A Vintage Reads Review: A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time (Time, 1) by Madeleine L'Engle,1976 (originally published in 1962). 226 pages. Published by Laurel Leaf (originally published by Farrar Straus and Company). Source: Bought/Own.

This special edition of "A Wrinkle in Time" includes a new essay that explores the science behind the fantasy.
Rediscover one of the most beloved children's books of all time: "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle:
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?

First Sentence:

It was a dark and stormy night.

A Wrinkle in Time is one book that I have tried to review before, but have never managed to put into words why it means so much to me and what makes it such an amazing book.

Even though the vast majority of the books that I have read by Madeleine L'Engle were published any where from 1960 to the mid 90s, I have never once felt like her books were dated because her writing and world building are some of the best that I have ever read. She was-in my humble opinion-one of the best writers.
A Wrinkle in Time, is for me one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I loved how Ms L'Engle was able to bring everything to life in such a vivid way. From Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin the heroes of the book; to Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which the three ladies that set Meg and company on their way to finding Mr. Murray and defeating IT; as well as her descriptions of the various places journey took them and those they came across.

Descriptions and characters aside. What I truly love about this book would have to be that mental battle that Meg goes through while trying to save Charles Wallace after he falls into the clutches of IT, and how she had to overcome her feelings of being not good enough...and her anger. Plus, this is simply a pretty thrilling read once you realize that it has a bigger underlying statement then what you first thought (a quest to save her father).

Even though Meg does not have the best self-esteem in A Wrinkle in Time, I still cannot help but love her character. I like that she cares so deeply for her family, and I even do not mind that at times she could be most immature because she is a down-to-earth character.
Charles Wallace, always leaves me at a loss for words. One the one hand I do like that he is such an odd character with how he seems so much older than his years would suggest.
Ah, this review would not be complete if I failed to mention Calvin, one of my favorite characters.

Okay, so what really makes this one of my absolute favorite books, well, that would have to be that her characters are so imperfect and flawed.
Because one of the things that annoys me in most books is how some characters are portrayed as perfect-even when they have some major personality pitfalls-or when their flaws are over glorified, but in A Wrinkle in Time Ms. L'Engle takes that very real faults of Meg (who is angry and cannot not see her own worth), Charles Wallace (A little too smart for his age), and Calvin (the well liked boy who is just as odd as the Murray's) and meld them into one of the best character sets I've read.

Y'all, A Wrinkle in Time is just one of those books that I cannot find any fault with. I just love the way that Ms. L'Engle is able to create such realistic characters within an incredible world. So, no bad things in this book...except at first you probably will not like Meg all that much because she has a tendency to be extremely negative in regards to the way she sees herself, but as the book progresses it does get better.

Final Verdict: A Wrinkle in Time will capture your attention and have you hooked as you follow Meg's adventure.

A Wrinkle in Time earns 5 out of 5 pineapples.