This is a cute story of two sisters thrown into a fairy tale adventure where nothing is what it seems! The traditional heroes and villains of folklore are mysterious and untrustworthy, and everyone has hidden motives. I loved the madcap plot, although some of it was predictable and the pace got slow in the middle. Sabrina and Daphne are wonderfully written characters, and I loved their interaction as sisters. The other fairy tale characters are funny and interesting, and you just never know what famous character will pop up next. The dialogue is delightful and snappy! Altogether, a fun and charming read!

I don't know anything about football, so I was pretty lost through most of this book. But I think if I were a 6th-8th grade kid who loved football, I would probably love this book!

This tells the story of a young boy who loves sports, mainly basketball and football, and how that plays a large role in the development of his character.
There's a wonderful building of tension through the story that really gets you cheering for Brian and his friends. There's also some personal drama and family stories that paint a picture of a boy with parents who care, siblings who challenge him, and coaches who believe in him.

A great story for sports lovers!

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

This book is so extremely long and drawn out. It could have been much shorter. I skimmed through most of it. The characters are predictable, the plot mundane, and the writing unnecessarily long-winded. Meh.

Surprises in every chapter, Well-written characters, but no one really memorable.

I enjoyed reading this book! L'Engle has such a unique writing style; she can take a side-character with a toothache, and make their toothache be a philosophical commentary on the fantasy vs. reality of emotional entanglements, weaving it so perfectly into the storyline that you barely realize she's doing it. As always, brilliant writing!

The setting is a 1940s summer theater company where Elizabeth is an apprentice, learning to act. She has a crush on the young director, Kurt, but is best friends with the assistant stage manager, Ben. Love triangle goodness ensues.
I think if I were at all interested in acting or the theater, I would have enjoyed this book much more. I liked the plot and the characters, but it didn't deeply appeal to me as some of L'Engle's other books have done.

I really liked the character of Elizabeth, because she makes mistakes and says the wrong thing, but then she owns it and apologizes. I wish she had more backbone, but when it really counted, she showed her mettle finely!
I hated Kurt so much! He's so manipulative, and I wanted to scream at Elizabeth, "Don't you see?! He's manipulating you! He's a selfish jerk!" Agh.

I think Ben was the most interesting character in the whole book. He's always teasing everyone, but never mean-spirited. He seems to vacillate between pride and humility, and I love how he's always trying to take care of everyone. He's a little bossy, and I think he gets frustrated with people who are being stupid, but then he has pity on them too. Figuring him out was the best part of the book! He's a complex person.

The plot moves pretty slowly, focusing on the small but important things of everyday life that end up changing the big events in life. The way L'Engle writes it, it suddenly becomes very important whether or not someone eats icecream or goes for a walk, because somehow that will affect their decision to play MacBeth or love someone new or make an enemy of a friend. It all ties together in a big jumble with strings of everyone's choices affecting everyone else.

Of course, I adore L'Engle's books, and this YA romance is a good one!