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Average Customer Rating: 
Many Waters >
Customer Review #1:
 Sentimental
I read this book a number of years ago and by far this is my favorite book by Ms. LEngle. This is the story that I always remember of hers, an author whose writings I began reading in fifth grade and continue to read as a college student. Many Waters is particularly special for me because it was the first mainstream novel that I read during young adulthood that dealt with an entirely biblical story and I was incredibly impressed with the accuracy of the retelling. After reading Many Waters I re-read the biblical story of Noah and found that although LEnlge took artistic lisence in her fictional reproduction, her story actually was very closely related to the history. Although the space/time travel is fictional, her account of the time period is beautiful and inspiring. I also love the story because it was what first made me realize that LEngle is a Christian. Having always loved her works and then discovering that she has many works specifically about Christian faith, devotionals, and her own personal thoughts and reflections is wonderful. She is my favorite author, but she is also a very popular author in many age groups. She was inspiring to me because she is a very public personality who shares my most personal faith. But more than that, she is willing to open up her heart, her mind, and a piece of her soul to share The Message. Not only is this extremely important for those young adults for whom this story is geared, but her writing is bold, inspiring, and lovely. Her words are read by so many and her message so personal that not only does it influence those who have not heard the Word, but those who have, and who cherish it.
Many Waters >
Customer Review #2:
 One of these things is not like the other
"Many Waters" was my least favorite of the four books in the "Time Quartet," but it was good. It just seemed VERY different from the three previous books that I read as a teenager. This book is about Meg and Charles Wallaces twin brothers Sandy and Dennys. The boys mistakenly get taken up by one of their fathers space-time experiments and find themselves in a desert, rescued by a small oasis-dwelling man named Japeth. It turns out that they have found themselves in the Biblical story of Noah before the flood. The book details some of LEngles suppositions about the daily life of the the people then and also elaborates on the supernatural life of the time... seraphim were common visitors to the people of Noahs oasis as were something called "nephilim," which were once more godly creatures that turned their backs on god and began to marry and mate with humans. The boys get caught up in the stories of the relationships among all these "species" and have their own adventures. Its an interesting tale, but as I said, it is so different from the others, it wasnt what I expected.The book is a little more overtly religious than the other books, but its an interesting interpetation of whats always been a very puzzling chapter in Genesis (Gen 6) which talks about the sons of God mating with the daughters of men, and the Nephilim living among them. Its always seemed to be a bit of undigested ancient mythology that was never edited out of the biblical stories when Judaism became a more coherent and modern religion after the Babylonian exile. But lEngel turns it into an interesting fantasy with a good deal of symbolic value, and makes it about love and faith and the miraculous power of God to bring good out of evil. "Many waters cannot drown love," we are told, and that seems to be the point of the story.
Many Waters >
Customer Review #3:
Well-written adventure with a dash of teen angst
For me, this book was an all-time favorite of mine through my teen years. I picked it up at the age of fourteen and read it in a day, barely stopping to eat! I completely fell in love with the Murray twins, Sandy and Dennys, who are learning not only to cope with the onslaughts of puberty, but with their odd-man-out status in a family of extra-extraordinary individuals. I loved "A Wrinkle In Time" as a child, but I loved the fact that LEngle gave the twins their own shot at an supernatural adventure, which in turn helps them with the transition into manhood and discovering who they really are.A snowstorm forces the fifteen-year-old twins indoors from an impromtu hockey game. They are alone in the Murray house, and soon boredom sets in, leading the boys to start snooping in their fathers labratory. A time machine is unwittingly discovered, the boys wish for "some place warm and dry", and the next thing they know, they are whisked away to a strange desert, not knowing that their fathers invention has transported them to the Biblical times of Noah and the great flood. Here they discover that humans live for hundreds of years, that nephilims (angels thrown down from heaven) are the bad guys, and seraphim (good angels still in the service of God) are the good guys. Noah has just been told by God to build an ark, but everyone, including his children, thinks hes crazy. Yet with the twins help, Gods will is eventually carried out, but with a price. Much angst, adventure, conspiracy, violence, romance and Biblical lessons insue. Ill say one thing--Sunday school never taught you THIS about the famous story of Genesis! LEngle flawlessly incorporates Biblical texts with her own fictional twists. The end result is a wonderful read that will make you adore the members of the Murray family even more.
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