A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle (Book Review)

A Wind in the Door
by Madeleine L'Engle

240 pages
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973
Young Adult Science Fiction
Read in 3 days

My Rating: ★★

Amazon.com / BN.com

"There are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden."

Review: Oh Charles Wallace! A young boy after my own heart. The best way I can think of to describe what reading this book was like for me is to reference a Magic School Bus episode. Yes, I know, that's a bit old school but trust me, it reminded me of the one where Miss Frizzle decides to take the class inside Ralphie when he's so sick he has to stay home. While this book has a sufficient cast of characters, why they enter Charles Wallace's body is for entirely different reasons. He is sick yes, but his illness could lead to death if his sister doesn't help him.

With the help of Mr. Jenkins (Charles Wallace's Principal), Calvin, Blajeny, Louise the Large, Progo, & Sporos, they save Charles Wallace's life! Don't worry, that doesn't exactly spoil the book since you must realize there will always be a happy ending.

I can't say I enjoyed this book as much as the first one though. I think it's because of the amount of time spent deep within Charles Wallace's forandolae or whatever they're called. It involved a lot of "kything", a sort of more involved form of mental telepathy. That's not really my idea of fun reading and it did bore me that almost half the book was spent in that state of mind. I hope the third book isn't so one dimensional and has a bit more adventure.

Summary: It is November. When Meg comes home from school, Charles Wallace tells her he saw dragons in the twin’s vegetable garden. That night Meg, Calvin and C.W. go to the vegetable garden to meet the Teacher (Blajeny) who explains that what they are seeing isn't a dragon at all, but a cherubim named Proginoskes. It turns out that C.W. is ill and that Blajeny and Proginoskes are there to make him well – by making him well, they will keep the balance of the universe in check and save it from the evil Echthros.

Meg, Calvin and Mr. Jenkins (grade school principal) must travel inside C.W. to have this battle and save Charles’ life as well as the balance of the universe.

With Meg Murry's help, the dragons her six-year-old brother saw in the vegetable garden play an important part in his struggle between life and death.

To learn more about Madeleine L'Engle visit her website.

The Expendables 2 (2012) (Movie Review)

Director: Simon West

Screenwriter(s): Richard Wenk & Sylvester Stalone

Producer: Avi Lerner

Distributor: Lionsgate

In Theaters: August 17th, 2012

Run Time: 103 minutes

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis & Arnold Schwarzeneggar

Genre(s): action/adventure

Storyline: The Expendables are reunited when Mr. Church enlists them to take on a seemingly simple job. When things go wrong, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory, where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time - five tons of weapons-grade plutonium, more than enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary they seek revenge from. Written by Lionsgate

Movie Trailer:


My Review: Have you seen the first one? Stallone has truly outdone himself! More gory scenes, blood, and damn good fighting. The storyline isn’t half bad either. But honestly, whoever is going to see this movie for the story should just stay home. This movie is for someone looking for non-stop action. The fighting and bloodshed starts from the very beginning and never truly stops. If you love the heros who aren’t “super” by any means except for in the good deeds they’ve done in their own previous movies then you’ve come to the right place.

And for those select few who have never seen Terminator, Die Hard, Rocky, Rambo, or any movie with Jet Li or Chuck Norris in it, this movie will surely make you wish you had. There are classic one liners in it that not matter how many times you hear them said it never gets old. I was also glad to see Bruce and Arnold’s roles expanded in this movie.

My only disappointments came when Jet Li’s character only was in the first 15 minutes or so of the movie and the female character they introduced fell far short of what I was expecting. It would have been nice if that role were filled with an equally amazing star we all would have recognized. The only ones I could think of off the top of my head would be Angelina Jolie or even Milla Jovovich? Another good one would have been Michelle Rodriguez? Perhaps next time?

And a question I’m sure I’m not the only one asking (aside from who else can and will the get for the 3rd movie) is where was Mickey Rourke?

My Rating: ★★★★