Whistling in the Dark

Must they all go at once?

First Lloyd Alexander and now Madeleine L'Engle. Don't they know I can only take so many childhood heroes departing at a time? I came across A Wrinkle in Time shortly after reading the Chronicles of Prydain and I still remember how smooth the pages were. And how much I dug Meg. She was my age. She was smart and awkward, angry and strong. And she never gave up. She held on to her family and those who became family like Calvin and Dr. Colubra. And when I read Mrs. Whatsit's line, "By the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract," I just couldn't put it down. I had no idea what a tesseract was or why the sound of it sent a chill down my spine. I didn't care. I just had to keep reading. I read my way through A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet and then I read all the Austin family books. The Young Unicorns is still one of my very favorites, chilling and beautiful as so many of hers are. Like Lloyd Alexander's books, I can honestly say I read everything she wrote. As far as the books of my life go, hers are right at the top of the list. Reading them has always been my way of whistling in the dark.