Meet the Austins: Book One of the Austin Family Chronicles

Book one 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.Beautifully written, with integrity and warmth, and young people are bound to identify with the characters, each a person in his own right, and to read absorbed from first page to last. Thoroughly recommended. -Chicago TribuneFor a family with four kids, two dogs, assorted cats, and a constant stream of family and friends dropping by, life in the Austin family home has always been remarkably steady and contented. When a family friend suddenly dies in a plane crash, the Austins open their home to an orphaned girl, Maggy Hamilton. The Austin children-Vicky, John, Suzy, and Rob-do their best to be generous and welcoming to Maggy.Vicky knows she should feel sorry for Maggy, but having sympathy for Maggy is no easy thing. Maggy is moody and spoiled; she breaks toys, wakes people in the middle of the night screaming, discourages homework, and generally causes chaos in the Austin household. How can one small child disrupt a family of six? Will life ever return to normal?Praise for Meet the Austins:A family story that simply doesn't date, characters ring as true now as I'm sure they ever did. -Charlotte Jones Voiklis, Granddaughter of Madeleine L'EngleYes, by all means 'meet the Austins,' for a nicer family would be hard to find. The book is beautifully written, with integrity and warmth, and young people are bound to identify with the characters, each a person in his own right, and to read absorbed from first page to last. Thoroughly recommended. -Chicago TribuneAn unusual book. . . . There are intimate details of home life that everyone will recognize with pleasure; there is great warmth in the family relationship, and it is movingly communicated. -The New York TimesTold with warmth and humor, this is a perceptive, forthright story of a loving and likeable family. -BooklistHer books . . . tend to be about the intersection of some fantastic unearthly world and the ordinary world in which we live. -Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket). . . [an] ode to faith and family . . . -Quin Hillyer, American SpectatorBooks by Madeleine L'EngleA Wrinkle in Time QuintetA Wrinkle in TimeA Wind in the DoorA Swiftly Tilting PlanetMany WatersAn Acceptable TimeA Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeleine L'Engle; adapted & illustrated by Hope LarsonIntergalactic 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 ChroniclesMeet 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 booksThe Arm of the StarfishDragons in the WatersA House Like a LotusAnd Both Were YoungCamillaThe Joys of Love