Of the four within the traditional Time Quartet, this is the odd novel out. The previous three books focus on Meg, Charles, and Calvin O’Keefe as the main characters, and this uses the other two members of the Murry family as the protagonists. Also, the previous three have interweaving themes that bring out the ideology regarding self-sacrifice regarding social justice that has the ability to effect and entire culture or time period, whereas this is more about the process of boys becoming men and their temptation toward infidelity with Noah’s daughter. That being said, this book should also skew to an older audience since the themes and content are a little more mature. The books slowly decline in potency and writing quality with each iteration, so Many Waters won’t be as good as A Wrinkle In Time, but it’s still a good, quick read. I recommend this book to anyone 11 , with its target audience likely being between 11 through 13.-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

Second favorite Time Quartet book. I find it really interesting because of Madeleine L'Engle's interpretation of pre-flood society. A lot of her books that I've read deal with religious or theological themes, but this is the one that explores it most literally. Also, it's a good book. ( )

Many Waters solidified in my mind what makes L'Engle a talented writer, being able to explore Noah's world without feeling as though a religious message was taking the focus from the story.

As with other novels by L'Engle, there was a fair amount of science interspersed with the story, and there were a few pages I found myself either reading multiple times to find some comprehension or skipping after a brief scan to make sure there was nothing major related to the plot that I was missing in the pages.

Even with these moments of science, which distracted me from the important story of Dennys and Sandy (the Murray twins who were only on the sidelines of the other novels of the Time Quartet), the story was still a fun read. An exploration of a world of which they are vaguely cognizant through passed Sunday School classes, the comprehension that reality is defined within the moment of experience, these are the themes I was so in love with.

Yes, the story ends before many of my questions regarding the flood could be answered. Yes, there were some pages that dragged a bit, and the exploration of the names of the nephilim got to be a bit too long-winded for me. Even with these faults, though, Many Waters was perhaps my favorite of the series. I was more at home within the story of the boys out of place within time, more at home within the story of intelligent characters but not super-geniuses. ( )

Gets extra points for such a great premise—but the characters were flat. ( )

Although I'm not a fan of most biblically based stories, this one was an interesting enough take on the basic story to catch my interest. I also enjoyed the opportunity to get to know two of the lesser-known Murry siblings, and I found it to an interesting journey through the maturing process of two teenage boys. ( )