8 pages, which is a bummer. definitely doesn't beat 'a wrinkle in time.'
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1994
I wanted so much to like this book, after having read and adored the Wrinkle in Time series. I felt like I kept peering around the corner, waiting for my beloved characters to show up, but they never really did. I guess the story was okay, but I think I would have liked it better if it hadn't been about Meg and Calvin's children, but just another random set of characters. All through reading it, I felt cheated.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1971
Sigh. One begins to feel very possessive of Adam.
Laurie can help me out here since I have not reread some of these for years but didn't M L'E mess up her generations here, making Adam a contemporary of Meg's daughter but also of Vicky Austin, when logically Vicky and Meg should be the roughly the same age.
Laurie can help me out here since I have not reread some of these for years but didn't M L'E mess up her generations here, making Adam a contemporary of Meg's daughter but also of Vicky Austin, when logically Vicky and Meg should be the roughly the same age.
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 2001
recommends it for:
young adults, easy read
One of my favorites -- combines international intrigue with the scientific and heartfelt plots that L'Engle usually writes. I've read it several times. The characters are memorable and interesting.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Holy Shit. The cover on this book looks cheesy; in 1989 it ruled. And I think it still does. I'll let y'all know. It is all about a starfish's ability to regenerate, within a teenage romance.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1987
This book opened up a whole new world of possibilites to me science-wise. The things nature can do! I am still facinated with the potential for theraputics based on regenerative cell lines.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This book was easy to read and had a bit of a different idea on the future of science and possiblities. It is a book from the youth section in the library.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Loved this when I was a kid. Maybe someday I'll read it again? I wonder if my kids will read it... probably not with that dated cover graphic.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
I love Madeleine L'Engle books and this one is a nice younged-down version of the who-do-you-trust-action book.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
First read in fifth grade instead of whatever I was supposed to be reading at the time. Good choice, me!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2007
my other favorite in the series (which, by the way, can be oddly disjointed from one book to the next)
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1995
...and then this eclipsed all the Wrinkle books... i should go back and read it again...
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I'm pretty sure this is the book that sparked my early vegetarianism.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1994
It has been a while since I read this one. But I really enjoyed it.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I enjoyed it many years ago, but wonder if it would be dated now.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
