A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Meg Murry is one of the most memorable little girls in young adult fiction. Smart, prickly, a sour social misfit, she illustrates what it means to “be yourself.” In this much beloved book, she tries to find her scientist father. Her five-year-old brother Charles Wallace, a little genius, makes friends with three old ladies who’ve moved into the local haunted house. Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which have come from beyond our galaxy to confirm Mr. Murry’s work on tesseracts, folds in the space-time continuum. Meg and Charles Wallace “tesser” to the “dark planet” Camazotz to save Mr. M. The novel actually begins with “It was a dark and stormy night” (which also opened Edward George Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel Paul Clifford). (YA)

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Readers Guide by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Overview

Adventure. Mystery. Sacrifice. First love. Family loyalty. Literature. Universal truths. Time travel. And Science. This ground-breaking and thoughtfully charming young adult fantasy has it all. And it’s as unforgettable for grown-ups as it is for kids.

I must have been 13 when I first read it. And I still remember it as the book that made me feel that I must not be the only geeky, gawky, unpopular, misunderstood just-teen in the world. Maybe being smart was okay. Maybe being different was okay. Maybe having an imagination was okay. Maybe reading a good book was not just a way to hide, but a way to grow. Share this book with your kids. Or let them read it—even though they’ll be so enchanted they’ll be devouring it under the covers with a flashlight when they’re supposed to be asleep.

Meg Murry—at 13 with braces, bad hair, dissed by her classmates and misunderstood by her teachers—is struggling with more than middle school angst. Her father is missing. And while the town gossips suggest he’s run off with another woman, Meg knows that can’t be true. She knows Mr. Murry loves her smart and gorgeous scientist Mom, and would never leave the family. She knows Mrs. Murry pines for her missing scientist husband. They’d been working together on something called a “tesseract,” and she steadfastly continues their laboratory experiments while he’s “away.”

Where’s Father? And why isn’t he coming home?

Though Meg’s ten-year-old twin brothers are her stalwart protectors against the snipes of classmates who think she’s an oddball, Meg shares a special connection with her little brother Charles Wallace. Strangely wise and oddly perceptive, the obviously special Charles Wallace seems to be tuned in to a higher level of communication than Meg understands.

And then, very late on one “dark and stormy night” a stranger arrives in the Murry kitchen. She’s wrapped in a multitude of scarves and hats and whatnot—and, she says, she was “blown off course” until she realized she was near Charles Wallace’s house. The arrival of the extraordinary Mrs. Whatsit at the obviously not-so-ordinary Murry household begins a series of strange and wonderful adventures, with a cast of strange and wonderful—and sometimes scary—new characters.

It’s the interplanetary search and rescue of Mr. Murry, who’s being held captive by—well, that would give it away. Will Meg and Charles Wallace be able to bring him home? How? And at what cost?

Guided by three not-quite-what-they-seem intergalactic Auntie Mames, Meg and Charles Wallace—and their friend Calvin—travel through time and space. They face their fears, learn about human nature, discover the power of individuality, test their courage and experience true love.

Discussion Questions

1. “I hate being an oddball,” Meg says. Even so, she knows she can’t pretend to be like everyone else. Are there “oddballs” in your school? Do they get treated differently? Now that you know Meg, might you look at them in a different way?

2. “Just because we don’t understand, doesn’t mean an explanation doesn’t exist,” Mrs. Murry says. Meg says she likes to understand things, even though her Mother tells her it isn’t always possible. Mrs. Murry says she has “a willing suspension of disbelief.” What things exist that you don’t understand? What do you think “a willing suspension of disbelief” means? Have you ever had that?

3. Mrs. Which says, “We mustn’t lose our sense of humor. The only way to cope with something deadly serious is to try to treat it a little lightly.” When you’re afraid or worried, does it help to laugh, or look on the bright side? Why do you think that is?

4. On Camazotz, everyone does exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. What did you think when you read that? Now think about people you know. Is there someone who tells everyone else how to act and how to dress? Are you a follower? Or a leader?

5. On Camazotz, when Charles Wallace is under the power of IT, he tells Meg that everyone being just the same means no one is ever unhappy. Meg says, “Maybe if you aren’t unhappy sometimes, you don’t know how to be happy.” What do you think about that? Would you like your life to be exactly the same very day?

6. “Like and equal are not the same at all,” Meg says. Remember, on Camazotz, everyone under the power of IT is alike. Everyone believes the same thing. Everyone acts the same way. How is “equal” different from “alike”?

7. Did you understand the explanation of how to tesser? Wouldn’t that be amazing to travel like that? Do you think it’s possible? When you imagine something, your brain gets there instantly. Is that a little like tessering?

8. Meg is afraid when she first sees Aunt Beast. Why is that? But Aunt Beast—and those like her—cannot see. If Meg had her eyes closed when she first met the lovely and wise Aunt Beast, do you think her reaction would have been different? Is your first impression of someone based on how they look? Do you think that’s a always good thing?

9. The black thing is threatening to take over the universe. Have you ever felt like something dark was trying to interfere with your life? How did you fight it? A dark thing doesn’t have to be a scary-looking monster, does it? Could it just be–fear? And if it’s just fear, how would you fight that?

10. Mrs. Which says, “There will no longer be so many pleasant things to look at if responsible people do not do something about the unpleasant ones.” What do you think she means?

11. Meg learns the power of being an individual, and learns her own strength of mind and of character. Does being an individual mean you have to be alone?

12. What does Meg have that IT does not have? How do you think she will be different at the end of her adventures than she was when the story began?

About the Author

Madeline L’Engle (pronounced LENG-el) was born in Manhattan in 1918. In her obituary (Sept. 8, 2007), the New York Times reported she felt unpopular at school, and when she won a fifth grade poetry contest, a teacher accused her of plagiarizing. She graduated from Smith College with honors in English, and did not take science classes. She won the 1963 Newberry Medal for A Wrinkle in Time. According to the Times, at the time of her death it was in its 69th printing, and had sold eight million copies. Her obituary quotes Ms. L’Engle as saying she used concepts from Einstein’s theory of relativity and Planck’s quantum theory—and admits “Of course I’m Meg.” It also quotes a 1983 interview with Horn Book Magazine where L’Engle revealed, “It was only after it was written that I realized what some of it meant.”

If You Liked This...

Here are some books to try next:

The Diamond in the Window by Jane Langton
The Time Garden and Knight’s Castle by Edward Eager
“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
And of course, the “Harry Potter” books by J. K. Rowling

Other books by Madeleine L'Engle:

A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Charles Wallace and the unicorn Gaudior battle Madog Branzillo to save the world
A Wind in the Door - More adventures of Meg Murry and Charles Wallace

For adults:

Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
The Stand by Stephen King
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Hank Phillippi Ryan

Veteran journalist Hank Phillippi Ryan has won 24 Emmy awards as investigative reporter for the NBC affiliate in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the author of the Charlotte McNally Mysteries, beginning with the best-selling novels Prime Time (2007) which was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel, and Face Time (2007).