A Wrinkle In Time... I remember reading this book many years ago when I was in elementary school. I liked it then, but I remember thinking it was a whole lot longer then it actually is. I don't remember if I particularly enjoyed it back then, but I liked it this time around. I was a nice short read, but I was pretty into it during the time it did take me to read it. I also noticed this time around the religious presence in the novel. It got me to thinking about children/youth novels with Christian undertones. When I was younger I read a lot of books with religious undertones, because that's what my parents wanted me to read. I was not allowed to read Harry Potter for the longest time because of that, but now they are some of my favourite books. Anyways that was a side note.

I found A Wrinkle In Time, a kind of coming of age novel, particularly with Meg, which I liked because even though it is a fantasy type of novel, the character Meg hit home with me a lot of the time.

I thought it was interesting as well that the family is introduced as being a normal type of family, with not a lot of strangeness going on with them, but it turned out the family was anything but normal. I liked this aspect because it shows that even with a basic family structure, all families are unique and none are perfect. There are problems within all families, and seeing their family through a fantastical kind of light is like an over dramatization of that highlights the dysfunctions within family dynamics. Yet it also shows how families can come together for each other. The book seemed to be for me a new lens with which to view families.

The theological views of L'Engle are controversial, and that might be why I find the book so interesting. I read on Wikipedia that "This novel is on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000 at number 22". I find that kind of exciting in a way, due to the fact that I read this book when I was younger. All of the mythical creatures and sci-fi like action mixed in with the subtle biblical references can defiantly be seen as controversial, and even offensive to some Christian people. But I think it makes an interesting point, mixing the magical with the religious, it shows a uniquely liberal approach to religion. It shows that within any part of life and any situation a person could if it suited them, apply a religious perspective/morals, and I think that is what this novel does. I joins religion and fantasy into the world.

We could view religion as morals and we could view magic as wild, and then mixing them together seems to make a perfect combination. A novel that expresses an opinion, with aspects of religion and fantasy. I could talk for longer about this, but I seem to be having a hard time turning my ideas into words!

Good Night!

-Laura

I am almost done Never Let Me Go. I have about 60 pages left and I plan on finishing it tomorrow before class. I've been pretty sick this last week, and so I've just done a lot of laying around, and slowly reading this book. I liked it straight away. I like all the descriptions of the ground of Hailsham, the way the kids interacted with the guardians, etc. At first I did not know what the book was about, the plot seemed so cryptic, and left me wondering what the heck everything meant. What were these mysterious conversations between Tommy and the Guardian, what were the donations and emphasis on art work, what was with all the secrecy? Then when it slowly all started to come all together I was fascinated. I did not know what the book was about before I read it, so the plot completely took me by surprise. I found the book in a way really soothing and peaceful...which might be strange considering the 'donations', 'carers' and all that, but there is something about the way that it's written that is so matter of fact, and so descriptive, that I could almost imagine being there. I have always loved books that 'take me away' in a sense and make me feel like I've been in a different world. I didn't get to come to class last week, so I missed the discussion about this book, which I wish I had been able to hear, because I'm really wondering what other people thought of it. I was thinking that this book was included in a freaks and geeks class, but I don't see any of the characters as freaks, they have been so normalized that it kind of makes me think that a freak does not have to have any visible signs of oddity, and anything particularly mentally wrong with them, it can be all about context. Like I don't think any of these characters are freaks because they are so human. Unlike Geek Love and Nights at the Circus which made me feel like I was in a fun house, Never Let Me Go is sentimental, and charged with feelings. I was a nice change from the previous two books. I'm excited to discuss the idea of how this book fits in with the course..I'm not saying it doesn't, I just think it will be a really interesting book to analyze.

-Goodnight!