A Wrinkle in Time (Time #1)

4.0

3.8 (42)

430 0

Write Review Add to favorites

Author(s)

Madeleine L'Engle

Publisher

Farrar Straus & Giroux

Genre(s)

Fantasy

Age Range

10+

Release Date

January 01, 1962

ISBN

0374386137

Buy This Book

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?

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Odd But Lovely

December 14, 2017

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

“I don't understand it any more than you do, but one thing I've learned is that you don't have to understand things for them to be.”

Beautifully peculiar.

I missed this one in my childhood. (I heard it mentioned now and then as a renowned classic, but never saw them in my public school or any classrooms.) I regret this now, because I was just the sort of kid who would have loved the abstract concept exploration and the way the author doesn’t talk down to her audience.

“We can't take any credit for our talents. It's how we use them that counts.”

Told in third-person past-tense, the story is brimming with impactful and quote-worthy bits of wisdom. (As is probably obvious from my collected smattering of said bits.)

This reader particularly enjoyed the incorporation of both science and religion. It’s so rare to have them presented harmoniously in mainstream literature (or at least, it is nowadays.) It was nice to see the positive parental relationship, and the sibling interactions are compellingly strong. It held my attention throughout. And I suspect my 12-year-old self would have been enthralled with the tesseract concept. The book in its entirety would have certainly expanded my vocabulary.

Meg was sometimes a frustrating character to follow—cynical, abrasive, and quick to judge/misjudge. (Yet another reason I suspect my angsty middle-grade self would have connected to this work.) But Meg’s love for her little brother kept her firmly sympathetic. Charles Wallace was my favorite character, however glaringly exceptional as a genius 5-year-old.
I think this represents him, and my fondness for him, somewhat adequately: “Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about," Charles Wallace said. "Why should I disillusion them?”

The imagery was at times bizarre and fantastical, yet not preoccupied with the macabre. Events were sometimes confusing, but not so much that I became agrivated. I would have personally liked to see a little more depth of description, and a lot more of Calvin. But the hope for both of these is easily enough for me to want to pick up the next book in the series.

Favorite Quotes:

-“We do not know what things look like. We know what things are like. It must be a very limiting thing, this seeing.” -Aunt Beast

-“Have you ever tried to get to your feet with a sprained dignity?”

-“A book, too, can be a star, “explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly,” a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.”

-“The only way to cope with something deadly serious is to try to treat it a little lightly.”

-“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.” - Mrs. Whatsit

Angela Blount, Staff Reviewer Top 50 Reviewer 272 reviews

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

User reviews

42 reviews

5 stars

48%

4 stars

12%

3 stars

21%

2 stars

10%

1 star

10%

Overall rating

3.8

Plot

3.8(42)

Characters

N/A(0)

Writing Style

N/A(0)

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A(0)

Already have an account? or Create an account

View all user reviews View most helpful

A Wrinkle in Time audiobook review

October 24, 2013

Overall rating

2.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

I don't really understand why everyone loves this book so much. Maybe when it came out it was groundbreaking and fascinating, but these days there are lots of scifi/fantasy books for a younger audience that are better in every way.

First of all, the author really isn't always the best person to record the audiobook. That aside, I wouldn't have enjoyed the story had I read it myself.

Meg really bothered me. I know L'Engle is praised for creating such a relatable character, but I have to disagree. Meg is annoying and whiny as heck. Nearly everything she said was a complaint in one way or another. It might have been lamenting her (absolutely atrocious, apparently) appearance or yelling at somebody because the situation sucked. I couldn't stand it. There's a difference between being melodramatic to the point of annoyance and normal teenage feelings.

Calvin and Charles Wallace, however, I enjoyed. They were both unapologetically themselves.

And what about the story, you ask? I was surprised to find that I was enjoying it pretty well at about 2/3 of the way through. And then came the ending. Or, should I say, non-ending. Yeah, that seriously pissed me off. You can't just bring up this whole storyline and then toss it out the window once your character(s) have learned their lesson.

Needless to say, I won't be joining Team L'Engle. Her books were probably groundbreaking when they came out, but here in 2013, I just can't get on board.

Jasmine Top 50 Reviewer 326 reviews

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

Not as Good Now That I'm an Adult

May 05, 2012

Overall rating

3.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

I first read A Wrinkle in Time at some point during my elementary school career, probably for class, although I'm really not sure now. At the time, I was completely blown away by it. My memory of the plot and characters was not completely accurate, even though I believe I reread it sometime in high school as well. Like with The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time is a beloved book from childhood that does not retain all of its majesty when read as an adult.

This is not to say, of course, that it's not an interesting read or a good book, just that some things I didn't notice then I recognize now. For example, there's a definite theology to the book that I missed entirely. The references to God are minimal, but full of impact when they occur. Without doing a careful study, I cannot say precisely what L'Engle's theology is, but I'm not entirely sure that I like it.

Another thing that displeased was the ending. The resolution of the story comes suddenly and was, at least for me, pretty unsatisfying. I do wonder whether that resolution had some effect on J.K. Rowling, because it is in some ways reminiscent of the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Another comparison I was able to make was that the science fiction bits remind me rather of the first book in C.S. Lewis' space trilogy.

What I loved about this book, and still do, was the understanding that intelligence comes in many forms, and that people are not always whom you expect them to be. Meg and Charles Wallace are both considered slow because they do not live the way 'normal' smart people do. Calvin seems normal, but is actually a huge nerd, who, unfortunately, I do not love quite so much now as I did as a child. He was definitely one of my first loves. A Wrinkle in Time urges the reader to think of the world in a new way, and that is fantastic.

Plus, it has dystopian elements. Hurrah! (Should I be cheering for that?) Anyway, the dark thing that is surrounding planets and instilling negative feelings is working on Earth. It's good to know that much of the trouble humans have is actually not our fault, right? Dystopia via giant, evil alien attacker. Sweet. You could maybe also include the planet Camazotz, which is another kind of dystopian society, although one that was in good functioning order.

Christina Franke, Staff Top 10 Reviewer 677 reviews

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

January 18, 2012

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

A Wrinkle in Time is a remarkably unique book! L'Engle makes a normal girl--Meg Murry--who doesn't like how she looks, and, with skill, turns it into a story. Meg gets taken (with her incredibly smart 5-year-old brother, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe, a popular high school basketball player) on a sci-fi adventure through time, space, and dimensions to find her lost father, Dr. Murry, and to save the universe. Extremely suspenseful and interesting; I couldn't put it down!

http://reviewsbykristina.blogspot.com/2011/11/wrinkle-in-time-by-madeleine-lengle.html

Kristina Cardoza Top 500 Reviewer

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

fun, fun,fun

March 01, 2010

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Reader reviewed by ana

hello everyone,this book is great,Meg Murry is a is a thirteen year old girl,she has really low self esteem .but that all changes when she goes down stairs...to meet her younger brother Charles Wallace who is is a strange little boy who can say big words that i don't even know how to say.Charles Wallace has a strange friend Mrs.whatsit. She needs there help..to save the world from evil darkness and to save Meg Murry's dad who has become missing.she and her brother Charles Wallace and a boy she meets (Calvin)go on to a adventure to strange new worlds.i highly choose this book to people that love adventure a bit of romance and lots of fun,don't try to put this book down it's a mind blower

Guest #1 Reviewer

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

Forever A Classic

February 18, 2010

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Reader reviewed by Whitney

A Wrinkle In Time will always be one of my favorite reads. I put this book up there with books you must read before you die. This was my introduction into the scifi/fantasy Genre and since then I have never looked back. I love that this book includes a moral that no matter what your age or how different you are from other people you can still succeed in life and anything you want to do. Being different is what makes you who you are. Charles Wallace will go down in history as one of my favorite charcters ever written in a book. I will be reading the rest of the series and continuing on this journey with him.

Guest #1 Reviewer

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

A Wrinkle in Time

December 07, 2009

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Reader reviewed by The Time Travelers

       A Wrinkle in Time is a book about time travel. A man disapear's and many people think he has died. He has a daughter and three sons. His daughter, Meg has trouble in school. Then Meg and her brother, Charles Wallace, meet three strange ladies who take them on a wild adventure.
      A Wrinkle In Time had a lot to like about it . I liked it when Calvin and Meg were sitting in the backyard . I also liked when the creeatures took Meg. It was interesting when Meg saves Charles Wallace from It. It was a very interesting book.
      I would recommed this book to any9-99 who likes science fictio.It also has a lot of hard words,likee myopic. It was a wonderful book.

Guest #1 Reviewer

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

Not one of the best.

September 30, 2009

Overall rating

1.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Reader reviewed by AB

A Wrinkle in Time was really not one of my favorite books.
The book was full of fantasy and science fiction. I really don't like those types of books so I really did no emjoy this book.
Not one minute of it.
To me it was just bizzare and just unrealistic.
Nothing really made any sense during the whole course of the book.
Anyone who likes science fiction may enjoy it. But I was not one of the ones who did.
In fact many people who have read it disliked it as much as I did.

Guest #1 Reviewer

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

Bad...

August 08, 2009

Overall rating

2.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Reader reviewed by moonymaster

So, I kinda had to force myself to read this book. I knew it was a classic and it had been on my to-read shelf forever so I decided to pick it up. But what I found was just a bad fantasy. I don't really understand why this book is a classic. There were few parts where I really got into the story. Most of the time I was just wondering what was going on and if this story was truly as bad as it seemed. I really wanted it to be better but I was disappointed. Read at your own risk...

Guest #1 Reviewer

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

The Meg in all of us

July 12, 2009

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Reader reviewed by Lea

I remember reading this back in elementary school. Meg is far from perfect, with her glasses and crazy hair, but she's the perfect protagonist. Her brother, Charles Wallace and friend Calvin join her on her adventure to save her father. A great fantasy novel about love, family, and just what we're capable of.

Guest #1 Reviewer

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

It was pretty interesting.

February 20, 2009

Overall rating

1.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Reader reviewed by Jessica

I read the book, A Wrinkle in Time, first at school though it was originally called something like Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Witch. I like the way she created these worlds and how she described these interesting friends. I seriously think anyone who hasn't read it seriously needs to. It was very interesting.

Guest #1 Reviewer