“The truth is, I’m not a fan of science fiction, and my math and physics gene has always been weak. But there’s plenty in the book for those of us predisposed toward the humanities as well.”
- Introduction by  Anna Quindlen

Hmm… Ms. Quindlen’s introduction to this book is—on the whole—not bad, but the above passage traveled deeply up my nose. The implication seems to be that sci-fi is generally lacking in humanities, when in fact sci-fi, at its best, is one of the most humane genres of fiction. A further implication (or my further inference) is that this book is “sci-fi for people who don’t like sci-fi”. If you don’t like sci-fi, it is quite alright, no need to struggle so hard to like some of it!

Ah! Enough with the grumpy intro, this is a delightful book after all. A Wrinkle in Time is generally considered a classic sci-fi book and often appears in “all-time great sci-fi” list, though “science fantasy” seems to be a more appropriate description given the many fantastical elements with no real science behind them. The narrative is mostly seen through the eyes of Meg Merry, a rather temperamental thirteen-year-old girl who has trouble fitting in at school. Her father, a scientist working for the government disappeared some years ago while on a secret assignment. Meg lives with her mother (also a scientist), her twin brothers and the youngest brother, Charles Wallace Murry, a genius generally mistaken for mentally handicapped as he prefers not to speak to most people.


A Wrinkle in Time is basically about Meg and Charles’ quest to find and rescue their father from wherever he is. They are aided by three weird old ladies, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, who are possibly extraterrestrial, or perhaps celestial. This involves interstellar travel by “Tessering”, a word derived from the geometrical term tesseract, folding the fabric of space and time to jump across light years; a little like hyperspace travel or taking shortcuts through wormholes. En route they come across many strange beings, including the three old ladies in their true forms, eventually they wind up on a bizarre and dreadful planet Camazotz, where conformity is king, and they have to confront “IT”, to rescue their father.

I kind of regret not having read A Wrinkle in Time in my early teens, I would have gotten the most out of it then. This book was written specifically for children, in a style that they will find accessible and enjoyable. Reading it as an adult I felt a little alienated from it, always feeling conscious that I am too far outside the target demographic. I don’t think this is a book “for all ages”, and rightly so, that is what children’s books are for. No point spoiling the book by making some subtle adult references that go over the children’s heads.

Having said that, I would be dishonest if I rated the book at five stars when I was not able to get the most out of it. The star rating is merely a reflection of my enjoyment of the book, not the book’s actual worth. For me, the planet Camazotz is the most interesting invention in this book, a rather surreal dystopian nightmarish landscape. The three “old ladies” are interesting characters but the children and their parents are drawn in rather broad strokes and I could not relate to them (though I suppose young readers will like them better than I do). The climax and the ending feel a bit rushed and not as exciting as I anticipated. I do like how  Madeleine L’Engle has woven in the theme of individuality, though, the main characters are all a little unusual in some ways but they have to learn to treasure their uniqueness rather than feel frustrated at being outside the norm. I also appreciate that the book nicely communicates to children that things are often not what they seem. There is often beauty behind surface ugliness and vice versa.

I would definitely recommend A Wrinkle in Time to children; that is a no brainer. If you have kids, give them a copy! As for my adult GR friends, I would recommend it if you don’t mind reading an unabashedly children’s book, certainly it would be great to read along with your children.

Notes:
• For me, the main impetus to read this book now is the forthcoming  new film adaptation. The trailer looks pretty good.
n  n

• Check out this hilarious (yet educational) “Thug Notes” video review.


• Coming back to the idea of “sci-fi for people who don’t like sci-fi”, what if you do like sci-fi? It depends on what kind of sci-fi you like. If your idea of good sci-fi is in the vein of Clarke /Asimov /Heinlein /PKD /Herbert, I don’t think A Wrinkle in Time would be quite the thing for you. It is more akin to C.S. Lewis’  Out of the Silent Planet, it even has some religious undertone, though less overt.

Quotes:
“We don’t travel at the speed of anything,” Mrs. Whatsit explained earnestly. “We tesser. Or you might say, we wrinkle.”

“We are all happy because we are all alike. Differences create problems.”

“I don’t understand it any more than you do, but one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.”

“Matter and energy are the same thing, that size is an illusion, and that time is a material substance. We can know this, but it’s far more than we can understand with our puny little brains.”


Mrs. Whatsit by mheuston

I reread this for the Classics for Beginners group read via the Audible audiobook narrated by Hope Davis. The audio format was a good idea. I was able to do other things and still experience the story again as an adult. While it definitely feels of the time period it was written, it didn't feel that dated to me. I will divide my comments into sections because that seems like a good approach for this book.

Characters

The characterization is in my opinion the focus of this novel. The main characters include Meg Murry, her younger brother Charles Wallace, Calvin O'Keefe, a slightly older boy that goes to Meg's school, and the mysterious Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. Secondary characters include Meg's mother and father and brothers, and the various beings that they encounter on their journey.

Meg's characterization is complicated. At times she is unlikable because she tends to be moody and somewhat whiny. This is understandable, to a great degree, considering how her father disappeared and she misses him, and also her awkwardness as a person. Meg is brilliant when it comes to mathematics, but her social abilities are lacking.

Calvin is a character that balances Meg in very good ways. Calvin is a young man of words and communication. His ability to get along with everyone is crucial on their journey. He is able to understand people and talk to them on their level. And he's a very humane person. He takes the time to understand that brilliant people often don't bother with.

Charles Wallace is a special young boy. His intelligence is off the charts, frankly eerie. This never explained. However, his unique persona is at the crux of this novel. The great evil that they encounter happily tries to exploit his specialness for its own purpose.

Mrs. Whatsit, Who and Which are strange ladies that Charles Wallace and Meg become acquainted with, and help them on their journey to find their father. They seem like eccentric women but they are so much more. The relationship that Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin develops with them is one of loving support.

Meg's mother Katherine was not in this book very much. I wish we had seen her viewpoint more, but that wasn't the goal of the author. Meg's father Alexander plays a bigger role, but he is more ancillary compared to the three kids. He is their motivation and he's the catalyst for the story. The two twins Sandy and Dennys are used more as a contrast to Meg and Charles Wallace, because they are the relentlessly normal offspring in the family.

The evil beings in this novel are nebulous, not really explained, but definitely threatening. I think there are some very philosophical aspects that go alone with the concept of evil in this story that will attempt to delve into shortly.

There's another character that I can't get into without spoiling this review, so I will just say that Meg encounters a being who becomes a bit of an analogue for her mother and father. She connects to this being and gets a necessary sense of acceptance and caring that she hasn't experienced for some time due to the situation of her father being gone, her mother also being a scientist and having three other brothers with which she has to share attention.

Plot/Storyline:

This is a science fiction novel with a healthy dose of philosophy and a debatable aspect of religion/spirituality. That last part would depend on a person's viewpoint on the subject. Meg and Charles Wallace are essentially on a journey to find their father, and Calvin comes along for the ride. They travel to other worlds using the concept of tessering. This is something that Meg's mother and father stumbled across, but the Mrs. W know a lot more about doing right. Because this book is written for a younger audience (late tweens to teens), the danger that the kids encounter is there but it's not illustrated in detail. Nevertheless, you get the idea how dire the situation is for the kids.

Themes/Philosophy:

"A Wrinkle in Time" is a novel about family, sacrifice, relationships, and the concepts of good versus evil. I will attempt to explain what I got out of the novel, probably imperfectly.

Being intelligent is a valued commodity. I think that L'Engle seems to want to say that being smart in and of itself brings along with it some challenges and doesn't protect a person from its consequences or solve all the problems that they might have to deal with in their lives. I believe this is well-illustrated through the struggles of Meg, Charles Wallace, and her mom and dad. Dad might be brilliant, but his brilliance alone cannot save Charles Wallace. Mom might be a brilliant microbiologist, but it doesn't mean she is any less lonely or doesn't struggle with being the sole caregiver to a young family of four children. Meg might be a math genius, but it doesn't make her excel in school or get along better with others. On the other hand, Calvin is a well-balanced person who is intelligent in his way, but also has emotional intelligence and is gifted with needed communication skills.

Meg shows how we must conquer our fears and do what needs doing in spite of them. Sometimes we go into situations knowing we are out of our depth, but this is inevitable. We have to just be present and do what needs doing, and if we're blessed that's enough. Meg also illustrates how we can strike out in our pain at others because of our suffering. With maturity comes the understanding that we all have struggles, and hurting others because we're in pain never achieves what we desire. She learns to temper her fears and frustrations and to focus on the goals and objective. I think that's a very good lesson for people of all ages.

Charles Wallace shows the cost of arrogance. He thought that because he was crazy intelligent and very unique, that would be all he needed to conquer the enemy, but it only got him into a worse situation. Arrogance can definitely write checks that we can't cash.

The concepts of spirituality are present in this novel. Many times, characters quote Bible verses. The true nature of some of the character makes me think of celestial and demonic beings. The theme of self-sacrifice, agape love, and sacrificial love is at the heart of Christian ethos. I don't think anyone could deny that these definitely point to the Christian faith of the author L'Engle. However, she doesn't force a telescopic view of the world through Christian theology on the reader. She cites and includes some philosophic concepts that more orthodox-thinking Christians would have a hard time with. She doesn't put Christians on a higher level in society than non-Christians who have also made important contributions. Also, science is a big part of this novel. On a personal level, I didn't find a belief in scientific concepts incongruous with spiritual belief, but this is not the case with fundamentalist Christian believers. For that reason, they would not like this book. Also, narrow thinking Christians won't like the idea that the Mrs. seem like kindly old witches.

Some Shortcomings of This Novel:

I would still give this five stars because I still love this book and it's also from nostalgia of when I read it many years ago. Meg's temper tantrums could be problematic. Also, there is a scene where Charles Wallace is very violent towards his sister that might be upsetting to some readers. The conclusion is a bit too abrupt for my tastes, quite honestly. I've found that to be the case with many books I've read lately. I said earlier in this book that it doesn't feel that dated. I'm sort of wrong in the sense that the concepts of family are very traditional. Meg feels like she can't go on without having her father's presence (as though he is a lodestar for his family). That in itself is not a bad thing, but modern readers who didn't grow up with this sort of family probably wouldn't connect to this. Also, when they go to Camazotz, it feels like "Leave it to Beaver" on steroids. Very traditional, 1950s sort of view of life. There is no allusion whatsoever to multiculturalism or the concept that all families don't look the same. I did like how L'Engle makes a point that this sort of societal design is sterile and kills any kind of ingenuity or joy of living.

Is This Science Fiction?:

That's a question that will inevitably come up for a reader. I think it definitely is science fiction. Google defines science fiction as: "fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets." Under this definition, it would be difficult to argue against this being a science fiction novel. A huge aspect of this novel is the concept of physics and using it to navigate through 'wrinkles' in time. Also, the book involves traveling to other planets and exploring what life on those planets would be like. Also how advanced science technologies would change life as we know it. The thing that might trip up some readers is the equally strong aspect of philosophy to this story. I don't think these two things are mutually exclusive. In fact, they can go hand in hand. Good versus evil is at the root of most good fiction. And this is played out endlessly in everyday life. Sometimes, it's subtle. Many of us can argue that we don't meet truly evil people, but when you do encounter evil, you always know it deep in your gut. If you haven't read this book, you should decide for yourself and let me know what you think of it as a science fiction book.

I would recommend this book to readers who haven't had a chance to explore this book. I liked the audiobook version. Hope Davis is a good narrator, and she acquits herself well in styling each character. Many years after my first reading, it's still one of my favorites.

I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but I did not think this was a great book. I realize I'm just now reading a book you've all loved for years, so I feel bad knocking something that's such a classic in children's literature. But honestly, it was a drag to read, and I'll tell you why. The characters are all either boring (Meg, Calvin) or unbelievable (Charles Wallace). The non-Earth settings are fully disconnected from each other and simply parodies of our world. The pacing is painful, with conversations that drag on and on while the characters discuss the obvious. I rarely found the writing clever or charming, but I did enjoy the plentiful quotations of other works (maybe because it was a break from L'Engle's writing), and I liked the part where Mrs. Whatsit sprained her dignity. If you want clever, read Snicket; if you want human, read Rowling; if you want epic, read Tolkien; if you want mind-bending, read Verne; if you want funny, read White or Cleary. I was looking for these things here but couldn't find them.

4.5 stars!!

“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.”

This was my favorite book as a child, in fact I devoured the entire quintet throughout my tween awkward years. I remembered I had loved the book, but aside from a few random details, I found I barely remembered what happened. In fact, I read it so long ago, this was my copy:



Okay, so I’m not THAT old, my mom just bought a lot of books from the local used book store. I read too fast for her to keep up with me, normally it was just library books growing up. Anyways, I digress.

A Wrinkle in Time is about a young girl named Meg, she’s very awkward, has many faults (according to herself) and feels like an outcast. The only people she really finds a comfort with are her scientist mother, and her odd brother Charles Wallace. Meg’s father had also gone missing about two years ago, and while the town suspects he ran off with another woman, Meg and her family know this not to be true.

On a stormy evening, Meg and Charles Wallace receive a visitor, the peculiar Mrs. Whatsit. From there, Meg and Charles Wallace, along with a boy named Calvin, get whisked away in a journey to rescue their father. But they must travel through time and space to do so, and face a terrifying darkness to get him back.

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

First off, I have to say, with the few exceptions this book really stands the test of time. It’s not dated at all, and except for the mention of a typewriter, this book could take place during any decade. It’s so rare to read a book written in the 1960’s that’s like that, so a solid kudos to the author.

One thing I’ve always loved about the story is Meg, and the idea that she’s not a perfect heroine, and that’s what makes her the hero of the story. It portrays that even though we have faults, sometimes our faults can be our advantage, and that fitting in with everyone else isn’t always the best thing for a society. I love that we have an “ordinary” heroine, who is expected to do extraordinary things, even though she’s not the smartest of the bunch.

It’s a bit obvious, being when this book is written, there are some subtext about the dangers of communism. The evil IT and how it makes everyone and everything the same, or else. I think with this subtext, it also portrays how important it is to be an individual and to make up one's own mind. In a way, this book is very relevant even present day. To fight against what’s wrong and not succumb to forces who want their definition of perfection.

Once I was able to put my mind to it, I was able to devour this book in a matter of hours. It’s a very fast read and one I believe all ages can and will enjoy.

“Like and equal are not the same thing at all.”


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5+++++ Stars!!!!

“A Wrinkle in Time”. How can I never have read this before??! Have I been living under a rock my entire life?

This was utterly DELIGHTFUL, Amazing, Funny, Scary, Brilliant & Crazy Bold. In short, I loved it. Ok, and I admit, I didn’t read it. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Hope Davis - and she was amazing. That being said, thank you Madeiline L’Engle, - “A Wrinkle in TIme” was mystical, magical and nothing short of fantastical.

Thirteen year-old Meg Murry and her little brother, Charles Wallace end up going on a little trip.. (without their Mum or their siblings), to the 5th dimension. Mind you, they don’t go alone. They go with Mrs. What-Its, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Witch and a young man named Calvin. Yes, the 5th dimension exists my friends and the trip takes a mere second or two (see, I knew it!). It’s a terrifying trip, yet they go nonetheless. Why do they go you ask? To find and save Meg’s father, a scientist, who has been trapped on Camazotz for years. With help of Calvin, Mrs. What’s Its, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Witch and a friend she encounters named Aunt Beast, Meg is sent off to do the impossible.

Camazotz is an evil planet however, and Camazotz is being controlled by “IT” (not Stephen King’s “IT” mind you), and IT controls everyone and everything and if IT gets control of you, there is no getting free. Finding the strength to fight IT takes something special. It takes something that is inside of everyone who is human. Meg just has to find it.

“A Wrinkle in Time” surprised me. I didn’t have any idea how much I would love it. It was amusing, frightening, intense, intelligent, oh so magical. I simply adored it. I wanted to get to it before the movie came out in a few months and I am so glad I did. If for some reason, you are like me and have never read it, I highly recommend you either read or listen to the audiobook. You will not be sorry. A Wrinkle in Time will leave you breathless. One minute a huge smile will break out on your face, and you will be grinning from ear to ear and then next you will be clenching your teeth, scared for Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin, hoping against hope that all will turn out ok.

Published on Goodreads, Amazon and Twitter on 10.15.17.

Huh . . . Well that was that.

I'm just not even sure what to think of this book. It was very unique - maybe too unique for my tastes. I just feel rather indifferent about it. :P

4/10/12 Okay, this is the longer review. The added bit follows the dashed line ---

I learned about this outstanding book and its brilliant author from
Catie’s wonderful review  and blog post. Yes, I should have known about it many years ago, but this was a gap in my experience. To make up for lost time, I now have the boxed-set series of 5 books for my family.

This is a wonderful adventure story for children - one that speaks to them as adults, and conveys a bundle of important life-concepts without getting weighed down by them.

It is also a great book for re-acquainting adults with the potentials of life - and the critical importance of faith - even as we deal with hard and often scary realities.

My review won’t be nearly as good as Catie’s - in part because she has read the book from both a child’s and an adult’s perspective, and in part because she just writes fabulous reviews (not to mention the artist renderings!). However, I will follow Catie's suggestion and focus mainly on my perspective as an adult, reading this for the first time.
-------------------------

At one level, this is a delightful - but harrowing - children’s adventure in a science fictional setting. The story is centered around a strong, smart girl named Meg, and her intuitively wise and precocious younger brother, Charles Wallace. The interplay between these two is a beautiful thing to see.

Charles Wallace: “It’s being able to understand a sort of language, like sometimes if I concentrate very hard I can understand the wind talking with the trees. You tell me, you see, sort of inad—inadvertently. That’s a good word, isn’t it? I got Mother to look it up in the dictionary for me.”

The narrative very cleverly promotes timeless values of family, loyalty and love. It also edges the reader toward a growing realization - that perseverance is critical to success in any difficult endeavor. It is the kind of book that you really want your kids to read and understand, and to come back to as they get older.

Meg: This has been the most impossible, the most confusing afternoon of my life, she thought, yet I don’t feel confused or upset anymore; I only feel happy. Why?

At another level this is a story for adults, but told from a child’s perspective. The adult story, when you step back and think about it, is a circle of ideas that are connected and interdependent. Within that circle are knowledge - what we know and what we don’t; reasoning to solve problems, even when you are too scared to think clearly; the importance of faith - that there are answers, even when you can’t see them; and a related kind of faith, that you can and must act without knowing some of the most critical facts.

Charles Wallace got his look of probing, of listening. I know that look! Meg thought suddenly. Now I think I know what it means! Because I’ve had it myself, sometimes, doing math with Father, when a problem is just about to come clear...

This is all grownup stuff, the sort of thing that philosophers have trundled on about for millennia. But the lessons here are concepts for living, simply stated, and at their core are simple truths that are easily lost in the day-to-day. We humans know a great deal, about a great many things, and (like Meg) we can reason our way through tough challenges to a brighter future. But arrogance about our knowledge can lead us to think we are masters of all around us. In the book, experiments with tesseracts are a great example. The experiments are in a noble cause, but they lead down a very dark path. In the bigger picture we know pathetically little, and all our knowledge is but a tiny scratch on the surface of what IS.

What she saw was only the game Mrs Whatsit was playing; it was an amusing and charming game, a game full of both laughter and comfort, but it was only the tiniest facet of all the things Mrs Whatsit could be.

And here is the critical point that is so well expressed in the narrative. We have to take our pathetically limited knowledge, and our dangerous arrogance, and get on with it. And when we fail, or things go wrong, we get angry and point fingers, just as Meg does here. As our brains scream about fears and anger, and point us in a lot of wrong directions, we have to pull ourselves together and move forward, using our limited working knowledge and accepting that we have to find answers as we go along. All of this involves faith, of different sorts and in shifting applications.

“What can I tell you that will mean anything to you? Good helps us, the stars help us, perhaps what you would call light helps us, love helps us. Oh, my child, I cannot explain! This is something you just have to know or not know.”

“You mean you’re comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but freedom within it?” “Yes.” Mrs Whatsit said. “You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.”

In short, all of us must proceed into the darkness and reach for the light. For me, reading as an adult, that is what this book was all about.

Very Highly Recommended.

3.5/5 stars

This took me SO LONG to read but was full of MEMZ. I really love the characters in this book and how weird it is, but it can also feel a bit *too* weird and random if that makes sense?
Overall some great life lessons and messages throughout, as I remembered from my CHILDHOOD.

Meg Murry and her friends and family become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.



As I'm reading the book I find myself surprised by the movie trailer... it's nothing like I'm imagining as I'm reading, which is weird. Not only is the family different, but the three women are nothing like in the book. I was surprised I recognized many sentences and metaphors in the story in other books. So far, Charles Wallace Murry is my favorite!



I found the trailer sort of pretentious, focusing more on effects and the three main actresses than the story and the children, it also focused on skin color and feminism more than the simple story, making a children book a cause, not for entertainment but to make a point. Enough is enough.



As for the story, it seems a story of faith and loss, and I'm not talking about Meg's father. I'm talking about the author, it seems like in its core the story holds a message. I guess that's why the author never liked her stories adapted into movies: they lost their meaning.

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! ❤

This was one of my very favorite books as a child. Loved it so much.

4★
“Meg looked up at her mother, half in loving admiration, half in sullen resentment. It was not an advantage to have a mother who was a scientist and a beauty as well. Mrs Murry’s flaming red hair, creamy skin, and violet eyes with long dark lashes, seemed even more spectacular in comparison with Meg’s outrageous plainness.”

Ah, poor Meg, convinced she is plain, not so much because of her beautiful mother as because of the popular girls at school who make fun of her. They are among those who have been spreading the gossip that Meg’s father ran off with someone and abandoned his family.

Meg knows he wouldn’t do that, and her mother refers to his eventually coming home. He worked for the government and was often away, so they believe he’s been delayed somehow, and Meg is determined to find out. She is independent and quite different from the other teens in her class.

Her little brother, Charles Wallace, didn’t speak during his earliest years and is considered stupid, but it’s obvious he is unusually perceptive, hyperalert to people’s thoughts and feelings.

“‘School awful again today?’ he asked after a while.

‘Yes. I got sent to Mr Jenkins. He made snide remarks about father.’

Charles Wallace nodded sagely. ‘I know.’

‘How do you know?’

Charles Wallace shook his head. ‘I can’t quite explain. You tell me, that’s all.’

‘But I never say anything. You just seem to know.’

‘Everything about you tells me,’ Charles said.”

The two of them have decided they will visit the local haunted house, because they are pretty sure they know who has been stealing sheets off the neighbours’ clotheslines. They walk through the woods one evening with their big dog, and as they near the haunted house, the dog begins to bark furiously.

Here is where we meet Calvin (who becomes our third musketeer, so to speak), who is a good-looking, popular athlete a couple of years ahead of Meg in school. Charles Wallace demands to know why he is at the haunted house. Calvin is escaping his family.

“‘I’m third from the top of eleven kids. I’m a sport.’

At that Charles Wallace grinned widely. ‘So ’m I.’

‘I don’t mean like in baseball,’ Calvin said.

‘Neither do I.’

‘I mean like in biology,’ Calvin said suspiciously.

‘A change in gene,’ Charles Wallace quoted, ‘resulting in the appearance in the offspring of a character which is not present in the parents but which is potentially transmissible to its offspring.’

‘What gives around here?’ Calvin asked. ‘I was told you couldn’t talk.’

‘Thinking I’m a moron gives people something to feel smug about,’ Charles Wallace said. ‘Why should I disillusion them?’”

Calvin goes on to explain he had a strong compulsion to come to this house. He said he doesn’t often feel like this, but when he does, he follows it. Charles Wallace can see that he and Calvin are on a similar wavelength, but he explains to Calvin that Meg is “not one thing or the other”, which annoys Meg, of course.

These are our three main characters. In the haunted house are three other characters, Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which, who start out sounding like fairy godmothers of old, but are much more interesting and complex. So is the story. These ‘women’ help the children find their way into another realm, travelling through space and time. Here they go.

“ Did the shadow fall across the moon or did the moon simply go out, extinguished as abruptly and completely as a candle? There was still the sound of leaves, a terrified, terrifying rushing. All light was gone. Darkness was complete. Suddenly the wind was gone, and all sound. Meg felt that Calvin was being torn from her. When she reached for him her fingers touched nothing.

She screamed out, ‘Charles!’ and whether it was to help him or for him to help her, she did not know. The word was flung back down her throat and she choked on it.

She was completely alone.

She had lost the protection of Calvin’s hand. Charles was nowhere, either to save or to turn to. She was alone in a fragment of nothingness. No light, no sound, no feeling. Where was her body? She tried to move in her panic, but there was nothing to move. Just as light and sound had vanished, she was gone, too. The corporeal Meg simply was not.”

As you can see, it gets quite scary, as they battle a dark thing, a dark shadow, an evil dark force of some kind.

This was written for young readers, and had I read it as a child, I would have been completely absorbed, I’m sure. Today’s young readers have been exposed to so many modern time travel and world-building stories that this may not have quite the same magic pull that it would have had back then.

Meg is still a great heroine, a clever, bright girl who won’t take no for an answer. Little brother Charles Wallace is a delight (and, I assume, named for the two people to whom the book is dedicated, Charles Wadsworth Camp and Wallace Collin Franklin. Calvin was a nice addition, since he has a bit of age and presence that the children don’t.

There were some religious overtones or undertones that gave me pause, but not enough to worry me. Good fun, and I’m glad I finally read it.