n  n    “It was a dark and stormy night...”n  n

Okay, I haven’t read A Wrinkle in Time since fifth grade, so I was kind of nervous going into this. Yet, I was very pleasantly surprised, and I’m even more excited to see the new movie adaptation in March! I mean, this reads a little “old” and “simple” but it was still such a delight to read. I will say that I didn’t remember any of the religious/spiritual aspects that were woven in, so apparently fifth grade Melanie, who went to a Catholic school and everything, just pushed those out of her mind throughout the years.

The basic premise of A Wrinkle in Time, that I’m sure you all know, stars a young girl named Meg is one of four siblings in her family, and both of her parents are scientists. Meg and Charles are very intelligent, therefore outcasts, but where their twin siblings, who are of normal IQ, fit in just fine. One day, her father goes missing and Meg, Charles, and their new friend, Calvin, meet a very peculiar trio, who take them on an intergalactic adventure that they will never forget. They essentially travel by folding or “wrinkling” time.

Overall, this was a super enjoyable read, that totally did give me a swift kick in the nostalgia feels. Yet, I’m not sure how well it would hold up if this was your first time experiencing the story. I do feel like there is a little something here for everyone, and even though this is considered a middle grade book, I do think it holds up pretty well for most ages. And honestly? Even reading this in 2018, this is still a very unique book.

n  n    “There will no longer be so many pleasant things to look at if responsible people do not do something about the unpleasant ones.”n  n

This is a story about love, and family, and faith, and being able to think for yourself. I can totally understand why this is a literary classic, and I’m so happy I reread it! And now I’m totally pumped for the movie!



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Valentine's Day buddy (re)read with the beautiful Wren! ❤

Wow! I never imagine to read this book for the first time when I’m in my 40s. For years I let the book get lost in my chubby TBR that keeps growing at each day. Probably it stuck with piles of books and I wouldn’t remember to read it if Ted Lasso wouldn’t give this book to Roy Kent! If a book can heal one of the grumpiest fictional characters’ soul, it may surely help me, too. At least that’s what I thought before I started.

Overall: I loved the classic theme: three children’s teaming up for fighting against evil darkness threatening the universe.

I liked how 13 years old Meg portrayed and little, enigmatic brother Charles. As their fellow schoolmate Calvin joins them with the guidance of their weird neighbors with weirder names Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Witch, two children’s search for missing father turns into a visit to fifth dimension to confront with the universal threat!

Yeap, I enjoyed it a lot and I’m so happy to skip the movie adaptations! I wish I read it sooner but better late than never!

Here are my favorite quotes:

“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. - Mrs. Whatsit”

“We can't take any credit for our talents. It's how we use them that counts.”

“The only way to cope with something deadly serious is to try to treat it a little lightly “

“A book, too, can be a star, “explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly,” a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.”

The story takes about 100 pages of tedious, banal dialogue, to get to the point where you are told that this is a battle against Evil, and all you need is love. But everything is so oversimplified, so sketchy--everything is reduced to big words, like IT, and evil. This IT, also called the Dark Thing, is striving to create a communist-type society where everyone conforms, down to the little children who bounce their balls in uniform rhythms and who live in cutter-box houses.

I liked Meg in the beginning, she was a believable character, filled with her own problems, and I really wanted for things to work out for her. But when she went on her journey, and especially since she got to that dreadful communist planet, she got hysterical. She did not “say” anything for half of the book--she yelled, gasped, screamed, cried, etc. She got ticked off at everyone for everything.

Then there might have been an indication that Charles Wallace was going to be a player, but he fizzled. There are constant references to him being special, but we never find out what was so special about him, besides putting a 30 year old into a 4 year old body and calling it “genius”. There was all this build-up for the confrontation between him and IT, but nothing happened. He looked at the guy, let him in, and became filled with ideas from Lenin himself.

Then there are worlds. These characters traveled to a planet that was described in three lines with beautiful flowers and a tall mountain. Then another planet is not described at all except to say that it was a winter wonderland type of a place. The residence of the Happy Medium was another planet where they were conveniently in a cave, and final stop was in a planet that was probably like Earth, except all we know about it is that it had rows of houses and tall buildings. There you have it--traveled all through the known Universe and have nothing to show for it. No imagination to describe and develop a world.

Then there are bizarre references to god/s that come out of nowhere, or in the oddest places, and disappear into nowhere. Characters are underdeveloped; scenes are not finished; worlds are left to themselves; theme is the fear of religious right of the communist left.

It's a caricature of evil, done perhaps in the belief that kids won't get it otherwise. There's not much in terms of a plot, the worlds described are paper-thin, and it shows no historical understanding, no outside knowledge.


More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie


Book Details:

Title A Wrinkle in Time (Time #1)
Author Madeleine L'Engle
Reviewed By Purplycookie

A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet #1), Madeleine L'Engle

A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel written by American writer Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1962. It is the first book in L'Engle's Time Quintet series, which follows the Murry and O'Keefe families.

The book spawned two film adaptations, both by Disney: a 2003 television film directed by John Kent Harrison, and a 2018 theatrical film directed by Ava DuVernay.

One night, thirteen-year-old Meg Murry meets an eccentric new neighbor, Mrs. Whatsit, who refers to something called a tesseract.

She later finds out it is a scientific concept her father was working on before his mysterious disappearance.

The following day, Meg, her child genius brother Charles, and fellow schoolmate Calvin visit Mrs. Whatsit's home, where the equally strange Mrs. Who and the unseen voice of Mrs. Which promise to help Meg find and rescue her father..

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «چین دادن زمان»؛ «چینی بر زمان»؛ «سفر شگفت انگیز»؛ نویسنده: مادلین ال اینگل؛ تاریخ خوانش: روز بیست و یکم ماه سپتامبر سال 2009میلادی

عنوان: چینی بر زمان؛ نویسنده: مادلین ال اینگل؛ مترجم: صدیقه ابراهیمی (فخار)؛ بی جا، مترجم، 1371؛ در 216ص؛ موضوع داستانهای نوجوانان از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م

عنوان: سفر شگفت انگیز؛ نویسنده: مادلین ال اینگل (لنگل)؛ مترجم: صدیقه ابراهیمی (فخار)؛ تهران، دستان، چاپ دوم 1381؛ در203ص؛ شابک9646555888؛

عنوان: چین دادن زمان؛ نویسنده: مادلین ال اینگل؛ مترجم: صدیقه ابراهیمی (فخار)؛ تهران، کاروان، کتابهای لوک، 1388؛ در240ص؛ شابک9789641750833؛

بـُعد پنجم همچون بعدهای: طول، عرض، ارتفاع، و زمان، بعد دیگری از دنیای ماست، اگر بـُعد پنجم را بشناسیم، میتوانیم فواصل طولانی چندین سال نوری را، در چند دقیقه میانبر بزنیم؛ خانم «چیستان (میسز واتزایت)»، «کیستان (میسز ویچ)» و «کدام (میسز هو)»، سه پیرزن عجیب، در خانه‌ ای به نام خانه ی دیوها زندگی می‌کنند؛ آنها به ظاهر ترسناک هستند، زیرا لباس‌هایی شبیه جادوگرها می‌پوشند؛ اما «چارلز» باور دارد، که آنها می‌دانند پدرش کجاست؛ در یک شب توفانی و تاریک، این سه پیرزن عجیب، همراه با «چارلز» و خواهرش «مارگریت»، و دوستشان «کالوین»، راهی سفری دور و دراز بین سیارات دوردست می‌شوند، تا پدر «چارلز» را پیدا کنند، و از آن مهم‌تر دنیا را نجات دهند؛ در داستان علمی-تخیلی حاضر شرح این سفر به تصویر واژه های خیال انگیز کشیده شده است

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 08/10/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 13/07/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

Have you ever read a book and felt that you were missing something?

Yep, that’s me with A Wrinkle in Time.

Confession time: there were many parts of this book that made me giggle. Starting with the first line: It was a dark and stormy night. Then, the mention of stew. One member of my family thinks that stew is ew, and “stew” was mentioned six times in this relatively short book. Finally, the mention of IT. Trust me. I hate going to IT.

I was able to follow the plot—it seems relatively straightforward. However, the symbolism was lost on me (other than I know that there was some religious symbolism). A Wrinkle in Time makes me want to locate someone smarter than myself and ask them to explain it to me.

At the beginning of A Wrinkle in Time, the author said that children get this book and adults do not. Maybe I am overthinking it?

A Wrinkle in Time is a fast-paced fantasy novel. In my opinion, it was a little too fast-paced especially in the beginning where we are introduced to a deluge of characters. It was also a bit too focused on world building instead of on plot.

2025 Reading Schedule
JantA Town Like Alice
FebtBirdsong
MartCaptain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
AprtWar and Peace
MaytThe Woman in White
JuntAtonement
JultThe Shadow of the Wind
AugtJude the Obscure
SeptUlysses
OcttVanity Fair
NovtA Fine Balance
DectGerminal

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I have one general, self-imposed rule about reviewing on this site: I write about the books I've read in the order I've finished them. By that logic, I should be cobbling together my reaction to Hunger right now but I am so taken by this childhood staple that there's no room in my brain for anything other than uncontrollable glee over this book that another Madeleine has given to the world.

I never read this book as a kid. I didn't read it as a teenager or a college student. I read it for the first time with 30 coming at me like a crazed stalker who won't let a pesky thing like a restraining order stand in the way. And that did concern me, especially after half-heartedly slogging through the first four books comprising the Narnia Chronicles a few years ago before taking an indefinite break from tackling what should have been another enthusiastically remembered staple of a young reader's diet. I was afraid that I'd completely missed out on enjoying A Wrinkle in Time, a novel that I have heard praised up and down by so many people as the prime example of how good children's literature can be.

So I read it like I read as a wee lass who didn't realize that she was poised at the very beginning of what would become a lifelong pursuit of books fueled by an insatiable need to keep reading. I read well past my bedtime with one tiny light illuminating the path to somewhere magically transportive, knowing full well that the bookworm gratification far outweighed the inevitability of being a zombie all morning. I read it when I should have been doing something else as dictated by responsibility. I read to be told a story and to consider ideas I'd never come across in the world beyond two covers, sure, but mostly I read to give myself up to a writer's lush landscape, to lose myself in someone else's words. I read it to let my imagination run free through a universe I fervently and fruitlessly wished to be a part of.

And my adult self was just as enchanted as my inner child was. Sure, A Wrinkle in Time has its faults but I honestly couldn't tell you what they are because I was so thoroughly entertained, so taken with these characters I couldn't believe I could relate to in a way that was far less remote and removed than I expected (which is to say, at all) that all the things my nitpicky, pretentious post-English-major self would usually hone in on paled in comparison to the sheer enjoyment of the rush of letting a book completely suck me into its world to the point where the real world could have collapsed around me and I wouldn't've either cared or noticed because I was so wrapped up in this story.

On one hand, yeah, I do feel a little cheated that so much of what I needed to hear as a kid has lived within these pages all this time and I could have had such imperatives by my side to ease the pains of childhood's harsh but necessary learning experiences had I just shown even a fraction of some interest in this book. Among them: One's parents are not infallible. Weaknesses can become strengths -- nay, tools integral to besting some truly harrowing obstacles -- in the right circumstances. That sometimes you have to face down scary or unpleasant truths, and you're not excused from looking away or backing down just because the task ahead is either scary or unpleasant. It's better to embrace your individuality and not compromise yourself, no matter how uncomfortable you are in your own skin, than to mindlessly submit to the herd mentality and easy conformity. Just because something appears strange doesn't make it bad -- or all that strange at its core, after all. What things are is infinitely more important than what they look like.

But conversely? This book drenched my ordinary existence with fantasy's magic for a few days, and I'm sure it'll stick with me in the days to come. My first encounter with this book wasn't a foggily but fondly recalled childhood memory that's destined to be tarnished by the darkening cynicism of the years upon revisits from my older self. I got to experience the breathless wonder of a kid discovering an instant favorite for that very first time as an oasis of sheer escapist rapture in the face of a few intense work days and the humdrum nature of routine adulthood. And it proved to me that I don't always have to be such a goddamn snob about kid lit because when it's good, it is extraordinary. (And, really, let's be honest: Younger Me wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the tool shed, so who's to say I would have picked up on the more subtle elements that made this such a delightful read, anyway?)

Despite my natural inclination toward hyperbole, I am not exaggerating when I say I'm a little better for having read this book, one that I initially arrived at out of dubious curiosity and left in a state of giddy, childlike awe. And maybe a few tears.

An evil darkness consuming the universe, and three little children determined to stop it.

In a little cozy home, in the midst of a lovely gardened area, lives the Murry family. A scientist mother, a distant father on a secret mission, two overprotective twins, the little and enigmatic Charles Wallace, and the ever troublesome Meg.

A storm presages the dangers to come. The Darkness, the evil Black Thing threatens to swallow the Earth and everyone in it, among other worlds and universes already corrupted by its malevolent presence. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin, a fellow schoolmate, embark on a desperate mission through several worlds to try to find their lost father, and, maybe, just maybe, save a small part of the universe.

An enjoyable read, simple, endearing, and weird! Not exactly recommendable, but good enough to hold interest. The first of five moderately short books.

-----------------------------------------------
n  PERSONAL NOTEn:
[1962] [218p] [Fantasy] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------

★★★★☆  1. A Wrinkle in Time
★★★☆☆  2. A Wind in the Door

-----------------------------------------------

Una malévola oscuridad que consume universos, y tres pequeñs niños determinados a detenerla.

En una pequeña y acogedora casa, en el medio de una area hermsamente cultivada, vive la familia Murry. Una madre científica, un padre distante en una misión secreta, dos mellizos sobreprotectores, el pequeño y enigmático Charles Wallace, y la siempre problemática Meg.

Una tormenta es el presagio de peligros por venir. La Oscuridad, la Maldad Negra, amenaza con tragarse la Tierra y a todos en ella, entre otros mundos y universos ya corrompidos por su malévola presencia. Meg, Charles Wallace y Calvin, un compañero de la escuela, se embarcan en una misión desesperada a través de diversos mundos para tratar de encontrar a su padre perdido y, tal vez, sólo tal vez, salvar una pequeña parte del universo.

Una lectura pasable, simple, tierna, y extraña! No exactamente recomendable, pero lo suficientemente buena como para mantener el interés. El primero de cinco libros medianamente cortos.

-----------------------------------------------
n  NOTA PERSONALn:
[1962] [218p] [Fantasía] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------

Anybody else read it with this cover?



I did. 1986, I was in 6th grade, and it was assigned to us by our teacher.
This book changed my world. Or at least, my reading world.
Welcome to sci-fi, kid!
I have no idea how many times I've read this story, but as a child, I read it so much that this awesome cover eventually fell off. Just so many great memories of these characters make it is easily my favorite childhood novel.

After doing a re-read of it this year, I have to say it holds up pretty well for a book that was written in 1962. One of the things that help it age so decently is that L'Engle didn't have much in it that could age it. No brand names, no popular trends, no references to any politics of the day. The only stuff that really let you know you were reading a book written in the '60s was Calvin saying things like Golly! unironically or Charles Wallace being disrespectful by calling his father Pops.

It's a very simple story that I read in just under 2 hours, but I remember it being complex enough when I was younger. I think it hits all the right points for a kid who feels out of place and weird, and didn't we all feel out of place and weird at that age?
Yes. Yes, we did.

The only thing I was less excited about this time around were all the religious references, but the book is what it is, and you just kind of have to accept that God is a big theme in this and move on if you want to enjoy it. It's not too preachy, so there's that.

Will kids today like it? I'm trying to get mine to read it now, so ask me again in 6 months.

But I'd been putting off re-reading this thing for 20 plus years and was pleasantly surprised that it was still such a charming story.
Highly Recommended...for nostalgia.

So 41 of my goodreads friends have read A Wrinkle in Time, but I never picked up the book until these past few weeks. I’m not sure how this novel and I slipped past each other in my youth. I’m guessing that since the main character was a girl I wasn’t that interested in middle school and when I grew older the science fiction elements didn’t appear strong enough to snag my interest. Oh well. Last weekend I bought A Wrinkle in Time at a Borders near the Seattle airport. I wanted the novel to get me through the grueling twelve hour journey (whoo, flight delays and pre-dawn connecting flights!) home, and I thank Ms. L’Engle for the perfect story for early hour near-hallucinatory reading in the middle of the Minneapolis International promenade.

What makes this book so good? First off, A Wrinkle in Time works under the assumption that kids are smart enough either to grasp the nuances of some fairly deep physics or, if they don’t get every detail, they’ll flow with the storyline anyway. One woman I know said, “I didn’t understand all the science when I was a kid but I still loved it.” That makes sense to me. Hell, I didn’t understand all the science now, and I’m (supposedly) a grown-up. L’Engle doesn’t just say, “And then they traveled time.” She tries to explain how time travel might work. I wonder if so many kids, especially girls, liked this novel because they felt L’Engle respected them as intelligent readers.

Second, A Wrinkle in Time frames Meg’s personality as multi-faceted and more complex than just about any I’ve encountered in YA literature. In fact, reading this novel I couldn’t help but consider her a template on which some more modern coming-of-age characters (think Harry Potter) were modeled. She’s brave but doubts her own strength in an tangible, authentic manner. And her relationship with Calvin is sweet without getting all High School Musical.

Third, the evil in this novel is damn scary and the darkness pure and substantial. We’re talking elemental, unadulterated evil that manifests itself in the fear and conformity of those who break down in its presence. And the characters’ encounters with this evil feel real. The climatic scenes are perhaps slightly too swift but the nuances of the battle fit well with a remarkably philosophical (and Christian, but in a positive way) resolution of good and evil’s conflict.

If my friends’ reviews are any indication a lot of smart girls who turned into strong, intelligent women grew up under the spell of A Wrinkle in Time. I feel like I know them a little better after reading this novel, and I can see them all, around age ten, turning the book’s pages in their rooms, feeling their own strength and potential. And that’s damn cool, really, don’t you think, a whole generation of girls reading A Wrinkle in Time? Maybe little girls across America are googling “tesseract” as we speak…

Am I the first living 64 year old who had never read this book- until now - March, 2017.
that is?

Random Thoughts ....
.....I was surprised to discover this story was about a little GIRL --not a WIZARD.
.....I was more surprised that Meg, 13 years old, had three other siblings... two twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys, and a younger brother, Charles Wallace Murray, who is a child prodigy.....with parents who were scientist. THERE IS A REAL FAMILY -WITH REAL PEOPLE in this book! NOT SURE WHY THIS SURPRISED ME!
.....I'm thinking "HOT DAMN, I might like this story".... and my daughters might have.... but as far as I know .... they missed reading this one too.
Heck, the first page was 'great' - the first sentence was 'classic-great': "It was a dark and stormy night".
What child doesn't perk up to hear a story with those first words?

So....I continue reading 'remembering' that not long ago 'ELLIE' praised this book SO HIGHLY ....as her FAVORITE children's book ( she and I both have passion for the Velveteen Rabbit)....that I KNEW I HAD TO FINALLY READ IT. I bought a used copy at my recycle bookstore for a dollar. THANK YOU ELLIE!!!!! :) whew...I'm glad I didn't miss this gem!!! I loved the characteristics of the kids and adults....each unique in their own ways.

.....What creative names for characters: Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Witch.... 'charming supernatural neighbors'. .....as well as the lovely Aunt Beast.

The three *W* women escort Meg, Charles, and another boy, Calvin O'Keefe. from Meg's school --through the universe by means of SCI FI UNIVERSE TRANSPORTATION-- "tesseract" - A fifth dimensional phenomenon-- ET hasn't phoned home yet.....on a mission to rescue Meg and Charles father. Meg, and the Mrs. W's all agree that the mysterious disappearance of the father is very strange and has something to do with the term "tesseract". After all he is a scientist and was working on a project before his disappearance.

The Trio W-women and children travel through the universe and visit different planets - a utopian world- with creatures disguised as humans. First they bump into evil... then they are taken to a woman to look through a crystal ball. The children are learning that there is both evil and good in the world. They see much darkness through that crystal ball down here on planet earth. They also see that artist's, and philosophers, and religious folks are fighting against the evil.
AT THIS POINT IF I WERE A CHILD - I WOULD HAVE QUESTIONS --
THE CHILD ME WOULD ASK: "well, my daddy died--[I was 4]. I'd want to know if he left me because he got tired of all the fighting on earth--and since I've always wondered since the day he died -- not knowing what the hell that meant -- if he was coming back soon --- and could I go on the mission with Meg and bring my daddy back home too?" This book might have scared me as a child -- I would have needed a tender adult reading it with me.

ON WITH THIS STORY:
They soon travel to a planet called Camazotz.... where they find Meg's father: trapped!
The planet is being controlled by an evil brain and with powerful telepathic abilities- called "IT".
This story begins to gets MORE SCARY..... I would have been on the edge of my seat. Note: I don't read much science fiction - but the children are threatened by the possibility of their minds being controlled through a telepathic takeover.

Whew..... laughing ....I was exhausted by the end.....OF COURSE IT HAS A HAPPY ENDING....
I HATE that felt like crying in this children's book! I hate all you people who told me it's a must read .....because for this girl it WAS!!!!!! I LOVED IT!!! - you mean people!!!

I love believing there is GOOD in the world .. so why am I sad?


A special appreciation to the Goodreads community-- I might never have read this book without all the the LOVE & EXPRESSION for this children's classic! Thank you!

What can I say about a book that is hailed as one of the greatest pieces of fiction of all time? Nothing. I really can't. I will not disrespect this book by saying anything negative about it. I think my opinions about this book may have changed over the years, but that by no means makes this a poor read. Instead of being critical about the book, I am going to celebrate it with some of my favorite quotes from this book:

“Like and equal are not the same thing at all.”
(No wonder this book is considered to be allegorical! Definitely some political innuendo there..)

“Have you ever tried to get to your feet with a sprained dignity?”

“A book, too, can be a star, “explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly,” a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.

“If we knew ahead of time what was going to happen we’d be—we’d be like the people on Camazotz, with no lives of our own, with everything all planned and done for us.”

And for my absolute favorite quote:

“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. - Mrs. Whatsit”

This book is a masterpiece. However, it simply didn't resonate with my older self as it had with my younger self. With that said, I can still recognize this for what it was: A book ahead of its time that was extremely controversial. It has seen much success and has been exulted by fans everywhere.

First, understand that I am editing this review after several outraged responses. I knew that "Wrinkle" was considered to be a classic, but I was unaware that it was considered a Beloved Classic Beyond Criticism. I read this in grade school and just REread it aloud, to my daughter. I didn't have a clear memory of it, though I remember that I loved the way it started. Now I realize why I forgot so much of it. I STILL love the first 3 chapters, and dislike the rest. But since some of you found (and WILL find, I'm sure) my review to be judgmental, harsh and undiplomatic (a review IS a critique, right?) to the point of insulting, I thought I'd do a little research, look over the book again, think about it some more. So I've edited this review. But I find I just can't retract my statements. They are my opinion, that's all, and I haven't changed my mind. I can only try to be open minded, be honest, and try to explain my thoughts & feelings more clearly. Otherwise, I'd be a simpering fake.

Like C.S. Lewis books (especially the last of his Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle), A Wrinkle In Time has strong, (heavy-handed, I think), overtones of Christian doctrine. I'm not anti-spiritual, but I have a personal discomfort with this kind of religious doctrine. (You many not, and that's fine.) But more than that issue, the book is an odd combination of intelligent hard science, interesting quantum science that is brushed over, and quotes from the bible. At least there are a few respectful mentions of other spiritual leaders from other cultures, and moral messages from classic literature and philosophers. I understand this combination garnered criticism from both religious fundamentalists as well as atheists and secular society. L'Engle has earned my respect for taking on the difficult and controversial marriage of science and religion. She has also earned my criticism for raising this issue and then failing to really grapple with it. It's treated lightly, as though it's a natural thing that should be easy to accept, in spite of the many holes and inconsistencies in her story. I wouldn't even mind, except that this book takes itself SO seriously! It's easy to imagine that a school teacher might use this book to demonstrate that Evolutionist Theory and Creationism can be combined, but I find science and religion to have a disjointed and uneasy coexistence in this book. One is always dropped abruptly for the other. Or at least, it seems so to me.

Ok. Now that I have tackled that big one, let's move on. I found the characters rather flat, (the genius child, the misfit girl, the beautiful, genius, scientist mother who nonetheless stays home and cooks stew in bunsen burners while her husband has adventures). The story itself is made up of vague scenarios of conflict of the psyche and spirit, with the entire Universe at stake. L'Engle's metaphors are obvious and their manifestations flat. [SPOILER ALERT] There is a quest to fight a "Darkness" (oooh!) that wants to rid us all of individuality & free will. There are 3 beings who used to be stars before they died in the fight with the "Darkness" and became something beyond our comprehension. They can appear in any form to us, so that we have some way of processing their existence. They are, in fact, so beyond anything knowable that I can't feel much for them or say much about them, except that they make a convenient plot device for transporting the characters throughout the Universe and the story. Anyway, the "Darkness" takes over a planet which turns into a kind of sci-fi beehive, with brainwashed automatons. I found the planet to be delightfully creepy and would have liked to know more about it, (even if it seems suspiciously like a thinly veiled anti-communist warning message.) So guess what's doing the brainwashing? - a giant, evil, disembodied brain, called IT, who is personally responsible for spreading the Darkness across the Universe. Really? A brain? Doesn't anyone else find this simplistic and cliche? The main character defeats this brain by gushing love. I am quite sure that many, many readers were moved to tears by Meg's gushing, but I do not happen to be that kind of person. Before Meg realizes that she has the power to gush love, the crusaders tesser through time and space (no explanation of how the father can do this) to a fascinating planet with very interesting aliens who can't see, but have other senses. I'd have loved to know more about their society and these mysterious other senses, but again, these ideas aren't very developed.

These are the things in this book, and in L'Engle's writing that I love: As I mentioned, I love her courage in at least attempting a controversial issue like mixing science and spirituality. I love that this book has the heart to recognize love as the greatest power, and that it has the wisdom to recognize fear as one of the biggest weapons. I love that individuality prevails, and the romantic in me approves of the loving, whole family. I love that she has enough respect for children that she included difficult vocabulary and a few difficult concepts. Many children are far more capable of handling complex ideas than we give them credit for, especially if we expose them to these things early on. I love that L'Engle doesn't underestimate them in this way, at least initially, on the surface. Since my biggest problems with this book all involve my finding it simplistic, naive, and certain parts of it cliche & obvious, I wonder if I need to remind myself that it's meant for children. Perhaps children should be idealistic, or even naive, in the way that this book is. But then I wonder if that is another way of underestimating them. ESPECIALLY since I felt exactly the same way when I read this book as a child!

Wind In The Willows makes me feel closer to God, or a creative power (though there's some gushing in there too, at the end.) The Jungle Book explores social constructs and morals, more deeply and naturally, for me. A Sound Of Thunder blew my mind, in grade school, with its "butterfly effect" theory of the power and responsibility of each individual. All of these are childrens' books, though they span generations, and time and space, more gracefully than tessering did for me. I could name so many more.

But, if A Wrinkle In Time opened your mind to new ideas, (instead of making you feel frustrated by light treatment of them), made you question some latent prejudice, (instead of feeling bored by obvious metaphors), lifted your spirits & made you cheer for bookish outcasts, (instead of feeling that no one is that one-dimensional) or cry for the love of a big sister & little brother, (instead of cringing when a version of "I love you Charles Wallace" appears 19 times in 2 pages), then it is a wonderful book. For you.