Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Young Unicorns (Austin Family #4)

3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 · rating details · 2,764 ratings · 107 reviews

They had been standing around the lamp, looking at Emily holding it in her strong fingers, rubbing it. Certainly none of them, not even Rob, expected to hear a sepulchral voice behind them.
" You called me?"

They swung around...

Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages

Published October 1st 1989 by Laurel Leaf (first published 1968)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Children's Books set in New York City

10th out of 75 books — 23 voters

Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Unicorn Books

27th out of 89 books — 110 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 20, 2007 D rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: L'Engle fans

Shelves: ya-lit

One of the things L'Engle does best is carefully intertwine her otherwise disparate tales. I delighted in stumbling across peripheral characters whom I recognized as well-loved protagonists from her other series. The Austins serve as a homey, grounding backdrop for the story of a gifted, troubled former gang member in 1960s New York City. I read and reread this tale as a young adult but was saddened to discover upon picking it up again maybe a year ago that it doesn't age as well as I'd hoped. B...more

1 like · like · see review

May 28, 2013 John rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another solid entry in the Austin family series, this one moving away from Vicky as the primary protagonist and broadening out to include more of each of the family members, especially Dr. Austin, Suzy, and Rob. This broader emphasis also extends beyond the family proper, as the Austins welcome several others into the inner circle of their family. The strength of the Austin family as a unit is a large part of what is so refreshing about these books, and that strength is exactly what this book's...more

like · see review

Apr 10, 2013 Jenna St Hilaire rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The key to a good epigraph is finding something that sparks interest in the reader at the beginning but knocks him flat with its emotional voltage if he happens to re-read it afterward. L'Engle proved her epigraph-choosing mettle with the use of a sentence and a half referencing the untameability of the unicorn. It's a perfect fit for the story.

At least, it is to the reader like me who fires up with love for the young protagonist. Josiah—no, boy, I'm not just calling you Dave, not when there's s...more The key to a good epigraph is finding something that sparks interest in the reader at the beginning but knocks him flat with its emotional voltage if he happens to re-read it afterward. L'Engle proved her epigraph-choosing mettle with the use of a sentence and a half referencing the untameability of the unicorn. It's a perfect fit for the story.

At least, it is to the reader like me who fires up with love for the young protagonist. Josiah—no, boy, I'm not just calling you Dave, not when there's so much beauty and dignity in your real name—is the sort to stir motherly impulses as well as sympathetic ones: a surly young introvert, too bitter to ask for help escaping the long-reaching tentacles of a dangerous past, but possessing a gentle heart and a nascent trustworthiness under the resentment and off-putting coldness. The story is of the crux moment of his life, the balance point where he either surrenders backward into the quicksand or accepts the outstretched hand above him and pulls free.

The third person omniscient narrative doesn't separate him from the reader, and I spent the book wanting to plead with him and fight for him and hug him by turns. None of which he'd have been likely to appreciate, but it's the reader's prerogative to feel.

L'Engle's naming choices often carry some symbolic value, and the connection of Josiah Davidson to the Davidic king of Israel is openly remarked on in the book and reinforced by his father's name. Nor is it the only name of interest, as exemplified by Canon Tallis—the surname references the Jewish prayer shawl—and Mr. Theotocopoulos, the latter of which suggests the Theotokos (the ancient Marian name 'God-bearer', usually brought into English as "mother of God"). Whether the common names are hand-picked for meaning is less clear, but there are some curious parallels—notably Emily Gregory, whose name loosely means "watchful rival"; she's the blinded but perceptive angel against the darkness in Josiah/Dave's past. And even the nickname Dave comes from the Hebrew for beloved.

As with most of L'Engle's work, the characters carry the book—which is really why I love her. There's so much back story to the main few that I felt like I'd missed a previous installment. Which, in the Austins' case, I suppose I had, but that feeling came more from Emily and Dave than the others. It's an interesting example of kicking off narrative in the middle of a story, anyway.

The novel attempts to work on several fronts and succeeds better on some than on others. As futuristic tale, it feels rather outdated; lasers were new technology in the sixties when the book was written, but now they're commonly used in surgeries without having gained any notable popularity as an alternative means of getting high. As mystery, the book is startlingly successful; all the clues were present, yet the plot twist still came as a stunner. As character study of an innocent family's brush with deadly evil, it's light but beautiful. As old-school young adult novel, it's saved from being annoyingly preachy only by its moments of unique wisdom. And as a story of redemption, it's sweet and, in its own simple way, astounding.

L'Engle's novels, while nearly always likable, are often a little uneven, especially when submitted to the test of time. This book isn't perfect, but the story caught me very personally and got into my affections. Where that wasn't owing to Josiah Davidson or Emily or the bright-eyed, bright-hearted little Rob, whom I also loved, it was owing to music.

Music got to play its own role in the book, and L'Engle knows her stuff. She makes numerous thoughtful references to great composers and works, such as the moment where Dave picks up his English horn and plays the solo from the prelude to the third act of Tristan and Isolde. And her scenes of Mr. Theo playing the cathedral organ are almost enough to make the reader feel the blast of sound coming from the pipes. The skill behind the art is also treated attentively; Emily's blindness combines with her musical prowess to give her an exceptional ability to listen as well as a powerful kinesthetic sense and memory. For such a short book, it's all spectacularly done.

The ending, if I'm being honest, is a little too much in the lessons-learned order. The groundwork is present, so the resolution itself is believable, but some of the dialogue toward the end is not, really. The final scene or two could certainly have been better handled.

That little flaw bothered me a bit, but love covers over a multitude of wrongs. I loved the story and the characters far too much to fail to forgive.(less)

like · see review

Apr 05, 2013 Angie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: belovedbookshelf, nostalgireads, ya

Originally reviewed here @ Angieville

So. I am a longtime Madeleine L'Engle devotee. It started back when I was 10 with A Wrinkle in Time and it has stretched out over the years into a lifelong love affair. One of the more treasured and personal ones in my life. And while I love all her worlds, this little series, this family, holds a couple of my most beloved. This is actually the third full-length novel in the series, and it's something of a dark sheep, if you will. It's the departure novel, fo...more Originally reviewed here @ Angieville

So. I am a longtime Madeleine L'Engle devotee. It started back when I was 10 with A Wrinkle in Time and it has stretched out over the years into a lifelong love affair. One of the more treasured and personal ones in my life. And while I love all her worlds, this little series, this family, holds a couple of my most beloved. This is actually the third full-length novel in the series, and it's something of a dark sheep, if you will. It's the departure novel, for lack of a better term, the one in which dark things happen and you question whether or not these young characters whom you love will be able to rebound after the fallout. It surprised me when I first read it, coming as it did after the gentler and more staid introductory installments. But the setting, the language, the new characters all wove their spell around me and I always return to it when I am in the mood for whistling in the dark.

The Austins have up and moved to New York City. Dr. Austin is working on a research project which requires his residence in the city, and so the family has uprooted itself and settled in Manhattan, not far from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It is there that Vicky, Suzy, and Rob meet a young girl named Emily Gregory. Emily is a piano prodigy studying with the brilliant and temperamental Mr. Theotocopulous (Mr. Theo for short). Emily is generally accompanied by an outsider boy named Dave whose job it seems to be to look out for her and be suspicious of things in general. Vicky is sure there's something in Dave's past he's hiding. But the rag-taggle group quickly become fast friends, and the Austins are willing to let Dave tell them his story when he is good and ready. It isn't until Rob, on one of his many rambles through the neighborhood, makes the acquaintance of a genie that danger strikes. This encounter with the genie (complete with magic lamp) leads the children on a journey through the darker underworld of their new home. A gang called the Alphabats dog their heels, with a particular emphasis on Dave. A strange man by the name of Canon Tallis has taken up residence at the Cathedral and appears intent on following the children as well. Everyone's motives are unclear, and soon events are spiraling out of control as the Austins and Co. race to uncover the thread connecting them all.

Just to whet your appetite, here's a favorite scene from the first couple of pages of the book:

The man in the fur hat left the shadows of the doorway and followed the oddly assorted trio: the dark, shabby boy; the definitely younger and rather elegant girl; and the fair little boy who couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old.

They reached the corner and turned down Broadway. The bitter wind whipped a few brown leaves and bits of soiled newspaper across the sidewalk. Strands of Emily's fine, dark hair blew across her face and she pushed it back impatiently. As they passed a shabby little antique shop with a gloomy bit of oddments on the sidewalk in front of the dusty windows, Dave paused.

"It was here," Rob said. "Right here."

Emily pulled impatiently at Dave's arm, but the older boy stood, looking at the shop window, at the door with the sign PHOOKA'S ANTIQUES, then moved on, more slowly.

Shortly before they reached 110th Street the man with the fur hat pulled ahead of them and merged with a group of people clustered about a newsstand. He held a paper so that he could look past it at the children as they came by.

The little boy, who had made friends with the crippled man who owned the newsstand, looked up to wave hello. His mouth opened in startled recognition as his eyes met those of their follower. He didn't hear the news vendor call out, "Hi, Robby, what's up?"

The man in the fur hat smiled at the small boy, nodded briefly, rolled up his newspaper, and turned back in the direction of the Cathedral.

Dave and Emily had gone on ahead. Rob ran after them, calling, "Dave! He's the one!" He tugged at the older boy's sleeve.

"Who's what one?" Dave pulled impatiently away from the scarlet mitten.

"The man we saw yesterday, the one who talked to Emily!"

Dave stopped. "Where?"

Rob pointed towards the Cathedral.

"Wait!" Dave ran back around the corner.

"Emily, he was the one," Rob said. "I'm sorry, but I know he was."

"I don't want to talk about it." Emily's face looked pale and old beyond her years. She was just moving into adolescence, but her expression had nothing childlike about it. "It couldn't have been the same one," she whispered.

"But it was real," Rob persisted. "It did happen."

Dave returned. "I didn't see anybody. Anyway, how do you know he was the one?"

"Because he had no eyebrows."

Emily gave a shudder that had nothing to do with the cold.

What an opener. This book reminds me in many ways of Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series. Mysterious. Dark. A sense of impending doom drooping over the whole thing. I eat this stuff up with a spoon. I love THE YOUNG UNICORNS because it branches out so ambitiously. Dave, Emily, and Mr. Theo burst onto the scene and into the reader's heart without even a by your leave, and the Austins almost take a back seat to their new friends, their new neighborhood, their new life. I love L'Engle's New York City. I love the way she just plops her quiet family down in the middle of a boiling and boisterous city and allows them to explore and be worked upon and changed by its life and color and variety. The cathedral itself is essentially a character in its own right, serving as the perfect backdrop for the secret plots and underhanded machinations that take place within the pages of this story. Ms. L'Engle was writer-in-residence at this very cathedral for many years, and her knowledge of (and love for) its halls and corners and denizens is evident here. To say nothing of the crossover characters with which she graces the tale. Canon Tallis is a particular favorite and one I am always relieved to see show up, both for his keen intelligence and his checkered background. I knew the children would be safer with him at their backs. But things do get decidedly bleak (and a fair bit deranged) before they get better. But if a love of mystery lurks anywhere in your heart, you do not want to pass this one up. L'Engle's lovely words wrap around these precocious children and see them through to the very end. I think I've been in love with Dave ever since I first read this book, and it is his journey that is the most compelling to me. A true standout in the middle of an excellent series.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 02, 2012 Peggy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, detective-mysteries

I had forgotten how satisfying L'Engle's novels can be. Her adult characters are wise, kind, and attentive to children. There's a battle between good and evil. There's a mystery and a big family, with multiple hangers on who are welcomed and loved. Science forms some of the plot line--and L'Engle was prescient. Adults befriend children, cherish them, speak to them seriously, but not all adults are like this. Some are evil and wish to use children to their own ends. Rather than find this frighten...more

like · see review

Aug 10, 2012 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, american, childrens, fantasy, young-adult

The Young Unicorns is the third book about the Austin family. This book gets a little bit more fantastical, but L'Engle was still trying to remain more or less within the confines of science fiction rather than fantasy (well, I guess Wrinkle could be considered SF, but Planet - which is my favorite - has got to be fantasy, hasn't it? Unicorns and time travel?); most of the things that happen really could happen given the technology to do so.

The Young Unicorns focuses more on Josiah "Dave" Davids...more

like · see review

Jul 25, 2012 Zach Frey rated it 4 of 5 stars

This randomly emerged from the bookshelves and was lying about the house (I blame gremlins), and I couldn't resist picking it up to re-read.

This was one of my favorite YA books from Madeleine L'Engle that is not part of The Time Trilogy: A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet (it is centered on the Austin family, with references to let us know we're in the same story universe as Meg and Calvin and Charles Wallace).

It is set in a "future" New York City, although it hel...more

like · see review

May 20, 2011 Cyndy Aleo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

I remember the day in sixth grade when Sr. Julie sat down on her wooden stool in the front of the class and began to read Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. Little did she know that she would open the door to a new world of reading for me, one that would stay open long after I reached adulthood and was no longer ordering books out of the paper "book day" pamphlets.

Even as a teenager (and an older teen at that), my Christmas wishlist included a list of Madeleine L'Engle books culled from the...more I remember the day in sixth grade when Sr. Julie sat down on her wooden stool in the front of the class and began to read Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. Little did she know that she would open the door to a new world of reading for me, one that would stay open long after I reached adulthood and was no longer ordering books out of the paper "book day" pamphlets.

Even as a teenager (and an older teen at that), my Christmas wishlist included a list of Madeleine L'Engle books culled from the list at the front of the books I already owned. My mother spent many a day at our local bookstore, since forced out of business by industry giants and online dealers, filling out "out of print" orders. I spent an entire Christmas day on the couch, on my side facing the back of the couch, devouring this book.

::: The Story :::

The Young Unicorns is what I refer to as a crossover book in L'Engle's repertoire. Some of her series deal strictly with reality and others deal more with science-fiction and fantasy themes. The Young Unicorns one falls squarely in the middle. While it is part of the Austin Family series, which is a reality-based series, it never really belonged there for me, feeling more like L'Engle's novels like A Wrinkle in Time.

When we meet up with the Austins this time, the family is living in New York City while the family patriarch is on a year's sabbatical as a research scientist. The Austins are living in an apartment upstairs from an eccentric professor and his blind child prodigy daughter, Emily. One day on their way home from school, the Austins and Emily rub a lamp they find at a thrift store and meet a genie, which draws them closer and closer to a plot that involves science gone wrong and a plot to overtake the city that involves the Episcopal cathedral (St. John the Divine), Dr. Austin's research work, and Dave Davidson, Emily's tutor.

::: The Morals of the Story :::

As a teen, I was drawn into the plot, fantastic as it was, even at the time. As an adult rereading the book (and I have reread it often) the plot at times seems far-fetched, but L'Engle's writing always draws me in, making you believe in events that probably could never happen. In light of recent news items about the Catholic Church, you begin to realize that no church is without its politics and secrets.

Even more fascinating, though is the theme of science being misused for power. At the time the book was written, the events must have seemed preposterous. With today's ethical quandries being cloning and genetic engineering, the possibilities for scientific developments being misappropriated and used for personal gain rather than the good of humanity rings especially true.

I still find myself rereading this book on a rainy day, and my paperback version is tattered and well-worn. I still feel that, while not one of her absolute best books, there are definitely morals to this story that I hope my daughter can appreciate. I bought the hardcover and put it away for her. I would recommend it for an older reader, more in the middle school to junior high range, based on some violence and the subject matter.

This review originally published on Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_T...(less)

like · see review

Jan 31, 2010 John rated it 2 of 5 stars

It's remiss of me, I know, but I've never until now read any of L'Engle's work: I keep trying to get all four of her Wrinkle in Time novels lined up in a row on my shelf and never quite achieving it. (Right now I think I have three of them, all in far corners of the house.) The Young Unicorns isn't a part of that series but instead one in a string of standalone novels about the Austin family, primarily the Austin children -- here living in NYC and with young friends Dave (reformed ex-member of s...more
It's remiss of me, I know, but I've never until now read any of L'Engle's work: I keep trying to get all four of her Wrinkle in Time novels lined up in a row on my shelf and never quite achieving it. (Right now I think I have three of them, all in far corners of the house.) The Young Unicorns isn't a part of that series but instead one in a string of standalone novels about the Austin family, primarily the Austin children -- here living in NYC and with young friends Dave (reformed ex-member of street gang) and Emily (blind musical prodigy). Their adventure involves a new laser that's being developed for surgical purposes but can equally be put to nefarious uses, and a crazed and murderous plot to take over NYC and make it a God-lovin' city by in essence brainwashing everyone. Needless to say, the kids prevail, even as they wade through quite a lot of ethical considerations, most particularly trust, whose nature is several times debated (both Dave and Emily have, for very different reasons, great difficulty in trusting, but others have their issues with it too).

I must confess, I had some difficulties with this book, and not just because the Austins and their circle are all a bit too bloody wholesome for my tastes. My real problem was with the narrative. I found I never really got close to any of the characters -- I never properly got into anyone's head -- so I had the constant sense that I was watching the proceedings from the outside rather than being in the midst of them, as if the story had been told not as a novel but as a stage play and I was in the audience. Just to strengthen this illusion of theatricality, the text has a scene-by-scene structure very reminiscent of a play's. To be sure, the stage is (as it were) very brightly lit, so that some of the characters and events stand out memorably . . . but at the same time they're standing out distantly.

My copy (Laurel-Leaf Dell 1980) is packed with typos and typographical glitches -- places where whole lines appear to have been missed out, etc. There's also a bizarre instance, presumably the product of hasty editorial rejigging at some stage, where L'Engle appears to have forgotten that she's already told you something (page 159) so tells you it all over again a few pages later (page 161).
(less)

like · see review

Sep 08, 2009 Ron Bajrami rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: summer-reading-2009

The book The Young Unicorns is about a person named Dave, who reads to a blind child and have dinners with the Austins. The setting is in NYC, Manhatten, Harlem. The main characters are Robert, Dave, Emily, Suzy. The internal conflict of Dave is that his past with a gang Alphabats really hurts him in the present. The external conflict is him having to fight off the Alphbats.

During reading this book I made a text-to-world connection. When Dave remmembers his past with the Alphabats reminds me of...more

like · see review

Mar 14, 2011 julia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fiction

I first read this many years ago as a teen. I loved it then. Re-reading as an adult I find a somewhat different experience, but it is still full of the wonder, magic and yes, science that Ms L'Engle puts into all her stories. Although written in the late 1960's, the technology was actually right on. The types of lasers they use in the book are the type we have now-a-days. The only obvious thing was lack of communication--no cell phones. But then, who in the '60's would have believed in cell phon...more

like · see review

Jul 23, 2008 CLM rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, ny, series, 20th-century, suspense, united-states

I found this book quite unnerving when I first read it, and it made a profound impression. However, my proudest (most shameful?) moment was in college taking Shakespeare when the final exam included a question about Coriolanus, which I had not actually had time to read because so busy writing in my journal. I had a moment of terror, then gritted my teeth, and began, "The noted writer, Madeleine L'Engle, in her tribute to Coriolanus..."

2 likes · like · see review

May 01, 2011 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

After suffering through The Moon by Night, The Young Unicorns (next in the Austins series) got a lot better, if a bit farfetched; it's more like my beloved The Arm of the Starfish in that it's a sort of mystery/suspense story where the children have to determine which adults to trust in a very complicated situation. This book introduces some wonderful characters, most notably Emily, the gifted young pianist who was blinded in an accident, and her stubborn teacher Mr. Theo. I loved that Canon Tal...more

like · see review

Mar 19, 2013 Yara rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't really like this book. At first it was interesting but between important and suspenseful parts it felt as if the story dropped in excitement and dragged on for a long time. I also didn't like the parts to the story. I first got interested because of the name then the back cover summary. It talked about the main characters Dave and Emily. Dave is now an ex member of a gang. The gang is upset he left and now goes after the blind girl he has become close to during after school tutoring. Th...more I didn't really like this book. At first it was interesting but between important and suspenseful parts it felt as if the story dropped in excitement and dragged on for a long time. I also didn't like the parts to the story. I first got interested because of the name then the back cover summary. It talked about the main characters Dave and Emily. Dave is now an ex member of a gang. The gang is upset he left and now goes after the blind girl he has become close to during after school tutoring. The story was not that simple it was very complicated witch is ok but too many topics that finally end up together in a super simplistic way kind of makes me mad). I did like the characters though. They were all strong and had different and interesting outlooks on the events that were happening. Honestly it was really hard to continue reading at some parts but it was a good and interesting story.

The Author Madelein L'Engle has not been my favorites but I do like her stories because they are very imaginative and she describes the characters and connection between them so well that you fell like you know them completely or that you've known them all their life. And that was no different with "The Young Unicorns" a genie, a man with no eyebrows, a bishop and janitor who run a gang and secret organization all from an abandoned subway station., and other wonders and sights that are all connected.

SPOILER ALERT
In "The Young Unicorns" Dave (an ex-gang member of the gang the Alphabats) becomes very close to the blind girl Emily and the family that take scare of her (who live downstairs) while her father is away with other scientists to study about Micro rays. The father of the family looking over Emily is also involved in the study of the micro ray. Dave is taken by his old gang to see the local bishop and his servant a genie that has been seen by other characters earlier in the book. The Bishop wants Dave to help him. The bishop claims he has lost faith in humanity and wants to stop anything that will cause humankind to fail or fall. In the end we find that the father of the family looking after Emily, Dr. Austin, has been helping the bishop by giving him the micro ray. The micro ray is operated by his genie, who we also find out is one of the doctors Emily's father is working with, Dr. Hyde. The bishop and Dr. Hyde use the ray to control Dave's old gang the Alphabats. The Doctor shoots a highly concentrated ray at the brain's pleasure center, basically acting as a highly, highly addictive drug. The Alphabats get this pleasure in exchange for a completed task.
Throughout the book Dave faces inter and outer conflict between almost all the characters about his previous affiliations with the Alphabats. He feels judged and feels that people never let him forget he was part of a gang. He himself feels upset with him self and tries to turn things around. By the end of the novel Dave no longer feels the previous weight of being an ex-gang member. He learns to accept what he has done and trust those around him who care for him.
(less)

like · see review

Nov 13, 2009 Penni Russon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Dec 03, 2010 Catherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book! Besides Many Waters, which is an amazing book, this is my favorite L'Engle. It features the Austins, one of L'Engle's two main families, but it really stars Josiah Davidson, a former member of the Alphabats gang, and the Austin's blind friend Emily. Lately, rumors have been abounding that the Alphabats are planning something. Robbie and Suzy Austin had an encounter with a potential genie, and the man who blinded Emily while rifling through her father's office still has not been...more

1 like · like · see review

May 27, 2012 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, re-read

I re-read this out of curiosity and nostalgic wistfulness, hoping to catch the New York City atmospherics I imbibed when I read this novel almost ten years old, the autumn of 1979. More surprised this time by the strong impression that New York City was a dangerous place and the safety of her beloved Austins' was threatened by the menace of "LSD" and campus unrest (it was first published in 1968!). But I have no good reason now to interrogate the author's intentions or the surprising flaws in th...more

like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Jes rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was glad to see Canon Talis appear in the Austen family series. I enjoyed him as a character in the O'Keefe series, as he reminds me of an Agatha Christie detective with a spiritual side. :) But many times when I was reading this book, I felt as though I was re-reading another L'Engle book. Maybe that's because she continues to use similar plot devices, settings and motivations in many of her books. Again, we have a young pianist. Again, we visit a large Cathedral in NYC. Again, we have a larg...more

like · see review

Apr 20, 2009 Kerri rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 08, 2008 Sam Palmer added it

This book was very interesting because it didnt really talk about unicorns. It was about this family and how lots of mysteries make their way in to the story. Like how Josiah Davidson, Dave was what almost every one called him, was an ex gangster. He had turned his life around and joined the local boys chorus. He quickly became a trusted friend of a "normal" family.
Emily is this blind girl that sings and plays the piano. She was not always blind. It was a very sad night when it happened. Someo...more

like · see review

Sep 16, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: personal-collection, young-adult, favorite-authors

This book doesn't seem to fit well with the other Austin family novels. I enjoy it, but only if I can let go of my expectations about an Austin book.
I missed having Vicky's perspective on everything in this book; I wonder why Ms. L'Engle chose to tell the story more-or-less through Josiah Davidson's eyes.
Other characters had their turn at being the protagonist for a while, which I thought was a nice touch. I really like Vicky Austin, though; she's one of my favorite characters that the author...more

like · see review

Mar 23, 2011 Melody rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My L'Engle reviews seem to have a theme: complaining noises followed by assertions why said complaints are meaningless in view of the whole, and a reference to love as the universal solvent. This book is no different.

I'm unable to keep from rolling my eyes when Rob, age 7, pipes up with a malapropism followed with an erudite comment on the second movement of some obscure 12th century piece of music which he knows by heart.

The plot here is so unrealistic it would be laughable in anyone else's h...more

4 likes · like · see review

Sep 02, 2007 Megan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone!

Shelves: childrens, youngadult

Although I'm not a big reader of fantasy, I absolutely love Madeleine L'Engle's books. It doesn't matter if you are a grown-up, and this book is billed as young adult; read it anyway!

L'Engle explores the topic of a powerful gang in New York City (not your typical shoot-out gang, but more psychological and sinister), which meets in an abandoned subway station. The leader has come into the possession of a powerful laser, which he uses to control his subjects. He obtained the laser by breaking into...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 18, 2009 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile-lit

I picked this up at the library on my bike ride a few weeks ago. I couldn't resist its newly issued cover, and I only read this particular L'Engle once, a long time ago, in the beginning of high school. I figured it was time for a re-read. It's not my favorite of her books, but it certainly is an entertaining and tightly-woven mystery with a touch of the bizarre. Woah, and I just discovered through a little bit of Googling that as a grown-up Suzy marries Josiah Davidson, which I had never realiz...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 11, 2008 Jaime rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Austins have ended their roadtrip in the wilds of NYC, where intrigue awaits in L'Engle's employer, the Cathedral of St. Paul.
This book tries to explore the same issues of a Wrinkle in Time, but in a much less well thought out way. The story's interesting but ridiculous, and not in a high quality fantasy way. The Austins, except for angelic Rob, take a back seat to native New Yorkers Dave and Emily, but it's not really clear why. Are they going to appear later? Why involve the Austins at al...more

like · see review

Mar 23, 2009 Kathecool rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

New York City is odd at best, but when the Austin family start having strange encounters with the other residents of the city, things get messy. Suzy and Rob, the youngest, are convinced they saw a genie. Dr. Austin is being followed. And Vicky's new friend was blinded in a theft of valuable papers. The entire Austin family is in trouble, but if they don't tell each other what's going on, they might just be killed...

like · see review

Mar 28, 2009 Julie P rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Because L'Engle changes the point of view in this book from Vicky Austin to a young man the family has met while living in New York City, it takes some getting used to the difference in style from her previous novels. The theme of good and evil prevails, as in most of her books, and L'Engle provides a rather contemporary mystery with the innocents abroad, the Austins, who encounter gangs and evil within the church and on the mean streets of New York. Well worth reading, and look for the crossove...more

like · see review

Oct 06, 2010 Clare Cannon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: 10-16 years (girls)

Shelves: 08-12yrs, 13-15yrs

The Austins are trying to settle into their new life in New York City. The mystery of a recent attack which left their young friend blind lingers in the background, but with each one immersed in their own things the Austins don’t notice that something even more sinister is going on in their neighbourhood – and it’s centred around them.

Book three of L’Engle’s Austin Family Chronicles unveils a frightening scientific scenario. Dr Austin is developing a laser “micro-ray” which could make non-invasi...more

like · see review

Oct 10, 2009 Caitlinleah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this one is so dramatically different from moon by the night and meet the austins! i didn't realize how NYC has such a culture of fear in the 60s. it's a little creepy, a little exciting, and no one gets seriously hurt. five stars all around. however- why the young unicorns? other than one little reference to the unicorn tapestry (nothing like in and both were young) i could find no unicorns in this book.

like · see review

Aug 11, 2008 Michael Fitzgerald rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm starting to think that L'Engle's various series are largely interchangeable. Characters cross back and forth and don't really have a "home", references are blithely made to any and all previous books, and there isn't much individual identity in subject matter or approach that separates the different series. This is more a mystery-suspense story, which I had previously thought was the province of the O'Keefe stories. Vicky, who is the protagonist of the previous Austin series books, does not...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (10)

More editions...

Genres

Young Adult

105 users

Fantasy

50 users

Childrens

24 users

Science Fiction

12 users

Young Adult > Teen

12 users

Mystery

9 users

Novels

6 users

Family

5 users

Literature > American

5 users

Adult

5 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her Young Adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters. Her works reflect her strong interest in modern science: tesseracts, for example, are featured prominently in A Wrinkle in Time, mitochondrial DNA in A Wind in the Door, organ regener...more Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her Young Adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters. Her works reflect her strong interest in modern science: tesseracts, for example, are featured prominently in A Wrinkle in Time, mitochondrial DNA in A Wind in the Door, organ regeneration in The Arm of the Starfish, and so forth.

"Madeleine was born on November 29th, 1918, and spent her formative years in New York City. Instead of her school work, she found that she would much rather be writing stories, poems and journals for herself, which was reflected in her grades (not the best). However, she was not discouraged.

At age 12, she moved to the French Alps with her parents and went to an English boarding school where, thankfully, her passion for writing continued to grow. She flourished during her high school years back in the United States at Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, vacationing with her mother in a rambling old beach cottage on a beautiful stretch of Florida Beach.

She went to Smith College and studied English with some wonderful teachers as she read the classics and continued her own creative writing. She graduated with honors and moved into a Greenwich Village apartment in New York. She worked in the theater, where Equity union pay and a flexible schedule afforded her the time to write! She published her first two novels during these years--A Small Rain and Ilsa--before meeting Hugh Franklin, her future husband, when she was an understudy in Anton Chekov's The Cherry Orchard. They married during The Joyous Season.

She had a baby girl and kept on writing, eventually moving to Connecticut to raise the family away from the city in a small dairy farm village with more cows than people. They bought a dead general store, and brought it to life for 9 years. They moved back to the city with three children, and Hugh revitalized his professional acting career. The family has kept the country house, Crosswicks, and continues to spend summers there.

As the years passed and the children grew, Madeleine continued to write and Hugh to act, and they to enjoy each other and life. Madeleine began her association with the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where she has been the librarian and maintained an office for more than thirty years. After Hugh's death in 1986, it was her writing and lecturing that kept her going. She has now lived through the 20th century and into the 21st and has written over 60 books and keeps writing. She enjoys being with her friends, her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren."

http://us.macmillan.com/author/madele...

Copyright © 2007 Crosswicks, Ltd. (Madeleine L'Engle, President)(less)

More about Madeleine L'Engle...

Books by Madeleine L'Engle

A Ring of Endless Light (Austin Family, #5)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Young Unicorns

3 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: The Young Unicorns
avg rating	preview: The Young Unicorns Goodreads rating: 3.73 (2764 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219408.The_Young_Unicorns?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1172803622l/219408.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219408.The_Young_Unicorns?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle[/url]

The Young Unicorns (Austin Family #4)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website