It’s time for our March Book Club pick, and I am really excited for this one.
This month, we’re reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.
While the book was published in 1962 and is a much-loved classic, the new film version directed by Ava Duvernay comes out on March 7. So at the end of the month, we’ll be discussing both the book and the film, if you can make time to both read and go see it.
If you’re not familiar with the book, please allow me to introduce it to you!
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. It is the first book in The Time Quintet, which consists of A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time.
You can find copies of this book everywhere ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), including at your local library, though the hold list has grown as the movie release gets closer.
This is the trailer that gave me head-to-toe goosebumps when I saw it, and both my kids are as eager as I am to watch the film.
So this month, we’ll read the book and, if possible, go see the movie, and gather to talk about both!
We have a chat date, too!
Sunday, March 25 at 8pm ET, we’ll be gathering to talk about everything! Mark your excellent calendars!
Madeline L’Engle can’t join us, obviously, as she died years ago. I did invite Ava Duvernay, but understandably, her schedule was way too packed to join us – though I can’t even tell you how shocked and pleased I was to receive a reply from her team.
We are all terribly excited to explore this book this month. I hope you are as well, and I hope you can join us, in reading and in watching, and in discussing!
Yeah!! I read (and still have) all her books as a teen and just bought this on Kindle for a trip. It will be intereseting to see how I view it 40 years later.
I am so here for this. Went and pulled out my old Dell Yearling edition of A Wrinkle in Time as soon as I saw this post because I am both a pack rat and a lifelong reader. Let’s do this.
If you can’t get your hands on the actual book, there is an excellent graphic novel adaption by Hope Larson, published in 2012. Here’s the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Wrinkle-Time-Graphic-Novel/dp/0374386153
My soul is ready. SQUEE! That trailer gave me goosebumps, too. Ava Duvernay is amazing!
I mean this new version can’t be worse than the 90s/early 2000s tv version can it? I remember being very unimpressed. Ditto to the awful disney adaptation of my favorite L’Engle novel–Ring of Endless Light
Oh _awesome_. I don’t remember when I first read this book, but it was pretty early on in my childhood. And arguably, along with Tolkien, L’Engle was very likely one of my early entry points into science fiction and fantasy. (heart) (heart) (heart)
I’m so excited! I love all of her books, and this gives me an excuse to re-read A Wrinkle in Time! (Not that I need an excuse, since I re-read it every couple of years anyways…)
I’m not sure if I will watch the movie or not, since I love th book so much and I’m terrified that Disney is going to ruin it. I will probably wait and see what other bookish fans of AWiT think of it, and then decide if I want to watch it or not. I was not blown away by the trailer, probably because I have such a strong mental image of the book(s) and the trailer didn’t match it at all.
This is a very special book to me. My mother recommended it to me when I was 8. It was the first book I stayed up all night to read. It was the first book where I “shipped” (without knowing what shipping was). It was one of the first books that moved me to tears in a happy way. My mom and I don’t always get along, but we bond over books to this day.
My mom is visiting at the end of the month and she rarely goes to the movies anymore, but we’re going to try to see it together and I’m really looking forward to it.
@Another Kate, I hear you. I suffered through the bastardization 20th Century Fox perpetrated on the X-Men and swore never again.
But, oh the hours I whiled away with the Murrays. I want this to be so good that we get to see Progo and Gaudor. If I don’t get some flying unicorn goodness in the near future I will be exceedingly disappointed.
I had to add my voice to the praise of ‘A Wrinkle In Time’. This is one of my all time favorite books! I still have all my childhood books and almost all of Madeline L’ Engles are among them. I will have to dig out my copy from storage.
I have been buying up her Kindle edition books too.
I actually didn’t like Wrinkle in Time when I was a kid. I remember even back then being incensed that Meg was expected to do all the saving even after her father was located. The most vivid memory I have of that book was Aunt Beast pulling away from Meg when she didn’t want to complete the quest and only becoming affectionate again after she agreed. Way to expect a 14-year-old to handle all the crap, adult beings.
From the trailer, Meg looks younger than 14, so I’ll be interested to hear if they play the ‘we only like you if you do what we say’ card.
Joining the chorus. This is a wonderful book, and I enjoyed the sequels almost as much when I encountered them in my 20s.
I loved this book growing up and it’s one of a handful of kids books still on my bookshelf (and I have no kids). But I don’t think I’m going to see the movie. This is one of those books that I’d prefer live in my imagination and just seeing the trailer was annoying… I like the actors in this under other circumstances but don’t picture them in these roles…
@MirandaB I had the opposite experience about the same things you didn’t like. The thing I remember most about the book was the fact that a GIRL was the one who got to rescue someone. And not just anyone, but two MALES. This was the first (and probably the only) book I read in my childhood in which a female character was more powerful than a male. It made me aware that girls can do whatever boys can do, which made a huge impact on me. Granted, this was about 50 years ago, so your perspective is probably a bit different from mine.
I loved this when I was a frizzy-haired gawky bespectacled twelve year old. I actually really liked Meg’s anger. I feel as if very few books I read back then allowed for female adolescent anger.
I was a bit disappointed when I read the book to my sons and they weren’t very interested in it at all. They were fascinated by IT and Camazotz, but the Medium, Aunt Beast… I rather felt as if they were humouring me with polite interest.
I first read this in 1965 when I was in 5th grade. It was my introduction to Science Fiction (I became a huge Trekkie as an adult) and I was hooked! I reread it often and then I read it to many of my 6th grade classes. I think I want a new copy to pet.
MirandaB, the intent is the opposite. Meg is expected to rise to the occasion. She has been expecting her father to be what all little girls see their Daddy as, a hero and a god. But he’s neither; he’s a human being. A very fallible one who cannot stand against IT the way that his daughter can: She must grow up and see that; Her weaknesses are her strengths for this particular mission. Even Charles Wallace’s innocent arrogance betrayed him: He’s used to being The Smart One and that’s exactly the weapon IT uses (intelligence to reason evil). Age or strength are not what are needed here because the weapon to fight IT (No spoilers here on that one. Take note, Disney)does not require those. Aunt Beast pulls away because Meg is not even going to try to fight and is blaming others for it; She is behaving in a selfish manner, which helps no one, not herself, and especially not her little brother. When Meg realizes what must be done, Aunt Beast comes back to her to give her comfort. It wasn’t withholding affection; It was not encouraging selfishness & cruelty and still giving support when needed.
I won’t be going to see this film. If it turns out to be a Mary Poppins (nothing but a passing resemblance to the book but a 4-star film in its own right), then I will watch it. But not before. Some cows are just too sacred to not be given a proper loving adaptation.
I loved L’Engle’s books as a kid, especially this series and her and her stand alones like And Both Were Young and Camilla.
I will admit though that A Wrinke in Time was ever my favorite of the series – that would be Many Waters and A Swiftly Tilting Planet both of which I’ve reread many times – and it does disappoint me to see Wrinkle often treated as a stand alone and know that we’ll most likely never get adaptations of the other books in the series.
@SusanE, I’m 53, so it’s probably not an age thing. Interpretations of books differ, and that’s ok. I hope everyone enjoys the book and movie.
Thinking about it some more, when I was a kid, I had a strong feeling that I was loved only if I was a good girl, did as I was told, got good grades, had a sweet disposition, etc. That’s why the scene with Meg and Aunt Beast got to me as much as it did.
@ MirandaB – I felt the same way while being told over and over again on how to be a good girl back in the 60s. I read A Wrinkle in Time when I was in 6th grade. We were dealing with some family issues and the book was more upsetting than anything to my 12-year-old self.
Fear not, I will not rain on the squee parade on March 25!
Oh, me either, @LauraL! I hope things are better for you. They are for me now.
@ MirandaB – Time and distance were the cure. Glad things are better for you, too. 🙂
I loved this book so much as a kid. I identified with Meg Murray so much – an awkward looking and acting smart girl who grew up to be beautiful and successful. She gave me hope, as did Jo March and Anne Shirley.
I reread it a few years ago, and it didn’t hold up as well as I’d hoped. I’ll be curious to hear if anyone is reading it for the first time and what they think.
The trailer looks good, but I have the same complaint about the casting of Meg that I did with Hermione – she’s too cute! Enough of this sticking glasses on a pretty girl and calling her plain. But I will see the movie. And then I’ll re-read the boom.
YES! I love this book so much and have ever since I first read it in maybe 4th or 5th grade. This was one of the books I was excited to share with my girls when they got old enough. Now I have read it to my 10 year old and am in the process of reading it to my 7 year old. We saw the trailer when we went to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi and when it ended and the theater was quiet, both my older daughter and I whispered “oh yeah!” Clearly we are very excited. I agree with others who have said that they fear Disney will ruin it, and some of the glimpses I’ve gotten in the trailers have fueled that fear a tiny bit. But unless it is REALLY bad, I think I can ignore the things that will inevitably annoy me and focus on the fact that my daughters are getting to experience one of my absolute favorite stories, where a frizzy-haired girl ends up the hero of the day, and they will be seeing it with people of color in starring roles. Which is cool.