A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time is by Madeleine L'Engle and is the first her Time Quintet.

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. 

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".

Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?

The Breakdown:
1.  Many, many years ago I read this as a child in middle school.  I remember enjoying the book then.  It is always nice to re-visit old friends, even if you see things a little differently as an adult.  I do vividly remember the scene of the scene of the children bouncing the balls in sync on the planet they travel to from my first read of this book.

2.  I will say, reading this as an adult, I found that Meg had some super bratty moments.  She also is very stubborn, but that stubbornness really works for her.  One of the other things I picked up with her that is her realization that her father is human.   It is an important moment that every child has at some point.

3. Can I talk about my love of the Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Aunt Beast?  I loved the uniqueness of each these characters.   The Mrs. have a brief but interesting origin story.   And Aunt Beast is just awesome.

4.  Then there is the IT which is super creepy.  A being that can override free will and force all things to conform to a certain way.  Nothing is scarier than that.

5.  I will say that I feel the ending happened very quickly, but I think that is partly due to this being the beginning of a series. But it is a great, quick read, and a wonderful way to introduce a child to the world of fantasy.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read