Friday, December 7, 2007

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

1963 Newbery Winner
Finished 11-29-06

Meg Murry’s father hasn’t been heard from for a year now. He simply disappeared into thin air. Meg’s mother firmly believes he is still alive, but everyone else who knows about the situation is convinced he is gone for good. One day Meg meets three mysterious women named Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Who. Soon she finds herself traveling through the fifth dimension, along with her brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin. Their mission is to rescue Meg’s father from the planet of Camazotz where the forces of evil are holding him.

Do you know the experience of having a gift card to a certain bookstore, and knowing you only have a certain amount of money to spend? You pick carefully through the books, looking for just the right ones to buy. It has to be something you know you like. Preferably something you know you LOVE. If you know what I’m talking about, then you’ll know what it means when I say that I bought A Wrinkle in Time with my gift card last time I was at Barnes and Noble.

I love the deeper themes in this book. The epic struggle between good and evil, and how it reminds me that I, too, am in a battle against evil. The triumphant theme of all-conquering love. Those are a big part of what gives this book substance.

Of course, you can find those kinds of themes in a lot of other fantasy books. So why else do I like it? I think one thing that makes this book stick more with me is because it’s not weighted down with a lot of wordy and unnecessary descriptions like a lot of fantasy can be. Many times I’ll get lost in the extra fluff of a book and miss out on the important things that are happening. For me, one thing that makes A Wrinkle in Time memorable is because the book moves forward at a good pace without getting bogged down.

In case you’re not convinced, I present you with one final argument. Note the first line of this book: “It was a dark and stormy night.” Read it aloud to yourself in a dramatic voice. How can you not want to read a book that starts like that? It’s awesome.

2 comments:

Sandy D. said...

This was a lovely review.

Maybe you'd consider joining us over at The Newbery Project? You could cross-list there as well as here. :-)

Framed said...

I loved "A Winkle in Time." In fact, I just finished the sequel, "A W ind in the Door" which I loved as well. Now I just have to findh time to read the next two. Thanks for your review.