Skip to main content

A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet #1) by Madeleine L'Engle

"The tried and true story of "good versus evil", L'Engle's approach was a unique, peppering inter-dimensional travel into the mix. But in the end, the characters Meg and Charles Wallace were a bit much and the lack of explanation, especially about Mr. Murry and how he just happened to land on Camazotz and become a prisoner of IT, left me wanting more information and not getting it."

2 Stars

Pros: The idea of a Tesseract is an interesting one, though very complex based on the fact this is a young readers book. 

Cons: Meg was very shrill and also very opposite. When speaking with IT, she argued saying that the least he could do was give them some food and then when he gives them food she refuses to eat it, she was really kind of obnoxious/Also, the end, what saves everyone made sense but, it was a bit of a letdown. 

Full Review

It's a dark and stormy night and Meg can't sleep, so she goes downstairs to the kitchen to find her youngest brother, Charles Wallace, sitting at the table, eating toast. Meg joins him and her mother and they start to talk about the happenings of the town, especially the news of a tramp wandering about, having stolen a neighbors set of good sheets. And all of a sudden, the door blows open and a stranger appears. 

Meg, at first, thinks it's the tramp and is terrified but after awhile, once the stranger gets settled and warm, everyone seems to relax. When its time for the stranger, who calls herself, Mrs. Whatsit, to leave, she looks at Mrs. Murry and says simply that there is, in fact, such a thing, as a tesseract. Mrs. Murry all but faints at the news and Meg and Charles Wallace are intrigued and frightened. 

Could this mysterious tesseract have something to do with the whereabouts of their long lost father? He's a physicist who one day just, disappeared. Of course, the rumors about town are that he's run off with another woman but Meg refuses to believe that. She'll soon get the chance to realize how right she's been all along. 

Charles Wallace, Meg and a boy from school, Calvin O'Keefe, run into each other the next day while going towards the dilapidated old house in the woods that Charles Wallace knows Mrs. Whatsit is living in. He also knows she has two friends with her and he thinks it's high time they paid them a visit. 

Their talk with Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which is quite informative and life altering. The three children learn that the power of evil, a dark shadow that blots out and consumes everything in its path is slowly creeping across the universe and its started to settle over Earth. So, Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace agree to be whisked away to a distant world called Camazotz, in hopes of battling the evil and also, finding out the fate of their Father. 

Having read this book as an adult, I never realized how "Christian" L'Engle's plot is and though it's not a con, per se, it's just something that caught me off-guard. Also, Charles Wallace's "strangeness", his uncanny ability to seem to know when Meg is upset and needs comfort, and also Meg's "shrillness" seem to be the powers that save the day. There was no real explanation as to why Mr. Murry was even studying a tesseract or how he, himself, was able to perform such a feat. I think, in the end, it was a good story about love conquering all but as an adult, I craved more information. I'll read the rest of the series, just to see what happens and if they give anymore information but, I'm not going to expect much. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Spark of White Fire (The Celestial Trilogy #1) by Sangu Mandanna

"Similar to "Game of Thrones" only in space, there was a lot going on with a lot of different people and they were all important and connected but my tired, overworked brain had trouble keeping up. " 2 Stars  Pros:  I liked Max as a character, I'm all for the tall, dark, mysterious supposed bad boy with a heart of gold cliche, but the kissing cousins thing just made it weird.   Cons:  It felt like Game of Thrones, only in space, so there was a bit of a kissing cousins vibe going and I wasn't feeling it/The book tried to have these big, shocking moments I was just non-plussed, unaffected./The presence of the Gods irked me as they did in The Illiad, it's all terribly convenient to have divine intervention for your MCs. I feel like it's the cheapest fake-out cheat of all time 👍🤣 Full Review:    My co-worker, who has recommended some amazing reads such as, A Man Called Ove ,   The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse,  and I'll Give You The Sun...
Post a Comment
Read more

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

"The classic tale of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up and his adventures with his Lost Boys and the Darling Children, Wendy, John and Michael. At times fun and whimsical and other times surprisingly dark, it was an interesting read as an adult." 3 Stars  Pros:   There is something appealing about flying away to a mysterious island where you can play all day and never have to grow up. The thrall of Neverland is a constant for this dreamer.  Cons: Peter Pan is truly the most arrogant little brat and very much in need of a mother/I was surprised at the bloodshed because I always thought this was a children's book, it was rather dark at times.  Full Review Mr. and Mrs. Darling are the proud yet rather dismissive and negligent parents of three children. Wendy, John and Michael. All three have flights of fancy and dream of an island, with mermaids and pirates. Mrs. Darling dismisses these as the whimsy of childhood but she herself remembers when she too dreamt of...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

"Arnold Spirit, Jr, or "Junior" as he's known on the Rez, does something no Spokane Indian has ever done. He enrolls in Reardon High School and begins the long and often painful process off navigating not only high school and adolescence but also being an outsider. Alexie handles it all with grace, humor and honesty. This was a great read. I would recommend it to anyone."  5 Stars Pros: Alexie handles the ups and downs of not only adolescence, but tragedy and loss in a stark, honest but gut wrenchingly relatable way.  Cons:  Some of Junior's all-consuming guilt, though understandable was a little repetitive but it's all part of being a teenager.  Full Review:  It all starts when Arnold Spirit Jr, or Junior, throws a textbook across the classroom. When he opened the book he saw his mother's name, her maiden name and it enrages him. He's furious that the reservation is so poor that they're learning from thirty-year old textbooks. He doesn't...
Post a Comment
Read more