A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Reviewed by Jacob

Let me ask you a question: if you were given the choice to have infinite security and no freedom, or infinite freedom with no security, what would you choose? In A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, the protagonist Meg must choose between these two choices, and the cosmos depends on it.

The story starts with Margaret “Meg” Murry and her brother Charles Wallace who live with their mother and twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys. Having no idea where their father is or even what sort of “government work” he was doing, Meg is most affected by his absence. Wishing to fit in but missing her father terribly, she sometimes acts out at school, in turn getting bullied by students and teachers alike. One day, when a mysterious “tramp” named Mrs. Whatsit arrives and seems to be acquainted with Charles, Meg is drawn into an adventure where she learns how fitting in isn’t always beneficial. and finally gets a chance to find and rescue her lost father.

One reason I liked this book is how the characters are mainly predictable, yet sometimes say or do things that you otherwise would not expect. One example of this is right before the protagonists go to a dark planet called Camazotz. In this moment, Mrs. Whatsit looks at Meg and says, “Meg, I give you your faults.” I was very surprised and interested in this scene, because Meg is always trying to get rid of her faults, but wise Ms. Whatsit opts to give them all back.

Another reason I liked this book is because of how the events are linked to each other in such a way so every single minor detail grows and adds to each other and plays an important role in the story. For example, when Ms. Whatsit first arrives, she says, “Bye the way, pet, there is such a thing as a tesseract.” The tesseract, in case you are wondering, is a concept that shows that the 5th dimension, or the “Wrinkle in Time,” can be used as a means of transport to travel through time and space. Later, the tesseract plays an important role on Camazotz, when the protagonists try to escape a very strong brain called simply IT.

I would rate this book a 9/10, because it had a good plotline and explanation, but was a bit confusing due to the complex detail L’Engle put into the book. The rest of the series, in the order of The Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time would be recommended to anyone who likes science fiction or mystery books. But Funnily enough, the chronological order is completely different! The chronological order of the time quintet series are: A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, Many Waters, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and An Acceptable Time. I hope you enjoy reading about Meg and her adventures as much as I did!

Square Fish, 256 pages