“A Wrinkle In Time” by Madeleine L’Engle
Published: 3/9/1962 Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Genres: Novel, Children’s literature, Young adult fiction, Science fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Science fantasy, High fantasy
I read “A Wrinkle In Time” for the first time when I was in middle school…which was a long time ago, so I decided to reread it before watching the movie with my kids. I enjoyed it as much as an adult than I did as a kid. I think I understood more of it this time around. I certainly better understood Mrs. Who, who speaks mostly in quotations because she has a hard time forming sentences on her own.
In this story, two children embark on a mystical adventure through space and time to find their lost father. Their friend Calvin joins them on the adventure guided by celestial beings, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.
It is a great adventure and lesson for young readers. Meg Murry is a typical awkward teenager just trying to find her place. The loss of her father hasn’t helped her at all with fitting in at school and her slightly odd younger brother, Charles Wallace Murry, doesn’t help either. Charles Wallace may seem odd to everyone else, but he doesn’t care, he knows he’s special and he wants Meg to realize that she’s special too. Charles Wallace may be leading the charge to travel with Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, it is Meg who has the knowledge, bravery, and the heart to find her father. Along the way Meg learns to trust herself, be confident, and see that no one is perfect regardless of how perfect they seem.
Your imagination is working overtime as you travel with Meg and the crew from magical place to magical place. I absolutely loved this book as an adult and young readers will love it too.
I give “A Wrinkle In Time” 5 stars.
As far as the movie goes I think it did a pretty good job staying true to the book. The book is rather short though, only 206 pages, so that makes it a lot easier on the screen writers.
