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A review by carlyxdeexx
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
4.0
Last time I read this book, I was likely in the middle school library, and I likely thought it was wonderful and then didn’t think much else of it. If you asked me a few days ago about my favorite books from when I was a middle schooler, this wouldn’t have been the first to come to mind.
Now that the movie’s coming out, I thought revisiting the book would be a good idea, and I’m happy I did. It’s a short and sweet yet sweeping story, covering grand themes of love and faith and self-worth while keeping all of the characters and their relationships very accessible and matter-of-fact. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly nuanced in its explorations of these concepts, but I also can’t say I expected that from this particular book, given its age and its audience. It was direct, slightly elevated, and overall just nice/nostalgic to read, evocative of C. S. Lewis’s CHRONICLES OF NARNIA in that regard, as well as its entwining of Christianity with fantasy/sci-fi elements. Phillip Pullman’s HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy does this, too, in a much more similar way, but I think Lewis and L’Engle share more of a similar voice.
If I could give this 3.5 stars, I would. I like it less than Pullman’s series and more than Lewis’s overall, though there are sequels, and I vaguely remember MANY WATERS being a favorite of my younger self. I chose 4 since it just felt good to read this book again after so long. I didn’t remember much of it at all, but reading it felt delightfully comforting and familiar.
Now that the movie’s coming out, I thought revisiting the book would be a good idea, and I’m happy I did. It’s a short and sweet yet sweeping story, covering grand themes of love and faith and self-worth while keeping all of the characters and their relationships very accessible and matter-of-fact. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly nuanced in its explorations of these concepts, but I also can’t say I expected that from this particular book, given its age and its audience. It was direct, slightly elevated, and overall just nice/nostalgic to read, evocative of C. S. Lewis’s CHRONICLES OF NARNIA in that regard, as well as its entwining of Christianity with fantasy/sci-fi elements. Phillip Pullman’s HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy does this, too, in a much more similar way, but I think Lewis and L’Engle share more of a similar voice.
If I could give this 3.5 stars, I would. I like it less than Pullman’s series and more than Lewis’s overall, though there are sequels, and I vaguely remember MANY WATERS being a favorite of my younger self. I chose 4 since it just felt good to read this book again after so long. I didn’t remember much of it at all, but reading it felt delightfully comforting and familiar.