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Summary: I read this book twice, 35 years apart!
Review: I first read this book as a 10 year old. All I could remember about the story was that it was so good that I stayed up all night to finish it. Now 35 years later I purchased this book for my 10 year old son. We both enjoyed the book every bit as much as I did as a child.
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Summary: So Much More (than the average book)
Review: A Wrinkle in Time is substantially better than an average science fiction book. It has something more: mystery, suspense, imagination, sadness, horror and a rich substance that creates a wonderful book. When Meg's father suddenly disappears while he is experimenting with the fifth dimension many think he is dead, but the Murrys still have hope. Meg and Charles Wallaces' father's disappearance creates the sadness in the story. Meg's mother and twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys, miss Mr. Murry just as much, if not more than Meg and Charles Wallace. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin bring the story substance. By tessering and opening our minds to the fifth dimension Mrs. Which, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Whatsit make our imaginations stretch farther than they have ever gone before. When the heroic trio, Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin, become weak after tessering through the 'black thing' they take rest on many different planets. With all the fabulous characters and places A Wrinkle In Time is so much more than many other books of the same context.
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Summary: One less thing to worry about
Review: If you like amateurish prose and "special" children, this is the book for you. My 7-year-old kid read it and hated it. Thank goodness. I worry about this kid. Will he marry the wrong girl? Will he get a job he doesn't like? Will he waste his life reading books like _A Wrinkle in Time_? Now I have one less thing to worry about.
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Summary: A Classic, Folks!
Review: Can I admit that I'm besotted by Meg Murry?Meg is easily the best thing about Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time". The author very quickly puts together this thirteen(?) year old girl who is both vulnerable and brave, absolutely human and instantly likable. Madeleine's adept characterisation also assists Calvin, a fourteen year old boy who lives nearby and who clearly falls head-over-heels for young Meg. It is said that female readers will identify readily with Meg, but I'm sure that male readers like myself will also have an easy in on this story in the form of Calvin. Calvin and Meg's relationship is so neatly and adeptly presented, that we can't help but sympathize. Both Meg and Calvin are both something of outsiders amongst children of their own age, which makes them all the more sympathetic to any child or adult who was just a little different from the rest at school, and paid for it. Through their shared outsider status, Calvin and Meg are instant friends, and I want to be their friend too. I want to be Calvin, to support this brave young woman, and to be a part of her loving family. It's no surprise to find Meg and Calvin married to each other years on in such books as "A Swiftly Tilting Planet", "Arm of the Starfish" and "House Like a Lotus". Completing the legion of interesting characters is young Charles Wallace Murry -- a five-year-old kid who would be frighteningly intelligent if he weren't nearly as congenial as he is. However, despite being the most gifted person of the three, he is still still quite vulnerable and human. These characterizations would be empty icing if the cake itself weren't substantial. "A Wrinkle in Time" is full of fantastic things as "tessering" through time and space, near angelic creatures and a good-old solid plot of good fighting against evil. Madeleine L'Engle is well known for her theological writings, and many compare her "Wrinkle in Time" series (and most of her books) to the allegorical Christianity of C.S. Lewis' "Narnia" series. Madeleine's writing is far more straightforward than Lewis', however, and the presentation of Christian themes is more up-front than the allegory of Narnia. At the same time, the so-called Christian themes hardly dominate the book. It doesn't have the depth of Lewis' work (the reason for the four out of five rating), but just like C.S. Lewis' "Narnia" series, everybody can tune in for the story alone, and still come away satisfied. Can Meg and Charles Wallace, with the help of Calvin, rescue their missing father from the darkness of the monstrous "IT"? The ending is not in doubt, but the journey is fascinating. Meg, of course, overcomes her vulnerabilities and saves the day. Readers of all ages will be hooked.
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Summary: Viewpoint
Review: I liked this book because the story took me to exotic places like the two-dimensional planet, the world of flying horsemen, and the home of Aunt Beast. I also enjoyed the way the book explored the differences between good and evil. The main characters, Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend, Calvin, risk their lives on a dangerous quest to save Meg's father. They are guided by three amazing creatures who teach them about the nature of good and evil. In this book, evil takes the shape of the Black Thing. Evil exists in many places and must be fought to keep from spreading. Charles and Meg have different ideas on how evil can be defeated. Only one of them is right. I did not give the book five stars because it did not develop its characters to the point where I felt like I knew them. Unlike the Harry Potter books or the Lord of the Rings trilogy, where the main characters felt like friends, Meg, Charles and Calvin felt like acquaintances. They were not described in enough detail to become three-dimensional people in my imagination. They remained two-dimensional cartoons. The book lacked a hook in its opening pages, and I had to keep reading to get interested in it. The author also used a cliched introduction: "It was a dark and stormy night." I expected something a bit more creative from a book that won so many awards. I did like the book enough to want to read the rest of the series.
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Summary: Awesome Book
Review: I read this book when I was in 4th grade. It was a great book for me to read, it was not only exciting and adventurous but emotional in some ways. I recomend this book for children of all ages
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Summary: Magical creatures, mystical science, and love...
Review: That's right. This book has it all. A well put together children's fantasy tale. While it does not explore fantastical creatures as deeply as the young adult fantasy, the creatures are believable and unique. Madeleine has created a powerful world background on which to display her magnificent theme. I recommend everyone read this. (We were all children once, right?)
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Summary: Great for kids, with interesting underlying themes.
Review: A Wrinkle in Time, while sometimes simplistic, is undoubtedly age-appropriate in it's simplicity and rarely deviod of mounting suspension and interstellar excitement. Part of it's enduring appeal lies in the characters of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Who, three nearly all-powerful ex-novas in the guise of middle-aged women. The idea of protectors with all the answers has always been a compelling one, and remains no less so here, but L'Engle gives humans a greater degree of self-sufficiency when she sends the three children, Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin, to save Meg and Charles Wallace's father on their own, and again when Meg is told that only she can save Charles Wallace from the grip of an evil entity. Another aspect of A Wrinkle in Time, newer but no less appealing, is that humanity's problems are at their deepest not any fault of the species but of a sort of dark shadow casting it's destructive influence upon the planet--and dark shadow which, though powerful, can be defeated. Even with morals gone unoticed, though, A Wrinkle in Time is just a plain fun and interesting red.
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Summary: Loved This Book as a Child
Review: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle is a classic and deservedly so. It is the first and the best of its series and is delightful fantasy of the hightest order. I was delighted to learn that reading it again as an adult, it still had the power to move and amuse in equal order. The author's power of imagination is still quite noticeable as each chapter becomes a little stranger than the last. The book has also lasted because, like any most classics, it does not speak down to children and accepts their ability to absorb much and understand more. It is, though, more religious than I remembered, at times threatening to engulf the fantasy but never quite doing so. This is a book that has earned its beloved status and is still a joy.
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Summary: It opened a door
Review: to science fiction. I first read this book in the 60's, when I was in grade school, and it was love at first read. I was hooked on science fiction from that point. This is a fun book, and at that age it was just a wee bit scary for me. But I savored it ... every word! Read it for the first time, read it again. Like the Chronicles of Narnia and Huck Finn, some things just get better as you get older.
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