Synopses & Reviews
In
The Moon By Night, we find the Austin children—Vicky, John, Suzy, and Rob—unhappy at the prospect of leaving their beloved Connecticut house and moving into an apartment in New York City.
In order to cushion the change, the Austin parents decide to take the whole family on a trip to California to visit Uncle Douglas and Aunt Elena. They’ll drive out to California, camping along the way, and avoid hotels as much as possible. There is a great deal of care spent getting just the right equipment for the trip, and off the family starts.
It is a marvelous trip—different, exciting, fun. But the trip also brings problems to everyone in the family, and especially to Vicky when she meets Zachary. He’s a troubled and troubling boy who, against the wishes of her family, attaches himself to Vicky.
How Vicky meets the challenges of the trip and of her interest in Zachary and in another boy, Andy, who becomes Zachary’s rival, make up the body of this warmly appealing story of family life.
Review
“Idealistic and wise, this is also absorbing reading and very much a story of today.”—
The Horn Book Magazine“Everyone who remembers Meet the Austins as a delightful family story will want to read its successor. . . . Vicky, groping painfully for answers, finding help from many sources, will strike chords of sympathy and understanding in her contemporaries, who are certain to find comfort and satisfaction in this wise, beautifully written novel.”—Chicago Tribune “The Austin family spends the summer on a cross-country camping trip . . . Vicky, now ‘almost 15, tells the story, and the reader feels a strong personal identification with the thoughts and emotions of this age group through her story.”—School Library Journal “With natural dialogue and good characterization, this story of an intelligent, lifelike family is far superior to the average fare for the early teens.”—Booklist
Synopsis
Book two of the Austin Family Chronicles, an award-winning young adult series from Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, about a girl who experiences the difficulties and joys of growing up.
"Everyone who remembers Meet the Austins as a delightful family story will want to read . . . this wise, beautifully written novel." --Chicago Tribune
As if simply being fourteen-years-old weren't bad enough--what with the usual teenage angst and uncertainty, Vicky Austin's always comforting and reliable home life is changing completely. Her brother John is going off to college in the fall. Maggy, an orphan taken in by the Austins two years ago, has gone to live with her legal guardian. And the rest of Vicky's family is moving from their quiet house in the country to the heart of New York City.
But before the big move, the entire Austin family is taking a meandering trip across the country in their station wagon, stopping to camp along the way, with no set schedule and not a single night of camping experience among them.
Wild animal attacks. Life-threatening natural disasters. Cute boys on the prowl. Anything can happen in the great outdoors.
Praise for The Moon by Night
"Idealistic and wise, this is also absorbing reading and very much a story of today." --The Horn Book Magazine
"Everyone who remembers Meet the Austins as a delightful family story will want to read its successor. . . . Vicky, groping painfully for answers, finding help from many sources, will strike chords of sympathy and understanding in her contemporaries, who are certain to find comfort and satisfaction in this wise, beautifully written novel." --Chicago Tribune
"The Austin family spends the summer on a cross-country camping trip . . . Vicky, now 'almost 15, ' tells the story, and the reader feels a strong personal identification with the thoughts and emotions of this age group through her story." --School Library Journal
"With natural dialogue and good characterization, this story of an intelligent, lifelike family is far superior to the average fare for the early teens." --Booklist
Books by Madeleine L'Engle
A Wrinkle in Time Quintet
A Wrinkle in Time
A Wind in the Door
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Many Waters
An Acceptable Time
A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeleine L'Engle; adapted & illustrated by Hope Larson
Intergalactic P.S. 3 by Madeleine L'Engle; illustrated by Hope Larson: A standalone story set in the world of A Wrinkle in Time.
The Austin Family Chronicles
Meet the Austins (Volume 1)
The Moon by Night (Volume 2)
The Young Unicorns (Volume 3)
A Ring of Endless Light (Volume 4) A Newbery Honor book
Troubling a Star (Volume 5)
The Polly O'Keefe books
The Arm of the Starfish
Dragons in the Waters
A House Like a Lotus
And Both Were Young
Camilla
The Joys of Love
Synopsis
As if simply being fourteen-years-old werent bad enough—what with the usual teenage angst and uncertainty, Vicky Austins always comforting and reliable home life is changing completely. Her brother John is going off to college in the fall. Maggy, an orphan taken in by the Austins two years ago, has gone to live with her legal guardian. And the rest of Vickys family is moving from their quiet house in the country to the heart of New York City.
But before the big move, the entire Austin family is taking a meandering trip across the country in their station wagon, stopping to camp along the way, with no set schedule and not a single night of camping experience among them.
Wild animal attacks. Life-threatening natural disasters. Cute boys on the prowl. Anything can happen in the great outdoors.
About the Author
Madeleine LEngle (1918-2007) was the Newbery Medal-winning author of more than 60 books, including the much-loved A Wrinkle in Time. Born in 1918, LEngle grew up in New York City, Switzerland, South Carolina and Massachusetts. Her father was a reporter and her mother had studied to be a pianist, and their house was always full of musicians and theater people. LEngle graduated cum laude from Smith College, then returned to New York to work in the theater. While touring with a play, she wrote her first book, The Small Rain, originally published in 1945. She met her future husband, Hugh Franklin, when they both appeared in The Cherry Orchard. Upon becoming Mrs. Franklin, LEngle gave up the stage in favor of the typewriter. In the years her three children were growing up, she wrote four more novels. Hugh Franklin temporarily retired from the theater, and the family moved to western Connecticut and for ten years ran a general store. Her book Meet the Austins, an American Library Association Notable Children's Book of 1960, was based on this experience. Her science fantasy classic A Wrinkle in Time was awarded the 1963 Newbery Medal. Two companion novels, A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet (a Newbery Honor book), complete what has come to be known as The Time Trilogy, a series that continues to grow in popularity with a new generation of readers. Her 1980 book A Ring of Endless Light won the Newbery Honor. LEngle passed away in 2007 in Litchfield, Connecticut.