The Moon by Night (Austin Family, Book 2) (urspr publ 1963; utgåvan 1981)

An interesting examination of teenaged angst, but shadowed by the worst "bad boy" in all of literature. No, really. Zachary Grey is legit the worst. I fully believe Christian Grey was named for Zachary, that's how terrible he is as a character. ( )

This series hasn’t aged particularly well, unfortunately, but I’m attached to the characters from the other books I’ve read in this series (especially The Ring of Endless Light) and still want to finish the rest of the series. The Moon by Night follows the Austin family as they take a road trip across the US, spending the night in campgrounds and seeing different states and meeting different people. It was fun to see how Vicky first met Zachary and reading it knowing where their relationship goes.

Vicky is a relatable main character and is very focused on finding her place in the world; she feels like everyone around her knows what they’re doing and she feels a bit lost as to what she wants to do, which I think is very typical for being fourteen. Mostly, I enjoyed this book for showing what camping and a family vacation would be like in the 60’s.

This story doesn’t have any fantasy elements like L’Engle’s other works sometimes do, but it was still interesting to read about familiar characters. It’s not a book I would recommend anyone to just read if you aren’t already invested in the Austin family; if you are, then this will most likely be enjoyable if not super thrilling.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. ( )

This gentle book is an excellent one, provided you understand it is rooted in its time period. There are certainly cultural things (the father being in charge, the fears of a nuclear war) that make it clear when it was written. That said, it still speaks to me now.

Young Vicky Austin is now 14, and learning just who she is. She discovers, "You have to go off by yourself or you just stop being you, and after all I was just beginning to be me." And that in some ways is the theme of the book. Who are you and how do you know? And what happens when you meet someone different, not the same ethically as you?

I enjoyed the tour across the country, especially the descriptions of the Palo Duro Canyon, not far from where I live now. I also enjoyed the philosophical passages in the book. It was exactly what I needed to take a break from my hectic real-world life.

Thoughtful young teens would enjoy this book. Adults who still remember what it was like to be 14 and who enjoy philosophy would like it, too. ( )

Second in the Austin family series. Vicky, who is nearly fifteen, narrates as in the first book. There's a family wedding, and then most of the book encompasses a family camping holiday, visiting quite a number of US states and parts of Canada too.

It's a journey of discovery for Vicky, including the introduction of two low-key romantic figures, and it's also something of a natural history and geography lesson. The varied landscapes are described in a tad too much detail for my tastes, and in some places conversations are directly educational, related to wildlife or history.

However there's enough story to make it worth reading, particularly for fans of the series or the author. I think it would make a good read-aloud for children of about eight or nine and up who are interested in learning more about the United States. Although it was intended for teenagers, there's nothing inappropriate for younger children other than one or two tense moments. ( )

The summer she was fourteen, Vicky Austin was dealing with a lot of changes. For one, she's just getting into that in-between age where moodiness is expected and she's just not a little kid anymore. For another, Maggy is moving in with Aunt Elena and Uncle Douglas, who are getting married, and her dad got a new job in New York, so they're moving. But first, they're taking a cross country road and camping trip. One thing is for sure: after this summer, nothing will ever be the same.

The title is taken from a line in Psalm 121, "I lift my eyes up to the mountains...the sun will not harm you by day, / nor the moon by night." The psalm is referred to often throughout, as Vicky deals with a crisis of faith and identity. She meets a boy and experiences all sorts of new, complicated feelings - along with the disapproval of her family, who don't like Zachary, who is a bit of a spoiled and pessimistic brat, all that much. I enjoyed the descriptions of various places around the country: the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, Indian reservations, and more. It's rather episodic as they move around and have adventures in each new place, culminating with a climactic event that was suddenly more than I expected. I had a weird sense of deja vu, too, as if I had read the story once before as a kid. Things would happen and I would think, that's right, that sounds familiar. Anyway, if I had read it when I was younger I'm not sure I had the same compassion for Vicky that I did this time around, trying to come to terms with her own beliefs and growing up. The story was written in the 60s and is in some ways a bit dated ("Daddy doesn't like women in pants"), but in others shows great tolerance and urges people to listen to each other without judgment. ( )