A Wrinkle in Time (Time #1)

Reader reviewed by Kit-Kat

There were truths buried underneath this book. The lessons and the ideas were thought-provoking. The story is endearing.

I think many teenage girls will be able to relate to Meg, who is going through a lot of the issues we have today as teenagers. Charles Wallace is a loving small brother - who wouldn't want that? The Mrs. W's are exceptionally wise, yet their characters still manage to be funny in their own way.

This book was very nice, altogether.

Reader reviewed by linda

One dark and stormy night, the tesseract-touting Mrs Whatsit, visits Meg and Charles to introduce a secret to them about their parents. Meg and Charles Wallace and their new friend Calvin O'Keefe embark on a perilous quest through space to find their father. They travel behind the shadow of a wicked power that is corrupting the universe, one planet at a time. The travelers must rely on their individual and collective strengths, to help good triumph over evil. This is a nice science fiction/fantasy book that I would recommend to people who love adventure books.

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.

Reader reviewed by sara

This book is for you if you like the weird fantasy/supernatueral stuff.I though it was ok but I found it a little confusing/boring because i don't really care for that type stuff.It would have been better if i was into it though.SO if you are then read it.

Reader reviewed by Sarah

This book is about three kids to get their father back from a black thing. Three witches named Mrs.Whatsit, Mrs.Who, and Mrs.Which help them a little to get the kids father back.

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.

Reader reviewed by Bettina

This book is about how a girl, Meg, and her little brother who is a genuis called Charles Wallace need to save their father from forces of evil. Their father disappeared when he was expiramenting withtime travel.

I didn't like this book very much. It wasn't very funny. But, I liked some parts a bit.

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...

Reader reviewed by SweetxApple

seriously...Why do teacheres even bother making us read this book? I have no idea why people like this book? I totally hated it. Especailly main character who irrtated me like crazy. I thought that the characters really needed some work. Not only that, I just thougth that the story needed some work too. I also found that the overall plot was just plain out boring! I wasn't enchanted by reading the first couple of pages. more like i was bored to death, i wanted to burn my stupid copy, as well as get this book banned. i know that sounds terrible, but i just really really hated this book. It just seemed pointless to me. And did i mention how much the main character irritated me? WHy did they even make a movie out of this?

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.