L'Engle, M. (1962). A wrinkle in time. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
1963 Newberry Medal Winner
First Published in 1963
203 pages, with some illustrations
Ages 9-12
Plot:
Misunderstood by her classmates and written off as troubled by her teachers, high school student Margaret "Meg" Murry feels lost and only at home with her family. Her father, a brillant physicist, has been gone from the family on a top secret assignment for years, leaving behind Meg, her mother, her two teenage brothers, Dennys and Sandy and her youngest brother, a sort of savant genius, Charles Wallace. In his absence, they've continued on with life routinely, until suddenly some new people in town start to stir up some startling changes. In a "haunted house" in the woods, three mysterious and other-worldly women, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs.
Who, and Mrs. Which, show up and assign Meg, Charles Wallace, and local high school model student, Calvin O'Keefe the mission of saving her father and by doing so, saving Earth from a coming darkness.
The journey that follows, takes them to remote and fantastic locations around the galaxy, ultimately ending up on a mysterious planet, ruled by a single mind-controlling brain that has been keeping her father captive. Using their unique abilities and strengths, each must find a way to combat these dark forces, save their father and restore their home and family.
My Impressions:
I have mixed feelings about this book. Personally, I really enjoyed the story and found it very engaging. However, having found it in the junior section of my library, I had expected it to be a lighter read. The book relied heavily not only on scientific termonology and phenomena, but it also included a lot of literary as well as religious references that I feel would be lost on the average young adult reader. I felt the story was more complicated than it needed to be based on its plot because it was trying so hard to convey the personal opinions and agenda of L'Engle. Despite this though, the ideas within the story were very original and engaging and the characters were each well-defined, unique and dimensional.
Reviews:
Excerpt from Booklist
“This is is one of those books where you can tell if someone has read it by how their eyes light up when you mention the title,” Medlar says. “It’s such a great combination of so many things,
all of which appeal to different types of people and readers.” His library’s circulation figures back up these personal impressions: “It definitely is one of the most popular Newbery titles that we have in the collection.”
A Wrinkle in Time. (2007). Booklist, 103(18), 58-59.
From The Reading Teacher
"This book was awarded the 1963 Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, so it is ironic that the manuscript was rejected 26 times before it was published. The honor of the medal marked the first time in history that juvenile science-fiction-- in the story of three children transported from Earth to another planet--was accepted into mainstream children's literature. Written during the Cold War era of nuclear threat and the space race. A Wrinkle in Time delves into the world of space and time travel in the mid-20th century, taking the reader on a journey of the unexplored. L'Engle realistically portrays adolescent anxieties related to physical appearance, family relationships, and one's search for identity. There will always be a Meg, a Charles, or a Calvin inside every reader asking the same questions: Do I matter? Does anyone care? In A Wrinkle in Time, they find out they are not alone in their pursuit of self-discovery."
Livingston, N., & Kurkjian, C. (2003). A Wrinkle in Time (Book). Reading Teacher, 57(1), 100.
Library Suggestions:
This book would be a nice display item for a collection of youth science fiction books, as it is considered the first book of its genre to gain such acclaim and therefore popularize the genre as a whole. It is a foundational book within such a collection and helps to illustrate the evolution of youth science-fiction over the last 50 years.
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