A Wind in the Door

Rating:
Summary: An Adventure Through the Imagination
Review: Madeleine L'Engle has COMPLETELY outdone herself on this one... A complete adventure through Meg Murray's world, and an awesome thrill ride through your imagination. This book is not a sequal to "A Wrinkle In Time", it is a companion. This means the book seems that the series of events in "A Wrinkle In Time" never happened. For a second time L'Engle reader, (and a first time reviewer) I hope you enjoy, "A Wind in the Door"

Rating:
Summary: One of Her Best Novels!
Review: This book was incredible. It acts as a beginning and an introduction to concepts from later books, but is also a great story in itself. Meg Murry is once again mixed into a quest involving transitions through time, space, size, and form. Charles Wallace is ill, and Meg learns from a cherub called Proginoskes that it is being caused by forces of evil. She must complete three tasks in order to save him from the Echthroi that are causing his sickness. Her friend Calvin ends up joining the group of Meg and Proginoskes, and they go to Charles Wallace's school to see his principal. There, they stumble upon the first task: Name the correct Mr. Jenkins(the principal) out of three, two of whom are Echthroi. She completes this task, only to shoot off on the next along with Proginoskes, Calvin, and Mr. Jenkins. They eventually end up in one of Charles Wallace's mitochondria, trying to rid it of the Echthroi. To find out if they succeed, read the book. This is a great novel, with lots of unexpected turns and twists, and anyone who likes fantasy, science fiction, or suspense will love this.

Rating:
Summary: Sequel to A Wrinkle in Time with Charles-Wallace and Meg
Review: This book is the sequel to A Wrinkle in Time. Charles-Wallace is very ill. His mother, Dr. Murray is a noted biochemist and is desperately trying to research a new, mysterious disease and Charles-Wallace may have it.

When Charles-Wallace announces "There are dragons in your vegetable garden" this is the start of a great adventure that is connected to Dr. Murray's research, Charles-Wallace's illness and of course, much more.

This is a good tale about rebellion and the maturation process, and about the seductive powers of Evil. As usual, L'Engle mergers moral subjects into pure fantasy with her skilled writing and wonderful characters.

Rating:
Summary: I've been changed.
Review: Having completed the first two books in L'Engle's TIME QUARTET, I must confess both books have kept me consistentaly amazed. Hopefully, she will be able to sustain this through the other three books (still don't understand why its not the TIME QUINTET, other than the logic I gave in my review of A WRINKLE IN TIME, but that's neither here nor there, which, also, describes my feelings of the new paperback illustrations. The ones that have a centaur on the cover of WRINKLE are much better than the current paperback illustrations. They are terrible, and for me totally go against the feelings I get from reading the book. But this is a very subjective experience -- as my review will tell you of my reading of L'Engle). When C. S. Lewis spoke of recieving stabs of joy and glimpses of some other realm beyond when he read Norse mythology, I can adequately say the same has happened to me upon these readings. This is the making of Myth, tempered with science fiction elements, at its finest for the contemporary scene of literature. Both books take you on a fascinating journey, and while I do prefer the first over the second, that does not mean the second is inferiour.

A WIND IN THE DOOR, although labeled Children's Fiction, should be read by both children and adults. The conflict arises when Charles Wallace sees a drove of dragons by the twins' garden. Of course its not dragons, but it is indeed something. Whereas TIME did experiments on the theme of time, WIND goes the other way and instead concentrates on Size. Of course, the central character again is Meg, with the help of Calvin and Mr. Jenkins and two other characters, Proginoskes and Sporos. Who are the last two? Read and find out -- but both will take your imaginiation where its never been before.

The themes of love again arises in this, but with a unique spin of "Naming". The villians this time around, although they were present in the previous volume just without a name, are the Ecthroi (or Ecthros, singular). They take the theme of nothingness (which shows up in LORD OF THE RINGS) and how they want to destroy creation. God created all of this universe and this creation for specific reasons, and we all have elements and things we are to experience and encounter of the universe, the Creation, are not according to God's order. This is a very dominant theme in this work.

I really don't know how to describe the effect this book has had on me. Its like my imagination has been dipped in a brand new element of MYTH. C. S. Lewis spoke of such an effect when he read George MacDonald's PHANTASES, and while I am not comparing these books to MacDonald, the effect is somewhat similar. My mind goes into this, just shattered and put back together by the sheer beauty that goes in here. The modernists are right -- language is to inadequate to describe the effect these two books have had on me (read WINESBURG, OHIO by Sherwood Anderson to get the full gest of what I'm saying). Its books like these that make me wish things like this happened in my sphere of existence. Its books like this and Narnia and Earthsea that make me wonder why they can't happen to me. Don't get me wrong when I say this, but this has something that the other two I just Named do not. I love Narnia dearly, but L'Engle satisfies something in my psyche that I have not encountered in Narnia or anywhere else for that matter. Don't think I'm saying she's better than Lewis, because that's not what I'm saying. Narnia has things that this does not also. Its just there are things that are very unique to L'Engle that I have never encountered in a writer before. Its like I've been emersed into a world of myth. Again, while not comparing the two in content or in quality, I get this same longing, this same feeling when I read THE HOBBIT. There's a beauty there that strikes me to the core. But L'Engle is as different from Tolkien as she is from Lewis. All three have something to offer (and Peake does as well, who wrote GORMENGHAST) which give me that same longing and that same sense of joy and beauty, but they get this out of me from wildly different techniques. You probably don't understand what I'm trying to say. If I could kythe with you, then you would be able to understand. But that's alright. I know one thing.

I've been changed.

Mike London

Rating:
Summary: Yet another amazing book by L'Engle
Review: Although less widely known, A Wind In The Door is equally wonderful and as full of fantasy as its prequel, A Wrinkle In Time.

When Charles Wallace announces to Meg Murry that there are dragons in the vegetable garden, she can't help but be a bit skeptical. But after seeing them for herself and being told by a tall stranger that the dragon (actually a cherubim) could help her save her brother's life, she, Calvin O'Keefe, and Proginoskes, the cherubim sent to help her, are swept into an amazing journey to save Charles from a mysterious and deadly disease.

I highly recommend this powerful book to all lovers of fantasy and science fiction, particularly those who enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time.

Rating:
Summary: get the Hardcover version...
Review: As a kid, I read this book over and over again. Madeline L'Engle writes an intricate story (no need to read the previous book Wrinkle, to understand what's going on... though it is highly reccomended!). If I had to disect this book in one of my Lit. classes, I would find ample material to write essays on symbolism, ideologies, 3-D characters, description techniques, the "typical" good vs. evil struggle in the plot, and many other things. Test me on this book, and I would get an A (I know it that well). But the overreaching factor that makes this a must for all people seeking to have a good personal library is that the story -- "one of the good ones" of children's literature, is captivating to both children and adults on many levels. It continues the story of Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, as well as Calvin O'Keefe (characters that Wrinkle readers know and love). This time, readers meet Blajeny and "a singular cherubim" (what a concept! This book was my first introduction to cherubim and for the longest time I did not understand that 'cherub' as we generally think of the word, had any connection to 'cherubim' as I knew them (or one of them) in this book.) This book introduces many concepts that are good for all of us to understand -- two out of many that I have carried with me throughout my life are such: one, size doesn't matter in the grand scheme of how important you are; two, everyone (and everything!) needs to be 'named' -- or known -- to exist. Perhaps these 2 things don't seem very remarkable; I only realized how remarkable they were when I came up against the opposite conceptions in people I met in "the real world". L'Engle presents many things to be learned -- in fact some of the sanest perceptions I have of the world -- the things that have helped me get through tough times -- are voiced so well in this story that you'd never know (until you reflected) that they were there. But in spite of all this, L'Engle's story is interesting enough to be read over and over, and that is the real reason why you should read this book. So much so that you'd be best advised to buy a hardback copy -- even if you're not the type who reads books more than once, you'll definitly want to lend this to other people. The hardback will last longer! My only negative comment is on the particular hardback edition amazon shows. The picture on the cover is not to my liking (though i like the paperback pictures even less). To me it gives the impression that this is a dark book, perhaps a story of mysteries and vauge and scary things. Far from it. Yes, the story deals with potentially frightening things, and it deals in mysteries (not the nancy drew kind but the hard-to understand complexities and paradoxes of life) but it also has a good grounding in sanity and goodness and light; which, after all things are said and done, triumphs over annihilation. This is not a dark, scary book. To the illustrator... try again. To the story -- one of my highest commendations.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: Charles Wallace sees dragons in the vegetable garden. It turns out to be a cheribium, coming to save Charles Wallace from a serious illness. In this wondeful book, Meg and Calvin jorney into a mitochondria of Charles's and try to save him in this magnificent quest.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK!
Review: Ever since my teacher has read the first book "A Wrinkle in Time", I have been kept wondering and looking for the sequel and now I have found it. The minute I read the first page, I knew that I will read upon many adventures. I knew that I will enjoy reading this book and you will too.

Rating:
Summary: This is a marvelous intelligent book.
Review: Children and adults will be enthralled. Be prepared to read on and on, as it is difficult to put down. You must use your imagination and have an open and inquiring mind to appreciate what L'Engle has given us, a wonderful read. Only for the sharpest and most brilliant personalities.

Rating:
Summary: A rare treat for both children and adults
Review: A Wind in the Door is one of a kind; I have searched far and wide without finding anything like it. It is my favorite children's book.

Out of a myriad of possibilities, there are two facets of the book that I would like to mention.

The first is the character Charles Wallace. Charles Wallace is a brilliant six year old boy who has an intuitive understanding of other people, especially his mother and his sister, and needs to adapt to a world of people who aren't like him and don't think in any of the ways he thinks. He is one of the literary characters with whom I most strongly identify, and I have only once encountered another character like him: Michael Valentine Smith in Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land.

The second facet is the concept of kything that is introduced. Kything is a deep communion that moves beyond worded communication. It is a beautiful and powerful concept that is richly developed in the text. (It affected me enough that I wrote an essay exploring 100 ways of kything)

I heartily reccommend this book to any reader interested in a deep and insightful read.