YA Craving Intensifies

So after One L, I needed something a little lighter and something I thought I'd finish fairly quickly. Then I ended up standing next to the YA books while checking out books with Toddler at the library the other day and grabbed a few. One of which was the old favorite A Wrinkle in Time. I hadn't read this in maybe 20 years. Oh my god, 31-20=11? Really?! No worries, I still don't feel old.

I was surprised at how little I remembered from this book. I vaguely remembered the characters and their names, the Murry family, Charles Wallace, Meg. I didn't remember their friend Calvin or the dog Fortinbras or much else about the story. Let's just say I was riveted and couldn't put it down. The plot was fast-moving and intense, the writing descriptive, the characters realistic and the character development--wow. I had no idea YA books could do what they do. At first I was a little annoyed with Meg as a character (as I'm sure I was not when reading this as a kid), but by the end, L'Engle has her step up to the plate, take personal responsibility and stop waiting for everyone to do things for her, and, of course, she succeeds in her mission. I was so proud. :)

And the jolt this has given my imagination was exactly what I needed. I almost feel revitalized, I might say. The last book to ignite my inner fire (or maybe it just appeased the latent fantasy nerd within) was Below the Root by Zilpha Keatley Snyder and the other two in the trilogy to which I recently referred in a post. Now I can't wait to revisit the old Earthsea Trilogy (also referenced below).

At first the plan was only to read this one and then move on in my exploration or revisitation of YA novels, but now I'm hooked again and might have to read A Wind in the Door next or soon anyway. I know I read that one and A Swiftly Tilting Planet as a kid, but I'm not sure if I ever made it to Many Waters.

Note: And I went to Barnes & Noble to pick up my ordered copy of Of Plymouth Plantation and ended up buying The Giver by Lois Lowry and Redwall by Brian Jacques. And one issue of the magazine Archaeology.