A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Paperback)

by Madeleine L'Engle (Author), Jody A. Lee (Illustrator) "The big kitchen of the Murrys' house was bright and warm, curtains drawn against the dark outside, against the rain driving past the house from..." (more)
Key Phrases: rapid wrath, ancient harmonies, fateful hour, Charles Wallace, Swiftly Tilting Planet, Pastor Mortmain (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry, whom readers first met in A Wrinkle in Time, has a little task he must accomplish. In 24 hours, a mad dictator will destroy the universe by declaring nuclear war--unless Charles Wallace can go back in time to change one of the many Might-Have-Beens in history. In an intricately layered and suspenseful journey through time, this extraordinary young man psychically enters four different people from other eras. As he perceives through their eyes "what might have been," he begins to comprehend the cosmic significance and consequences of every living creature's actions. As he witnesses first-hand the transformation of civilization from peaceful to warring times, his very existence is threatened, but the alternative is far worse.

The Murry family, also appearing in A Wind in the Door and Many Waters, acts as a carrier of Madeleine L'Engle's unique message about human responsibility for the world. Themes of good versus evil, time and space travel, and the invincibility of the human spirit predominate. Even while she entertains, L'Engle kindles the intellect, inspiring young people to ask questions of the world, and learn by challenging. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Review
"Charles Wallace (A Wrinkle in Time), now 15, Meg, and the Murrys reappear in an intricately woven fantasy in which the boy time-spins through a tangle of history to find and mend the broken link that threatens to disturb the harmony of today." --Starred, Booklist
-- Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (December 15, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440401585
• ISBN-13: 978-0440401582
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (130 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #502,497 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #22 in	Books > Children's Books > Series > Classics > Wrinkle in Time, Time Quartet
  #35 in	Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > L'Engle, Madeleine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

I read Wrinkle in Time when I was 11 and thought it was the best thing I'd ever read. Wind in the Door and Swiftly Tilting Planet were published when I was an adult. I liked Wind in the Door, but it didn't have the "agic"of Wrinkle. When I picked up Swiftly Tilting Planet, I thought that I would enjoy it, but it wouldn't be up to par with Wrinkle. Boy was I wrong!

Planet was the most magnificient book I've ever read. I'm 46 years old and have read thousands of books over my lifetime, including all of Madeleine L'Engle's titles. This story is so inspirational, suspenseful, frightning, heartbreaking and joyful. It's just the best.

I use The Rune when I need a little "igher power"in my life as well as traditional prayers. I recommend it to everyone. It may be complicated for some children, but Ms. L'Engle doesn't write down for anyone. It can be a joyeous experience for the imaginative child and adult as well.

I think I'll sign off and go read it again right now.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not the best., August 5, 2004

By	BAW "BAW" (Charleston, WV United States) - See all my reviews

The narrative is a bit confused, and the jump in ages between this book and the previous ones in the series--one wants to know what happened in between!--is a problem, but it is still worth reading.

To answer the reader who objected to Meg's putting her scientific career 'on hold' to be a wife and mother, L'Engle herself said that she did this because (a) there were a lot of children's and young adult books coming out at the time which had strong female characters choosing a career, but that (b) feminism was supposed to be about CHOICE, and she wanted to portray a strong female who CHOSE wifehood/motherhood as her vocation, as opposed to on the one hand who chose a professional career or on the other hand fell into the wife/mother role by default.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is probably my favorite of all the Time Trilogy books!, May 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Swiftly Tilting Planet (The Time Quartet) (Paperback)

After reading A Wrinkle In Time and A Wind In the Door, (both of which are also fantastic) I had to read this one. I was blown away reading this! This IS a complicated book-many times while I was reading I turned back to some of the other parts to understand a bit better. But that was the delightful and interesting part about it! I loved the whole "mad dog" name thing and the way each of the people Charles visited were connected, and yet very different.

I disagree with people who talk about how it's bad that Meg is only a pregnant housewife and Calvin is a famous scientist. It says in the later books about Poly (Meg's oldest daughter) that Meg works with mathematics, numbers and all that.

I reccomend this to L'Engle or fantasy fans, especially those who've read the first Time Trilogy books. But if you can't handle complicated plots, numerous characters and different settings, wait a few more years to read this so that you can fully appreciate this book!