Meet the Austins

I read this decades ago and decided it was time to see if it were as good as I remembered. If anything, it was better. I think it is because I have experienced loss, making some of this more real. While death looms over the book (Maggie has been suddenly orphaned), it is far more about life. As L'Engle writes, "But being alive is a gift, the most wonderful and exciting gift in the world."As is true in many of L'Engle's books, faith is a cornerstone in the story. For that aspect, I think this quotation rang most true for me: "The search for knowledge and truth can be the most exciting thing there is as long as it takes you toward God instead of away from Him.” The book is a comfortable one. I liked the children who were far from perfect, but mostly tried to be good people. Sometimes in this world of social media and sometimes cruel memes, it helps to step away. This book was perfect for that. I will be reading the sequels.The book is perfect for thoughtful middle-school aged children and older. Adults can read it with new and deeper understanding. It is highly recommended.

I picked up Meet the Austins on impulse last night. I was feeling poorly and just wanted to crawl into bed; bringing along a nice little young adult story seemed like a very soothing way to rest. I was browsing the sale books at my local bookstore on the way home (as you do) and bought it on the strength of the author, Madeleine L'Engle. Apparently, this is the first of a set of stories known as the Chronos series.It is a charming little story featuring Vicky, the 12-year-old older daughter, as the narrator of the Austin family. Her older brother John is 15 years old, has ambitions to be an astronaut and scientist, and works on his own space suit in his spare time. Suzy, her 9-year-old sister wants to be a doctor and conducts daily surgeries on her dolls. Rob, the younger brother, is six years old and rounds out the kids of the family. Their dad is a doctor, and their mom is a housewife. The family includes a great dane named Mr Rochester and the poodle Collette, plus assorted cats (with names like Prunewhip, Hamlet and Cream). They live an idyllic life in a 200-year-old farmhouse outside a small New England town. The book was published in 1960 and feels reminiscent of TV shows of the era, such as Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, and especially Don't Eat the Daisies, with wholesome families, sibling squabbles, bedtime prayers and mealtime grace, naughtiness and spankings, good kids struggling to understand serious events and their own feelings, and so on.The story opens during Uncle Douglas (dad's younger brother) visit and the family working on dinner when mom receives an emergency call that changes everything. It's from family friend Aunt Elena, who was mom's roommate in college and is now a concert pianist. Her pilot husband Hal died instantly along with his copilot while flying an experimental aircraft. She's about to leave on tour, is devastated by her loss, and is suddenly trying to find someone to care for Maggie, the copilot's 10-year-old daughter who has suddenly become an orphan, her mother having died recently too as a result of illness.Maggie is the stereotypical lonely rich girl who grew up in the care of servants and all the material possessions money could buy but without a loving, stable home as her absentee mother continued to enjoy her jet set lifestyle. She'd only recently gone to live with her pilot father because her maternal grandfather was too ill to take charge of a child. Then she comes to live with the Austin family, resulting in conflict and drama on top of the usual rivalry and support among siblings. Predictably, she acts up, behaves badly, is mean, and generally plays out the spoiled rich kid trope,The story reads almost like a series of vignettes, first setting the scene, then Maggie arriving and being assimilated into the family routine. From there, various events happen: bad weather, domestic disasters, illness, injury, visitors, school, vacation, etc. Vicky and her siblings not surprisingly don't welcome the disruption of this unknown interloper at first, and by the end of the story don't want her taken away from them. The story also includes vivid descriptions of the natural beauty of the New England countryside in fall and winter.It's not a particularly deep or clever story, but it is charming and clearly geared toward instilling Christian moral values in young readers. The characters are appealing, the scenery is delightful, and the story shows children grappling with death, loss, change, trauma, and other big, scary facts of life. But it also shows the strength of family, love, and healthy, supportive relationships at all ages, as well as children being given the space to explore their own interests and be their own persons.I don't regret the evening spent with this book. It was just what I needed. But I'm not interested in keeping the book. I'll probably add it to a Little Free Library in an area frequented by younger readers. I looked up the other books in the series. Meh. I don't think I'll pursue them. However, I am looking forward to diving into the boxed set of the Time Quintet (beginning with A Wrinkle in Time) that I picked up at WisCon this spring.

I didn't read this when I was a child, but after reading it now I am sure I wold have enjoyed it. Not as good as the Wrinkle in Time books, but still good.

Vicky Austin and her family live a small town life where her father is the county doctor and her mom stays at home with the four kids, of which Vicky is the second. Tragedy strikes their family when Uncle Hal - no blood relation, but a close friend - dies in a plane crash alone with his co-pilot. The co-pilot's daughter Maggy, now an orphan, comes into their lives and threatens to turns the warm household upside down with her hysterics and snobbery.This episodic and quiet book about a happy family was the type of book I would've loved reading just about the time I was reading through The Moffats and sequels. Even as an adult it's one that I can still enjoy, just not with the same abandon perhaps because I can relate much more to the grownups than the kids. And it's twelve-year-old Vicky telling her story, from dealing with an unhappy and spoiled child to everyday life with siblings to the relationships between the family and others, particularly her father's brother Douglas and Hal's wife, Aunt Elena. Being most familiar with the Wrinkle in Time books, I was expecting science fiction and was surprised to find this realistic instead. Once I changed my expectations, I enjoyed getting to know Vicky and her family and plan on continuing the series.

A warm, sincere tale of grief and family love that should appeal to readers of all ages. Vicky is a compelling narrator, in the same vein as other L'Engle protagonists.

Im not sure how I feel about this book. Ive read some of the others in this series previously (totally out of order) and I have a kind of nostalgic affection for Vicky Austin, but this book itself was meh. The story isnt anything particularly interesting and had more religion that I cared to read about. I liked some of the characters but found others obnoxious.

Well, dang. I'm glad I didn't let my totally lukewarm reaction to A Wrinkle in Time stop me from picking up this first novel in L'Engle's The Austin Family Chronicles. I've said that I enjoyed the first bit of A Wrinkle in Time, before the kids go off on the adventure, while the rest of it left me pretty cold. This book is like nothing but that first bit that I liked! The story follows the Austins, a family of six, and centers around second oldest Austin child Vicky. At the start of the story the Austins take in a spoiled and recently orphaned child of a family friend, and the novel revolves around the family's reactions to this disruption to their lives, but really it's just wonderful slice of life stuff, dealing with hard things, big emotions, growing up, and figuring out who you are and where you fit in the universe. That last bit is specifically Christian in the book, but I think the experience of the seeking would be widely applicable, regardless of the reader's religious feelings. I will be reading more of this series. Recommended.

This is a family story, introducing characters who, I assume, will feature in others in the series. It was published in 1960 as a contemporary novel for older children and teens, and as such is an interesting snapshot into US life in that era.Vicky is the narrator of this book. She’s twelve, and the second of four children. There’s not much plot as such. Instead it’s a series of incidents showing family life, each chapter being complete in itself. The chapters are quite long; there are only five in around 150 pages. We see the family on stressful days as well as relaxing together on holiday. L’Engle had a gift for characterisation, and that's what makes this interesting and enjoyable reading. Perhaps some of her people are caricatured, but I very much liked the children. It’s not a great literary work but I’m glad I’ve read it at last. Suitable for any child from the age of about seven or eight.

What ages would I recommend it too? – Eight and up.

Length? – An evening's read.

Characters? – Memorable, several characters.

Setting? – 1950's near Boston.

Written approximately? – 1960.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Ready to read more.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? No.

Notes for the reader: A little short, and addresses the audience several times. Missing something.

Going into this book I had no idea that it was the only book in this series that didn't have a fantasy or science fiction theme. Throughout most of the book I couldn't quite put my finger on why I was disappointed with it, but after reading the description from Wikipedia it was obvious to me that that was what I was missing. Most of Madeleine L'Engle's other books that I love include some element of fantasy and I really missed that in this story.

I hadn't read this book before, and the only other book in the series I had read was the fourth, A Ring of Endless Light (which happens to be one of my favorite books from my teen years). I feel fortunate that I didn't start out with the first book when I was a teen because I wouldn't have continued on and found out how much I loved the fourth book.

I think that one of the big reasons that this book did not appeal to me (other than the lack of fantasy) was that it was geared toward a younger audience. I have a feeling that this is one of those series in which the style of writing changes as the main character grows and ages.

There were some entertaining scenes, but again, they were of the type that would appeal to a younger reader. The orphan girl who comes to live with Vicky's family disrupts the family in various ways, causing Suzy to be disobedient, and driving everyone crazy with her selfishness. She reminded me a bit of Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden in that she was spoiled in the beginning and slowly learns how to behave nicely. The similarities to The Secret Garden end there though (in other words, I think that The Secret Garden is far superior in character development and plot elements).

I also find it revealing that the character that I want to write about is Suzy (a minor character) and not Vicky. Suzy's character was much more interesting than Vicky's. Suzy is always up to some mischief, while Vicky seems to be watching and relating what her family is doing for the most part (with the exception of when she wrecks her bike). In some ways this makes sense, since the book is titled "Meet the Austins" - the story seems to be only an introduction to the family. Meet the Austins is a pleasant tale, but it wasn't as fantastic as most of Madeleine L'Engle's other books that I've read.

Upon finishing Meet the Austins I had no intention of continuing on with the series. However, after finding out from Wikipedia that the other books in the series contain elements of fantasy and science fiction, I am considering continuing with the next book. I also was unaware that there was a fifth book in the series after A Ring of Endless Light. I'm very curious to find out what happens to Vicky in last book (Troubling a Star), so if nothing else I will be reading that one.

recommended for: children's lit fans, Madeleine L'Engle fansThis is one of my favorite books from childhood. I first read it in 1962 when I was 9. I still enjoy the story, and all of Madeleine L'Engle's books for that matter, but I think it's probably somewhat dated; kids today might not enjoy it that much, unless they are reading it as a period piece. It's the story of a family told from the point of view of the 12 year old daughter. This is the first book about the Austin family, just as A Wrinkle In Time is the first book about Meg Murray and her family. In L'Engle's other children's books these 2 families tend to run into each other and I find it great fun to keep up with them.And this is one time where I think the original cover (that I just uploaded and changed my reivew to this edition) should not have been changed. It's beautiful and timeless.

Preachier than the Murry books, by about a mile. There's a passage about Einstein and his religious belief or lack thereof that made me laugh out loud. It was not intended to be funny, I don't think. There's more overt Christianity in this book than I remembered.

The Austin parents are idealized and improbable. The story is dating in odd ways- what with the lack of seat belts and the phone ringing in the house all night- that set it off as a period piece rather than a timeless story.

Still, it's a warm and wonderful visit to a vanished time. 3.5 stars.

This was actually my first Madeleine L'Engle book, borrowed from the elementary school library in 4th grade. I wish I were an Austin.

A very easy read, you can read this in a day. It is an excellent book for children but not so suited for adults. It did not impact me the same way as the "Wrinkle in Time" series. I think L'Engle is better suited in writing science fiction/fantasy book. I felt like I was reading a diary of my sister. I did not enjoy it that much but I'm still looking forward to the next book.

This is a good example of realistic fiction. The characters and their interactions are very real and the circumstances (Maggy's parents dying) are unfortunately real.. L'Engle even said that the characters are based on her own family. Media: N/A

This is an a great book but its bad that they have to go through so much of a struggle with there family.

This book introduces the Austin family. It is perhaps weaker and simpler than the later books in the series, but still a good read.