A Wrinkle In Time

Meg Murry, a teenage girl, is struggling with adolescence along with her father mysteriously disappearing. Her family is visited by an eccentric old woman, Mrs. Whatsit who implies that she might be able to help find the missing scientist.

Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe go on a journey through time with Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which to find Meg and Charles Wallace's father. The three Mrs. W's use tesseract to transport them through the universe in search of Mr. Murry. The transporting method is described as being like folding a fabric in space and time.

The children and the three Mrs. W's (guardian angels if you will) visit a planet where Mr. Murry is being held captive because he will not conform to the evil "IT" way of thinking.

Meg has to go to another planet to consult with some wise beings in order to go back to where her father and now her brother are being held captive. Meg is able to get her family released by using her love for them as a weapon against "IT". Evil doesn't understand love.

Image Credit: A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet) product page

Margaret "Meg" Murry: The protagonist of the story, Meg is around 14 years old and as with all teens is unhappy with her appearance. She is really smart with mathematics but struggles with other subjects. The oldest child of Alex and Kate Murry, she is the outcast of the family. She has a bit of trouble with people in authority.

Charles Wallace Murry: The youngest in the family, the boy is a genius and has telepathic abilities. He is about 5 years old in the story and first meets the three Mrs. W's. He also gets controlled by "IT".

Calvin O'Keefe: A 14 year old friend of Meg's, Calvin is a jock but prefers the Murry family over his own. He shows some telepathic abilities in the story.

Mrs. Whatsit: The youngest of the three guardian angels at only 2.37 billion years old, she seems to relate to the children the best. She transforms into a winged centaur on the planet Uriel. She is described as an elderly woman who is wrapped in layers of clothes.

Mrs. Who: Described as a plump woman with glasses she speaks in several languages and quotes Shakespeare and the Bible a lot. She has trouble verbalizing in her own words.

Mrs. Which: The oldest of the three Mrs. W's she has trouble completely materializing and is often seen as a glimmer of light. When you do see her she looks a bit like the stereotypical witch with black hat and robe. She interacts the least with the children but seems to have the most authority. Oddly, Meg chooses her as someone to trust.

"IT": The disembodied brain with telepathic control over the planet of Camazotz. "IT" is part of the interstellar cloud of evil The Black Thing. "IT" speaks through the Man with Red Eyes and later through Charles Wallace.

Earth: The story begins on earth in a village that is believed to be somewhere in Connecticut.

Camazotz: A planet with extreme and enforced conformity which is ruled by "IT". At first the planet appears to be a lot like earth but further investigation shows that everything looks the same, all houses are the same, all towns are the same. The people almost seem mechanical as their minds have been taken over by "IT".

Ixchel: Inhabited by tall sightless creatures this planet has muted colors.

Uriel: This planet is inhabited by winged creatures that resemble centaurs. It is here that Mrs. Whatsit transforms into one of these creatures.

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Madeleine L'Engle may have had difficulty getting a publisher to print her book but once it was put in book form it received much acclaim from the literary world. The book was awarded three awards and was the runner up for the fourth.

John Newbery Medal: The award is given to the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Sequoyah Book Award: Awarded each year by Oklahoma third through fifth grade children as their favorite book. (Remember the publishers thought it would be too difficult for children to read!)

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award: Given to books deemed to possess enough of the qualities of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll to enable them to sit on the same book shelf.

Hans Christian Anderson Award: A Wrinkle in Time was the runner up for this international award given in recognition for lasting contribution to children's literature.

Image Credit: Wikipedia and used in conjunction with the Fair Use section of the Copyright laws.

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