Module 4: A Wrinkle in Time

Book Summary:
In this story, a young teen girl (Meg), her brother and a friend end up traveling through space and time trying to rescue her father, who has been missing for several years. When they meet some strange creatures who appear in the form of old women, they are introduced to a form of travel called “tessering”. On one of the planets they visit, Meg’s brother Charles Wallace is taken by “IT”, the dark creature that is taking over not only that planet but others as well. In order to rescue her brother, Meg has to be very brave and risk her own life. In the end, they rescue not only Charles Wallace but also her father.

APA Reference: L’Engle, M. (1962). A wrinkle in time. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

My Impressions:
I really enjoyed this book as a child, but I had not read it for about 30 years, so I decided to read it again to see if it was like I remembered. In a way, it was, but it seemed more dark and scary than I remembered. I enjoyed the characters; the author had a way of being able to develop the characters quite well with only a little background. The reader learns just enough about Calvin’s family to understand a lot about his character. With a few well-placed sentences the reader learns much about the uniqueness of Charles Wallace’s mind, and Meg’s strong personality hidden under the shy exterior.One of the more interesting things was how many fantastic and strange things happened to this perfectly normal family, and how they were able to deal with it all. The children allowed Mrs. Whatsit to take them on the amazing journey simply because they felt they had no choice but to trust her; this must have taken much courage. Once they were on another planet, and they saw the bad things that “IT” was causing, they knew they needed to do something to change things. In their first confrontation with IT, Charles Wallace was taken over by the creature, and the others were forced to flee to save their lives. On another planet, Meg was allowed time to recover. On this planet, she was taken care of by a very motherly alien and treated like a small child. Again, she had to make a very difficult decision: to go back by herself and face IT. Her bravery was very impressive.I think my favorite thing about this story was in the strength of Meg. I have always liked books with strong female lead characters who can take care of themselves while still having compassion. So many times, strong women are portrayed as heartless and hard people, who do not have feelings like other women do. In this book, the reader can see that it does not have to be that way. The others characters also helped her; without their support, particularly Calvin’s, she would not have had the strength to come back. One of the main themes seemed to be that people need each other, and need the bonds of love and friendship, to get through troubled times.There were many religious allegories in the book, which I had not even noticed when I read it as a child. This was interesting, because they were quite obvious to me now. It seems they were subtle enough that they could be missed by a young reader.Overall, this was an excellent book that is still very enjoyable despite its age.

Professional Review:
(1962, March 1). [Review of A wrinkle in time, by M. L’Engle]. Kirkus Reviews.

A WRINKLE IN TIME (reviewed on March 1, 1962)An allegorical fantasy in which a group of young people are guided through the universe by Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which and Mrs. What -- women who possess supernatural powers. They traverse fictitious regions, meet and face evil and demonstrate courage at the right moment. Religious allusions are secondary to the philosophical struggle designed to yield the meaning of life and one's place on earth. Young Meg's willingness to face IT in the form of a black beast in order to save a dear friend is one sign of her growing awareness. Readers who relish symbolic reference may find this trip through time and space an exhilarating experience; the rest will be forced to ponder the double entendres.

Library Uses:
For libraries that host book clubs, this would be a good book for a group to read. It is not too long, and is very readable. It appeals to a wide range of readers, and has many different themes that could be discussed by the group. Even leaving out the religious themes, there are the themes of working together to accomplish a goal, and the strength of family and friendship. It is also, as mentioned before, a good example of a strong female character, which would be another point for discussion. Perhaps the book could be paired with other books with such characters for comparison.