I was so distraught by the fact that I didn’t enjoy re-reading one of my big childhood favorites that I couldn’t write a review for days. I feel HORRIBLE giving “A Wrinkle in Time” such a low review, but the story just didn’t hold up for me.
Meg is supposed to be the main character and the heroine of the tale, but aside from her one job near the plot’s end, she doesn’t seem to do much more than get angry at everyone for the fact that she doesn’t fit in, or she whines because she didn’t like the outcome of a situation.
There’s also a very ‘Leave It To Beaver’ undertone to the book; everyone is just nice. The working mother is a flawless beauty who’s got a double doctorate in science, but still seems to have time to take care of her appearance and raise four children with homemade stew, fresh garden vegetables, and late-night hot chocolates and sandwiches. The father’s only flaw is that he’s kind to his children, and the kids all have a ‘special intelligence.’ Charles-Wallace, the youngest brother, talks like a professor of literature at five years old. There’s also some nuance in there that he’s some kind of a mind-reader, but that’s left hanging and never explained.
Then there’s the magical part of this book; the children travel with three mystical figures, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit, in order to fight a black vortex hanging over the earth due to their father dabbling in magic that was too big for him. It’s up to whiny Meg and her prodigy kid-brother to save the day, but the magical places they wander through on their journey are never revisited and don’t add much to the story other than being convenient stops for info-dumps.
There are still some cute things about this story, like the punny chapter headings, and Mrs. Whatsit’s all-consuming power wrapped up in the outfit of a bag lady, but this story reeks of the 1960s in which it was written, and much of its original charm is lost in the wake of how far children and YA fantasy has come since 1962.
I still think kids in the tweens would love this book, but I couldn’t hack it as an adult.
I reread this and the two that follow earlier this year and was extremely underwhelmed. The first half or so was at least nostalgic, but I didn’t realize how much I had forgotten (like the in-your-face Christian message).
I also couldn’t believe how poorly these books were paced. I know I never would have picked up on that as a kid, but as an adult it made them difficult to enjoy.
I had some very fond memories of A Wrinkle in Time that were unfortunately tainted by the reread, and my disappointment is making it hard to write my own review. I feel like I need to find some better MG/YA fantasy to replace the space in my heart where this book once resided.
i’m so glad it wasn’t just me; I felt so terrible giving this 2 stars, but I felt I had to grade it as I saw it. And I also totally forgot about the super Christian message. It was kind of jarring the way it came out of nowhere in the back half. But everything in the back half of this book was jarring.