Flight into Fantasy

Title: the Moon by Night
Author: Madeleine L’Engle
Genre: Young adult
Reason for Reading: Madeleine L’Engle is one of my favorite authors of all time. I’m trying to make sure I’ve read all of her children’s books at least once, if not more often, and I never had read this one.
Synopsis: This book chronicles the close-knit Austen family as they make a cross-country trip prior to their move to New York. Told in first-person by fourteen-year-old Vicky, who is going through a difficult adolescence, the book chronicles Vicky’s first tentative forays into the world of boys, as well as her own uncertainty about where she is going in life.

Other Opinions: Couldn’t actually find any other reviews. If you’ve written one and want to give me the link, I’ll add it.

My thoughts: While this is not my favorite L’Engle book–A Wrinkle in Time will always have that title–it is another excellent offering. L’Engle, for me, is a comfort author, and this book was no exception. I immediately fell in love with the Austen family, whose closeness and love for each other are obvious even when, as all families do, they have problems. I also like, every once in a while, reading a book where the fate of the world isn’t necessarily at stake, and I love that one of the most powerful things about L’Engle’s writing is that the climaxes focus on the characters overcoming or coming to terms with something about themselves that they don’t like. It happened to Meg in A Wrinkle in Time, and it happens to Vicky here.

To bring this review back down to the shallow end of the spectrum of discourse, one of the main reasons I read it was because this is the book where we first meet Zachary Gray, who is one of L’Engle’s most complex and interesting characters. We don’t see inside his own head, but the glimpses we get of him from Vicky, who is alterntely attracted by and repelled by him, make him fascinating. he’s a spoiled rich kid with a medical condition, who has never been told no in his life, nor has he experienced much in the way of love, so he acts out in ways designed to put as much risk to himself as possible. I have a feeling if this book had been written 40 years later, Zachary would have been addicted to something. Anyway, Zachary isn’t terribly likable, but, like Vicky, I was fascinated by him all the same.

Vicky herself is another great L’Engle heroine. She’s smart, she’s resourceful, and her voice feels authentic–or at least as authentic as any voice of a teenager can be from a book written 40 years ago. I also think that the things she goes through–feeling like everyone around her has it way more together than she does, experiencing those first adolescent crushes, occasionally needing time by herself even amid a loving family–are things that are still very relatable. And, as I said, Vicky’s story ends with her coming to terms with herself and growing more mature in the process.

As a travelogue, this book doesn’t work as well, but then, it’s not supposed to. What fascinated me about the road trip aspect of the story was that, despite some things that were clearly dated–a family of six could not spend $10 a day these days on a similar trip–a lot of it wasn’t. The camping advice the family learns along the way still seems sensible, and some of the people they meet along the way seem like the sorts you could still meet if you took road trips across the country.

Final Thoughts: I have no idea if this book is actually relevant to today’s teens. But I always enjoy L’Engle, and this was no exception.

Final Grade: B+