Customer Reviews

Arm of the Starfish, The

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Arm of the Starfish is a bit of a departure from what I think of as usual L'Engle fare (Wrinkle in Time, Meet the Austins, A Ring of Endless Light, etc.) in that while it deals with characters in much the same way as her other novels, it also becomes a spy thriller. Her character development and coming of age story are excellent, as always, and I love the interaction of the families in her books (except for one rather unpleasant father and daughter in this story). The book holds together well and is an easy and is an engrossing read to the end.

It's also important to read this before reading A Ring of Endless Light because of some important, but in some cases very subtle, references to this story. If you're reading A Ring of Endless Light, make sure to notice what swimming trunks Adam wears. It's important and speaks volumes as to the effect of these events on his life.

I have been a fan of the Time Quartet by Madleleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, Many Waters, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet) for a long time, so I was of course very excited to delve into this world again.

It tells the story of Adam, a marine biology student who is offered a summer job on the island of Gaea, which is off the coast of Portugal. There, a scientist named Dr. O'Keefe is conducting revolutionary experminents concerning starfish. On his way to Gaea, Adam encounteres many strange people and events. He is caught between two groups of people, and he doesn't know who to trust.

I loved this book. The plots twists are very interesting, as are the characters. I fell in love with Joshua from the moment I met him. I wondered if Kali really was one of the bad guys. I joined Adam as he tried to figure out what to do, who to trust.

This book is not quite like the Time Quartet, but is wonderful nonetheless. It kept my attention constantly; I couldn't put it down. I recommend it to everyone!

I like this book a lot because of its plot and characters. The main hero of the story is Adam, and he is a brilliant student who gets a summer job as an assistant to a great scientist Dr. O'Keefe. He finds himself in a middle of a mystery which will have to fall into pieces in the end. It's all about regeneration, trust and secrecy. This is a brilliant novel which I love. Adam, the main character has a lot of personality and one of my favorite traits about him is that he has trouble making decisions sometimes because I do too. I can only hope to achieve such characters in my next story which I'm thinking of starting in my rough draft folder. This mystery is just too good to miss. All I can say is that I truly enjoyed reading this art of a novel.

I just finished reading this amazing book and I can hardly keep myself from reading it again. I enjoyed Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet, but I was cautious about this one. I didn't see any familiar characters. Where was Meg? Charles Wallace? Calvin? Sandy and Dennys- are they even remotely mentioned? But I opened the book and was immediately hooked.

One aspect that I like about ML'E's fiction works is the science part. Tesseracts, kything, "X", midichlorines- they are all written about in such a believable way that more than once I have Googled these things just to see if they really are "made up". The Arm of the Starfish is slightly different, not as Sci-Fi, but an idea is introduced that sounds so plausible and groundbreaking, you have to wonder if research really IS going on with the arms of a star fish.

The characters, too, are extremely believable. Adam Eddington, the highschool boy who goes to work a summer job under Dr. 'O Keefe (a.k.a. Calvin, though it took me half the book to figure out), is the central character. He gets caught between two groups of people, and he can't figure out which side is the "good" one and which one is the "bad". Not to mention his new girlfriend, who seems to flucuate back and forth between the two. You can easily sympathize with him; ML'E twists the plot around almost every chapter and you have no clue who is trustworthy. My favorite character, though, would be Joshua Archer, a young man on the American Embassy who becomes Adam's friend immediately, even though Adam doesn't want to like him. He is the most developed person in Arm of the Starfish, and the character who says some truly beautiful things about life.

The climax was extremely suspensful (including the climax of a different kind at the close of the story) and I cried my eyes out at the end.

This is a beautiful story; definately one of my favorites.

-Michaela R.

I love Madeleine L'Engle, and this is unquestionably my favourite of all of her works as I've read them. I found it among a pile of my brother's library books, began to read it only half interested. But I soon realized that it is exactly what I want in a novel. The elements of suspense, romance, and drama are perfectly intermingled. I love how L'Engle adds a bit of informed science into her writings, too. It was what first turned me on to L'Engle's style. Especially in this one, using scientific information as the characters' desired object. And she does write beautifully. I have never really found myself a fan of any particular writer before, but this author is one that I admire and adore. In this book I fell in love with the characters and the atmosphere, the author's descriptions of Madrid or Greece, and the way the writing engaged me in the emotions. Oh, I can't even tell you how into this novel I was as I read it. I cried with the tragedies.

I've discovered that her adult fiction novels are better for me now, but if you are at this reading level, as I was in about fifth grade(if that helps), and you enjoy science in the least, then I definitely reccomend this book.

I have read almost all of Madeleine L'Engle's fiction, and this is my favorite book of hers written for children, hands down. Don't let that stop you from reading it if you are an adult! This is a crisply plotted, tense novel that moves with speed and grace. Attention, screenwriters: It would make a great movie! It deals with universal issues and moral dilemmas that many people face, and it provides juicy, admirable characters to identify with in their struggles with life. I'm telling you, it will be time well spent if you give it a read, and you will come out of the experience changed, if you have the courage to let this book touch you.

Adam is a young college student who has been chosen to assist the famous Doctor O'Keefe in his experiments off the coast of Portugal. En route, Adam meets the enigmatic Kali who warns him about the doctor. He's bewildered by this odd girl, and soon finds himself an unwitting pawn in a dangerous game. Adam has to figure things out for himself and place his loyalty wisely because of the sinister events in which he finds himself entangled. "The Arm of the Starfish" is a great thriller that gets especially compelling towards the end.

This book will take you by surprise, if you are used to the generally famous Madeline L'Engle fare. This is maybe her least-famous book, but it deserves HIGH praise. As an English professor, this is one which I will file away to teach or reference in the future.

Christian audiences will thrill to decipher this book, as L'Engle is duly noted for her writing as allegory. Who do these characters represent? Why do they do what they do? This would make an excellent debate for highschoolers reading this book..... and the trick is, you would not even guess you were reading fiction written by a Christian author. This is what L'Engle does best: she communicates her points through a great story without ever losing her focus.

Don't miss this book! If you can get past your own expectations, you will LOVE the ride.

I am not a big fan of saying this is a "child's book" because I was not a child when I read this book. It is a timeless and ageless book, one for the entire family. If you haven't read it, you should, no matter how old you are.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm a fan of all her works, but this one stood out because of it's drama and suspense. It ties in many charecters from her other books, and gives us a book that is enthralling, and stunningly complex. I couldn't put this one down!