I think I got this on trade from a book swap member.

From amazon:
Vicky Austin is filled with strong feelings as she stands near Commander Rodney's grave while her grandfather, who himself is dying of cancer, recites the funeral service. Watching his condition deteriorate as the summer passes on beautiful Seven Bay Island is almost more than Vicky can bear. To complicate things, she finds herself the center of attention for three very different boys: Leo is an old friend wanting comfort and longing for romance; Zachary, whose attempted suicide inadvertently caused the Commander's death, is attractive and sophisticated but desperately troubled; and Adam, her older brother's friend, offers her a wonderful chance to assist in his experiments with dophins but treats her as a young girl just when she's ready to feel most grown-up.

Set aside for a Newberry Book Ring

Received today. I don't think I read this one by her, will start today!

Very uplifting book, nice positive message about the light within. A little heavy on death, but overall a positive way of taking the dark part of life and looking for the light beyond that. Will send on to spacedog with "The Witch of Blackbird Pond". Thanks!

got today.

8/18/05: i have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this book. first off, i can see why it won a newbery honor b/c it's def. emotionally sophisticated in its discussion of death (although at times it gets a little sweet valley twins with the romance). however, l'engle's dialogue is pretty unnatural which i found extremely hard to read. also, the whole dolphin ESP thing really annoyed me b/c the rest of the book is so grounded in reality that presenting this ESP theory alongside the dolphin facts was extremely jarring. also, although the emotions were generally nicely done and believable throughout, the ending was so rushed and melodramatic that it rather ruined the emotional buildup that preceded it. it seems from reading online that other books about these characters are completely different (e.g. a mystery and a thriller), which is disappointing b/c it would've been interesting to see adam and vicky's relationship develop. all in all this is a book whose faults outweigh its virtues, but it has made me want to pick up -a wrinkle in time- again.

got this book last tuesday. I was surprised it came along with 2 other books! =) finished reading it over the week. I liked what Rob said when he tried to explain what happens after we die.
will ask for the address of the next person on the list.

will be sending this off to the next person tomorrow along with 3 other books. enjoy!!!

Received today with 3 other books.

I'm only a little torn about this book. I feel like it is more mature than I expect the Newbery winners' audience to be. (Cf. Mr. Popper's Penguins!) But I liked it very much. Part of the reason I liked it was the inspirational messages about death and the "circle of light". A lot of people in my circle of family and friends have died in the last 18 months, and I found I could not get through twenty pages of this book before I would have to stop and cry. I mean great ugly sobs, people! But I would always keep going. I liked the dolphin ESP stuff; I guess I would disagree that it is not grounded in reality. My reality admits of the possibilities of ESP. Just recently at the MN Zoo, there was a baby dolphin that died in an accident, so the dolphin scenes generated more ugly sobbing from me. I also liked Vicky so much--what a great girl role model! This book really affected me on so many levels.

Sent this to dancing-dog with the witch on February 15.

I have to go to bed now. My cats are sending me some very powerful messages about having the lights on and working at the computer this late at night! WANT TO SLEEP!!!!

Just received the book & am looking forward to reading it. I've liked all the Madeleine L'Engle books I've ever read, so my expectations are high :)

Finished this last night and like most of the readers here, I had mixed feelings about this book. The very first chapter had me crying since it was so much like some funerals I've been to. As I got more into the book I felt like I really couldn't relate to Vicky - when I was 15 I was still shy, awkward, unathletic and tried desparately to get boys to notice me! - but I loved her family and the family dynamics. One of my favorite characters was Rob. Being an animal person, I really liked the dolphins. I do believe that some people have a special bond with and can communicate with animals differently than regular folks so it was not a big stretch for me that Vicky bonded with the dolphins in her special way. I was a little more skeptical about her & Adam communicating the same way however ... I don't know that I would read any more of the Austin family series, I think the Wrinkle in Time series is more my style.

Unfortunately, I think this book got lost in the mail on the way to yokaye's house. It was mailed March 3rd and should have been there by now. :( So sad that it went to the Philippines and back with no problem but didn't make it to another town in the same state!

I will scout around this weekend for a replacement copy - shouldn't be too hard to find.

Have obtained a replacement copy so this book will be able to continue its travels .......

Follow the rest of the ring here:
A Ring of Endless Light