A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
I was not one of the students assigned this book in school. I know many people my age were and I wish I had been as I believe A Wrinkle in Time teaches some very important lessons for a middle schooler to hear. Even as an adult, I found the messages heart-warming and relevant along with an entertaining sci-fi quick read.
The main character, Meg, is brave and smart but doubts her own strength. There are multiple references to how Meg needs to embrace her faults as sometimes those can be your greatest strength in certain situations.
Other important messages brought up through the novel are; that parents aren't infallible and you should embrace your individuality rather than become just like everyone else. It very obviously speaks to those who feel weird or like outsiders. And who hasn't felt that way at one point in their lives, especially in middle school when everyone is determining what makes them tick? And finally, that you have to face scary or unpleasant truths, you can't just back away because you don't want to deal with that scary or unpleasant situation.
The audiobook I listened to gave some background of Madeleine L'Engle's struggle to get this published. So many people were saying it was too old for children, that they wouldn't understand much of it and it was too young for adults. This is another example of how so many people got it wrong, because I think this is what makes the story so good. L'Engle doesn't dumb down a lot of the science or dialogue between the characters. It makes young children feel as if she understands they are more intelligent than people assume, and it isn't too young for adults to appreciate it. Again, who hasn't related to facing down unpleasant situations, or realizing their parents aren't infallible?
Synopsis: Meg Murray, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their mother are having a midnight snack on a dark and stormy night when an unearthly stranger appears at their door. He claims to have been blown off course, and goes on to tell them that there is such a thing as a “tesseract," which, if you didn't know, is a wrinkle in time. Meg's father had been experimenting with time-travel when he suddenly disappeared. Will Meg, Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin outwit the forces of evil as they search through space for their father?