Madeline L'Engle, Prof? My bad for not remembering her- she is an excellent writer. And I do agree that Ms. Cooper is not a literary genius- I just finished reading her Dark is Rising series and though she has flashes, on the whole she isn't in the LG category.

Very good points, Hap (my shopping compadre!) and Amil- the books are fun, and yes, they do get us talking. So, while I stand by my assessment, I will gladly offer a mea culpa if it appears I was dismissive.