nedge's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Very
analicia_simar's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kylearnzen's review against another edition
3.0
By no means a bad book, but it doesn't seem to stand up as well as the other books in the Time Quintet.
amusicalbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, so here’s the thing about this author: in each or her Time Quintet books, she has such interesting concepts and beautiful writing. I also love the way she infuses Christianity and sci-fi/fantasy. HOWEVER. What kills these books for me every time is the poor character development. I think out of all 5 of the books in the series, this problem is the MOST evident in An Acceptable Time. Her characters just don’t make decisions that make any sense, and in fact their actions often contradict the things that we do know about them. There were many instances in this book where I had to ask myself, “why should I root for this character at all? Why should I care what happens to this person?” Particularly in the character of Zachary. I understand what L’engle was trying to do with his character, however if you make your character TOO deplorable and pathetic, and don’t show us any redeemable qualities, I think it’s going to be difficult to get your reader to have any empathy for him when you ask us to have it for him. Also, it was hard to get a good picture of who Polly was as our main character, which I now realize is because there is a separate book series featuring Polly, which I haven’t read yet. I’m not sure why this book is included in the Time Quintet, and not promoted as part of the series in which Polly is actually featured (I guess just because it has time travel?) All in all, I didn’t hate this book while reading it, but I found it to be a rather confusing experience overall.
sharonhsmith888's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, but a little boring at some parts.
zenithharpink's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 stars. This book was easily the worst book I've read for the year, probably in the last several years. There wasn't any redeemable quality that I could ascertain, and the only reason I don't give it one star is I that I save 1 stars for books I don't feel should have ben published. This book was at least edited and without mass typos and grammatical errors, but the editor clearly didn't bother with story coherence.
This book was boring, dull and unexciting-individually, it achieved all three of these rather similar merits in unique ways. The characters were superficial, bland, and without dimension or drive. The first 200 pages of this book could have been summarized, "Polly had a meal with her grandparents, and they didn't believe her when she told them about her day." All the more ludicrous to readers who are familiar with the first 4 books of this baffling series.
The 'science' conversations were both pedantic and asinine-a rare feat that I can't recall happening even once in previous books I read. The 'story' was an event that happened to the characters, they did absolutely nothing to own their destiny, change it, or otherwise engage with what was happening. Even in their attempts to understand what was happening, their efforts were lackluster and without any real dedication-this coming from a coterie of highly intelligent, right-brained "scientists"...and one bishop.
This book fell appallingly short on every metric I use to gauge a book's merits and serves the closest I've come to DNF'ing a book since I encountered the swill that was Twilight. Even my inner compromise of scanning that last 160 pages of this book was painful to my very core-I barely made it, truly.
I don't recommend this book, if the above wasn't clear. It was awful, and far worse than any of the other books of this series, none of which I enjoyed. I intend to never read this book or anything by the author ever in my life, so I suppose that is the one good thing I can say about this book. It is the last in a series, and I am now free to never read it or any of its siblings again.
This book was boring, dull and unexciting-individually, it achieved all three of these rather similar merits in unique ways. The characters were superficial, bland, and without dimension or drive. The first 200 pages of this book could have been summarized, "Polly had a meal with her grandparents, and they didn't believe her when she told them about her day." All the more ludicrous to readers who are familiar with the first 4 books of this baffling series.
The 'science' conversations were both pedantic and asinine-a rare feat that I can't recall happening even once in previous books I read. The 'story' was an event that happened to the characters, they did absolutely nothing to own their destiny, change it, or otherwise engage with what was happening. Even in their attempts to understand what was happening, their efforts were lackluster and without any real dedication-this coming from a coterie of highly intelligent, right-brained "scientists"...and one bishop.
This book fell appallingly short on every metric I use to gauge a book's merits and serves the closest I've come to DNF'ing a book since I encountered the swill that was Twilight. Even my inner compromise of scanning that last 160 pages of this book was painful to my very core-I barely made it, truly.
I don't recommend this book, if the above wasn't clear. It was awful, and far worse than any of the other books of this series, none of which I enjoyed. I intend to never read this book or anything by the author ever in my life, so I suppose that is the one good thing I can say about this book. It is the last in a series, and I am now free to never read it or any of its siblings again.
audriew9's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I was able to stay involved throughout the story, but it dragged on and did not really go anywhere. It is quite long for not having much plot. Also Zach is probably one of my most hated characters of all time. Anyways, I'm glad to have finished the series.
scholastic_squid's review against another edition
3.0
Great story it was not my favorite but it was still a good read. The plot was more focused toward religion with some science and time travel. The story revolved around Polly, the daughter of Meg and Calvin, and a family friend a Bishop. He was researching some historical items he found outside around the Murry household and discovered a gate through time. A majority of the book is discussing how time travel is even possible and grandpa/grandma Murry keep doubting the Bishops' adventure. They decide to take it more seriously when Polly 'falls' through the gate in time and starts seeing people from 3000 years ago. Polly has also been warned in her own time, by a warrior/healer from the past, that she should stay away because there is much danger for her. She tries her hardest but is drawn to the past, and accidentally finds her way back. There is a bit of romance between Polly and a boy her age, but I found it hard to like him at all. Although, I think that is the point, he adds to the moral of the story. I did feel a connection to the way of life 3000 years ago and the female character Anaral.
pagesofpins's review against another edition
I enjoyed that we return to the house of the Murrays, and that Meg and Calvin's daughter (who, like them, can't quite fit in) has gone to live with her grandparents and explore all the old haunts of her parents and uncles. The conversations and theories and time travel in this one were much more satisfying too, and the diversity of belief among characters was well done, but much of the rest was a bit of a head scratcher.
Polly O'Keefe wanders into a tesseract accidentally opened by Dr. Louise's brother, and the Murrays find it wholely unbelievable. Has Mr. Murray entirely repressed his time as a prisoner of IT? Have their children kept all of their adventures a secret all these years?
I thought the romantic attractions that took place in the past were a bit odd, and I'm not sure what the point of them was. The people of the past (Native and exiled Druids) are sure to sound bizarre to modern ears because we have so much more info readily available than L'Engle did when this was published, but honestly the representation in Acceptable Time at least dodged the folly of its peers (the past people are neither entirely good nor evil, the beautiful teen girl is uninterested in the creepy white guy's affections and that's the end of it, there are no dead or ghostly native peoples, and the healers know many things we don't). It's a shame it's such a hot mess otherwise.
I don't think I would hand this to a teen now, but I'm also not entirely sorry I read it.
Polly O'Keefe wanders into a tesseract accidentally opened by Dr. Louise's brother, and the Murrays find it wholely unbelievable. Has Mr. Murray entirely repressed his time as a prisoner of IT? Have their children kept all of their adventures a secret all these years?
I thought the romantic attractions that took place in the past were a bit odd, and I'm not sure what the point of them was. The people of the past (Native and exiled Druids) are sure to sound bizarre to modern ears because we have so much more info readily available than L'Engle did when this was published, but honestly the representation in Acceptable Time at least dodged the folly of its peers (the past people are neither entirely good nor evil, the beautiful teen girl is uninterested in the creepy white guy's affections and that's the end of it, there are no dead or ghostly native peoples, and the healers know many things we don't). It's a shame it's such a hot mess otherwise.
I don't think I would hand this to a teen now, but I'm also not entirely sorry I read it.
cajunliterarybelle's review against another edition
4.0
Whether the way be through a wardrobe, doors, fountains, or simply wandering through family land, I always find stories of other worlds and time travel captivating. The question of the butterfly effect is ultimately tugged at here by Polly, the bishop, and others, but L’Engle leaves her answer ambiguous. Polly follows the Murry tradition of exploring ideas no one understands, and she does it with as open mind and heart of any in the family. Great story that had be turning pages as quickly as possible through the entire second half.