The Arm of the Starfish

by Madeleine L'Engle

Book Overview

Characters from Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time Quintet and Austin Family Chronicles cross paths in this story that explore the timeless themes of love, chance, and destiny."Tense, tricky,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440901839
• ISBN13: 9780440901839
• Release Date: December 1979
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf Library
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.3" x 7.0"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

The Arm of the Starfish

I like this book a lot because of its plot and characters. The main hero of the story is Adam, and he is a brilliant student who gets a summer job as an assistant to a great scientist Dr. O'Keefe. He finds himself in a middle of a mystery which will have to fall into pieces in the end. It's all about regeneration, trust and secrecy. This is a brilliant novel which I love. Adam, the main character has a lot of personality and one of my favorite traits about him is that he has trouble making decisions sometimes because I do too. I can only hope to achieve such characters in my next story which I'm thinking of starting in my rough draft folder. This mystery is just too good to miss. All I can say is that I truly enjoyed reading this art of a novel.

Can you say Teriffic?!

This book absolutely, catches your imagination. As Adam Eddington makes his way to the island Gaea he finds that he is caught inbetween a decision that could change his life forever.Calvin O'Keefe (Dr.O'Keefe) who is introduced and plays a main role in A Wrinkle in Time and the time quartet is grown up and married to Meg. They have seven children and the oldest of all of them, Poly, befriends Adam. Adam has come to Gaea to work as a lab assistent for Dr.O'Keefe during the summer. But when his flight is postponed due to fog he meets Kali Cutter(a most unlikly relationship between the two of them starts) but Kali has her own reasons why Adam shouldn't go to Gaea. Throughout the story Adam finds that he needs to decide between Kali and Poly's sides. He chooses Poly once he finds that Kali's side wants the results of Dr.O'Keefe's tests only to make more money. In the middle of the story Adam has come closer to the O'keefe family and their friends. But by the end tears are brought to your eyes as you read through the sadest moments in the book. If you ask me, read the book and find out what i mean. Until next time.-Windrider3

Another Amazing Book form Madeleine L'Engle

I have been a fan of the Time Quartet by Madleleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, Many Waters, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet) for a long time, so I was of course very excited to delve into this world again. It tells the story of Adam, a marine biology student who is offered a summer job on the island of Gaea, which is off the coast of Portugal. There, a scientist named Dr. O'Keefe is conducting revolutionary experminents concerning starfish. On his way to Gaea, Adam encounteres many strange people and events. He is caught between two groups of people, and he doesn't know who to trust.I loved this book. The plots twists are very interesting, as are the characters. I fell in love with Joshua from the moment I met him. I wondered if Kali really was one of the bad guys. I joined Adam as he tried to figure out what to do, who to trust.This book is not quite like the Time Quartet, but is wonderful nonetheless. It kept my attention constantly; I couldn't put it down. I recommend it to everyone!

my favourite book by my favourite author

I love Madeleine L'Engle, and this is unquestionably my favourite of all of her works as I've read them. I found it among a pile of my brother's library books, began to read it only half interested. But I soon realized that it is exactly what I want in a novel. The elements of suspense, romance, and drama are perfectly intermingled. I love how L'Engle adds a bit of informed science into her writings, too. It was what first turned me on to L'Engle's style. Especially in this one, using scientific information as the characters' desired object. And she does write beautifully. I have never really found myself a fan of any particular writer before, but this author is one that I admire and adore. In this book I fell in love with the characters and the atmosphere, the author's descriptions of Madrid or Greece, and the way the writing engaged me in the emotions. Oh, I can't even tell you how into this novel I was as I read it. I cried with the tragedies.I've discovered that her adult fiction novels are better for me now, but if you are at this reading level, as I was in about fifth grade(if that helps), and you enjoy science in the least, then I definitely reccomend this book.

WOW!

This is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm a fan of all her works, but this one stood out because of it's drama and suspense. It ties in many charecters from her other books, and gives us a book that is enthralling, and stunningly complex. I couldn't put this one down!