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A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet) Paperback – May 1, 2007
| Madeleine L'Engle (Author, Introduction) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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This is Book 1 of the Time Quintet Series
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.
"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."
A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.
A Wrinkle in Time is the winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal.
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level6 and up
- Lexile measure740L
- Dimensions5.26 x 0.69 x 7.52 inches
- PublisherSquare Fish
- Publication dateMay 1, 2007
- ISBN-100312367546
- ISBN-13978-0312367541
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Yoo's cover art is enchanting.” ―Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (blog)
“A coming of age fantasy story that sympathizes with typical teen girl awkwardness and insecurity, highlighting courage, resourcefulness and the importance of famiyl ties as key to overcoming them.” ―Carol Platt Liebau, author, in the New York Post
“An exhilarating experience.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“This imaginative book will be read for a long time into the future.” ―Children's Literature
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
A Wrinkle in Time
By Madeleine L'EngleSquare Fish
Copyright © 2007Madeleine L'EngleAll right reserved.
ISBN: 9780312367541
Chapter One
"Now, don't be frightened, loves," Mrs. Whatsit said. Her plump little body began to shimmer, to quiver, to shift. The wild colors of her clothes became muted, whitened. The pudding-bag shape stretched, lengthened, merged. And suddenly before the children was a creature more beautiful than any Meg had even imagined, and the beauty lay in far more than the outward description. Outwardly Mrs. Whatsit was surely no longer a Mrs. Whatsit. She was a marble-white body with powerful flanks, something like a horse but at the same time completely unlike a horse, for from the magnificently modeled back sprang a nobly formed torso, arms, and a head resembling a man's, but a man with a perfection of dignity and virtue, an exaltation of joy such as Meg had never before seen. No, she thought, it's not like a Greek centaur. Not in the least.
From the shoulders slowly a pair of wings unfolded, wings made of rainbows, of light upon water, of poetry.
Calvin fell to his knees.
"No," Mrs. Whatsit said, though her voice was not Mrs. Whatsit's voice. "Not to me, Calvin. Never to me. Stand up."
"Ccarrry themm," Mrs. Which commanded.
With a gesture both delicate and strong Mrs. Whatsit knelt in front of the children, stretching her wings wide and holding them steady, but quivering. "Onto my back, now," the new voice said.
The children took hesitant steps toward the beautiful creature.
From the Paperback edition.
Continues...
Excerpted from A Wrinkle in Timeby Madeleine L'Engle Copyright © 2007 by Madeleine L'Engle. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
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Product details
- Publisher : Square Fish; Reprint edition (May 1, 2007)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0312367546
- ISBN-13 : 978-0312367541
- Reading age : 10 - 14 years
- Lexile measure : 740L
- Grade level : 6 and up
- Item Weight : 7.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.26 x 0.69 x 7.52 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Children's Time Travel Fiction
- #21 in Censorship & Politics
- #63 in Children's Classics
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Madeleine was born on November 29th, 1918, and spent her formative years in New York City. Instead of her school work, she found that she would much rather be writing stories, poems and journals for herself, which was reflected in her grades (not the best). However, she was not discouraged.
At age 12, she moved to the French Alps with her parents and went to an English boarding school where, thankfully, her passion for writing continued to grow. She flourished during her high school years back in the United States at Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, vacationing with her mother in a rambling old beach cottage on a beautiful stretch of Florida Beach.
She went to Smith College and studied English with some wonderful teachers as she read the classics and continued her own creative writing. She graduated with honors and moved into a Greenwich Village apartment in New York. She worked in the theater, where Equity union pay and a flexible schedule afforded her the time to write! She published her first two novels during these years—A Small Rain and Ilsa—before meeting Hugh Franklin, her future husband, when she was an understudy in Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. They married during The Joyous Season.
She had a baby girl and kept on writing, eventually moving to Connecticut to raise the family away from the city in a small dairy farm village with more cows than people. They bought a dead general store, and brought it to life for 9 years. They moved back to the city with three children, and Hugh revitalized his professional acting career.
As the years passed and the children grew, Madeleine continued to write and Hugh to act, and they to enjoy each other and life. Madeleine began her association with the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where she was the librarian and maintained an office for more than thirty years. After Hugh’s death in 1986, it was her writing and lecturing that kept her going. She lived through the 20th century and into the 21st and wrote over 60 books. She enjoyed being with her friends, her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on December 8, 2020
Top reviews from the United States
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As for the plot, there effectively is none. The first three quarters of the book is setup for a climax that never happens.
The aspect that bothers me most is how outdated it feels socially. The story pushes the tired "ugly duckling" motif and generally emphasizes the importance of good looks and traditional social standing and relationships, while confusingly claiming that nonconformity is the pinnacle of life and meaning. I understand that this is colored by the Cold War Communist scare, but the book gives a very strange and dated message.
A Wrinkle in Time is both a sci-fi story and a coming of age story. Meg, an awkward and insecure girl finds the courage and resourcefulness to overcome IT and save her father and brother. She also learns about the importance of family and love. While the character growth of Meg is nice, at times it seems a little contrived. One minute she's on the brink of death under the grip of IT, and the next, she's ready to face IT because she knows that it's something only she can do. It's also not very clear why little Charles, who has the vocabulary of a Harvard graduate, is so special. Some of the characters could have benefited from more development. Throughout the story there are references to Christianity: quotes from scripture, mention of guardian angels, and the idea that God is in charge of everything. This gives the story a "Chronicles of Narnia" kind of feel.
Overall, the story is very good, and one that would appeal to middle grade readers who enjoy sci-fi/fantasy books.
It hasn't held up.
The story lacks substance, the characters are dry and one-dimensional, or contribute nothing to the story, the three Mrs randomly bail on the protagonists for no apparent reason, and speaking of randomness, every so often there's a totally random, jarring bit of Christian proselytizing thrown in haphazardly, as though the publisher had demanded more God added to the story at the last minute or something.
Definitely not as good as I remembered imagining it as a child.
Top reviews from other countries
L’engle was inspired from Einstein’s theories in this book, and I’m not even sure I understand everything as an adult 🙂 It’s full of beautiful quotes, anecdotes, metaphors that elevates the book to another level than being a simple children’s novel. Meg, as a character, is layered and complex. When asked, L’engle if Meg is her, she says ‘of course’ 🙂
The evil is so realistic and scary. The atmosphere is very vividly dark. I loved how she displayed the battle between good and bad. My only criticism is, I felt the end was very rushed compared to the build up.
It's not just because it's dated. The characters are nauseatingly prim and precocious, the 'magical' characters are, frankly, boring, and the the whole thing is a horrible and confusing mishmash of bad sci-fi, yawnworthy witches and mawkish religion. I shouted out loud a lot as I read this.
A few of the central ideas feel a bit too similar to C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy series for my liking - for example, the severed head of Alcasan in That Hideous Strength is a mouthpiece for the evil alien Eldila, just like the throbbing brain is a mouthpiece for 'It' in A Wrinkle in Time. (By the way, the three Space Trilogy novels are far from the best thing Lewis ever wrote).
I'd happily give this zero points. Makes me mad this book still in circulation when I see so many talented authors out there these days who can't get a break. It's mystifying how this was ever made into a film.
While the story is relatively short and the writing style is simplistic at times, it isn’t at all dull to read - it’s relaxing and suitable for a wide audience (probably from around 11 upwards) and the characters (especially meg!) are relatable and appealing without being flawless
I would describe the story as rather whimsical fantasy (it reminded me of a ghibli film in places) but not in a way that could put off older readers.
Overall, a brilliant story and definitely worth the price!
This is a strange, mysterious story which is also deeply spiritual. Yes, there is a Christian message but it is a message that all of us can understand. The darkness they face is so complete, Meg learns to both rely on others and battle alone.
Being different is what makes these characters. it is what makes us humans. And this book may just heal a little bit of IT inside us all. Our weaknesses can often be our strength.
A fight between good and evil that can be enjoyed by all ages. It carries with a strong positive message.














