A Wrinkle in Time

L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. Bantam Doubleday Books for Young Readers, New York, 1962. 211 pages.  Tr. Pbk. $6.50 ISBN 0440498058

Plot Description:

It has been over a year since Meg’s father disappeared while experimenting with the fifth dimension of time travel.  Meg’s life takes a drastic turn late one night when Meg, her mother, and younger brother Charles Wallace receive an unexpected visitor, Mrs. Whatsit who mysteriously confirms the existence of the tesseract.  Meg has no idea what a tesseract is, but her mother seems visibly shaken by the stranger’s confirmation of the tesseract’s existence.  Only Charles Wallace is unfazed by Mrs. Whatsit’s visit, having already met Mrs. Whatsit and her friends Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which.  Soon Meg, her friend Calvin and Charles Wallace will learn exactly what a tesseract is as they undertake a journey through time and space with the help of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, to rescue Meg’s father and the universe from an unspeakable evil.

Review:

A Wrinkle in Time is Madeleine L’Engle’s elegantly written and imaginative, classic novel that continues to resonate with readers fifty years after it was first published.  Readers will find A Wrinkle in Time to be an inventive and challenging adventure.  Meg and Charles Wallace are both faced with the obstacle of being different from their peers and both handle that difficulty very differently; Meg lashing out violently towards her peer, while Charles Wallace ignores the naysayers.  Besides the topic of being different, L’Engle also tackles the topic of family and what it really means to love someone. 

Genre:

Science Fiction

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grades 5-6/Grades 5-10

Similar Books:

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Awards/Honors:

Newberry Award 1963

Author’s Website:

http://www.madeleinelengle.com/