A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time, written by Madeline L’Engle, is a book about a young girl named Meg, her youngest brother Charles, and their friend Calvin who meet three witches named Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. They set out on a mission to find Mr. Murry, Meg and Charles’ father who went missing after setting off to do a secret job for the government. They discover that the source to all of their problems is an evil blackness that is taking over the entire universe. They end up tesseracting, or traveling through a wrinkle in time and space, and end up on a planet called Camazotz where they have to fight the darkness. While on Camazotz, they discover that IT, a huge brain, controls everything on that planet, including the darkness. IT tries to control the children, however Charles is the only one that it controls. Meg and Calvin eventually find Mr. Murry and escaping Camazotz, but the only way to save Charles, is for Meg to go back and outsmart IT. With the help of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, she ends up traveling back to save Charles and even though it is hard to love something so evil, Meg loves Charles which then rescues him and they are able to travel back to earth safely.
I thought that this book was a little confusing and had some complicated themes, however I thought because of the characters, point of view, plot, and setting, it was a well written book. The characters in the book were young children that many kids could relate to. They valued their family members and loved them through difficult times which was very relatable and made their family bonds believable. Although the point of view was in third person, the story mostly gives the perspective of Meg and her thoughts. This is beneficial for the readers because they learn things at the same pace that Meg does. For example, when Meg is yelling at the darkness, the author justifies her words and shows her ignorance by stating, “She did not realize that she was as much in the power of the Black Thing as Charles Wallace” (L’Engle, p. 170). Also, the plot of the story was very suspenseful. Many of the chapters leave the reader with a question at the end, or wanting to know what is going to happen next. I found the setting of this book to be a little confusing because it jumped around to multiple planets, some of which were real, and others that were fiction. Although the planets are confusing, I think it adds depth to the story because just like kids in the book were overwhelmed and confused, it shows how there is much more to the universe than they could have ever imagined. Also, I think the authors use of her own made up language and terms made the story more believable and fun to read. For example, the word tesseract, and the place Camazotz make no sense in this world, however they add depth and creativity to the novel. Overall, I thought that this book was well-written, but a little confusing. I would recommend it for students in either 6th or 7th grade because it isn’t too long, but it has come confusing and complex ideas to understand. I also pictured Meg as a 6th grader, so I feel as though children that age would be able to better relate to the characters. |