An Acceptable Time

Although this book features the next generation of the Murry-O'Keefe family, it is considered the fifth book in the Time series. After reading through all five, I think that Wrinkle and Wind definitely have a distinct, much more science-fiction feel, whereas Waters, Planet, and Acceptable Time mostly skip an aspect of science and focus on the experiences of people who have time traveled. As with A Swiftly Tilting Planet, I have a bit of skepticism of the depiction of native peoples in this book; it's not so much that there's anything offensive, but it's just that these seem to be an entirely made-up people with generalized characteristics. I would have liked to have seen a foreword or something that explained any research L'Engle might have done into the original people of the area she was writing about.

I love getting to see the Murry grandparents, and I always love the way L'Engle explores ideas of the power of love and complexities of faith. But this book falls short for me in a lot of ways. The first half of the book includes various folks going back and forth across the time gate, with Polly and the modern-day people who care about her sitting around and discussing it endlessly. And I've always felt in the various appearances of Zachary Gray in L'Engle books that I can't understand why the young women in the books seem to find Zachary at all compelling. He just mopes around and then manipulates them by saying things like, “Aren't you glad to see me?” or “I thought we were friends.” I think I'll just stick with Wrinkle and Wind for further re-reads of this series.