A Wrinkle in Time
Wikipedia
Guide to YA Lit
A Wrinkle in Time is a young adult novel written by American author Madeleine L'Engle. First published in 1962, the book has won the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. The main characters, Meg Murry, Charles Wallace Murry, and Calvin O'Keefe, embark on a journey through space and time, from universe to universe, as they endeavor to save the Murrys' father and the world. The novel offers a glimpse into the war between light and darkness, and good and evil, as the young characters mature into adolescents on their journey. The novel wrestles with questions of spirituality and purpose, as the characters are often thrown into conflicts of love, divinity, and goodness.
One night, thirteen-year-old Meg Murry meets an eccentric new neighbor, Mrs. Whatsit, who refers to something called a tesseract. She later finds out it is a scientific concept her father was working on before his mysterious disappearance. The following day, Meg, her child genius brother Charles, and fellow schoolmate Calvin visit Mrs. Whatsit's home, where the equally strange Mrs. Who and the unseen voice of Mrs. Which promise to help Meg find and rescue her father.
Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which turn out to be supernatural beings who transport Meg, Charles, and Calvin through the universe by means of tesseract, a fifth-dimensional phenomenon explained as folding the fabric of space and time. Their first stop is the planet Uriel, a Utopian world filled with Centaur-like beings who live in a state of light and love. The Mrs. Ws reveal to the children that the universe is under attack from an evil being who appears as a large dark cloud called The Black Thing, which is essentially the personification of evil. The children are taken to visit the Happy Medium, a woman with a crystal ball through which they see that Earth is partially covered by the darkness, although great religious figures, philosophers, scientists, and artists have been fighting against it. Mrs. Whatsit is revealed to be a former star who exploded in an act of self-sacrifice to fight the darkness.
The children travel to the dark planet of Camazotz, which has succumbed to the Black Thing and where Meg's father is trapped because he would not succumb to the group mind that causes inhabitants to behave in a mechanical way. In order to find their father, Charles Wallace deliberately allows himself to be hypnotized. He takes Meg and Calvin to the place where Meg's father, Alexander, is being held prisoner. Charles Wallace then takes them to IT, the evil disembodied brain with powerful abilities that controls the planet. Using special powers from Mrs. Who's glasses, Alexander transports Calvin, Meg, and himself to the planet Ixchel before IT can control them all. Charles Wallace is left behind, still under the influence of IT and Meg is paralyzed from from injuries sustained during the trip. An inhabitant of the planet with featureless faces, tentacles and four arms proves to be both wise and gentle and cures Meg's paralysis.
The trio of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which arrive and charge Meg with rescuing Charles Wallace from IT. Arriving at the building where IT resides, they find Charles Wallace under IT's influence. Inspired by hints from the Mrs. Ws, Meg focuses all her love at Charles Wallace and is able to free him from IT's control. They all then transport back to Earth and the Mrs. Ws leave.
One night, thirteen-year-old Meg Murry meets an eccentric new neighbor, Mrs. Whatsit, who refers to something called a tesseract. She later finds out it is a scientific concept her father was working on before his mysterious disappearance. The following day, Meg, her child genius brother Charles, and fellow schoolmate Calvin visit Mrs. Whatsit's home, where the equally strange Mrs. Who and the unseen voice of Mrs. Which promise to help Meg find and rescue her father.
Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which turn out to be supernatural beings who transport Meg, Charles, and Calvin through the universe by means of tesseract, a fifth-dimensional phenomenon explained as folding the fabric of space and time. Their first stop is the planet Uriel, a Utopian world filled with Centaur-like beings who live in a state of light and love. The Mrs. Ws reveal to the children that the universe is under attack from an evil being who appears as a large dark cloud called The Black Thing, which is essentially the personification of evil. The children are taken to visit the Happy Medium, a woman with a crystal ball through which they see that Earth is partially covered by the darkness, although great religious figures, philosophers, scientists, and artists have been fighting against it. Mrs. Whatsit is revealed to be a former star who exploded in an act of self-sacrifice to fight the darkness.
The children travel to the dark planet of Camazotz, which has succumbed to the Black Thing and where Meg's father is trapped because he would not succumb to the group mind that causes inhabitants to behave in a mechanical way. In order to find their father, Charles Wallace deliberately allows himself to be hypnotized. He takes Meg and Calvin to the place where Meg's father, Alexander, is being held prisoner. Charles Wallace then takes them to IT, the evil disembodied brain with powerful abilities that controls the planet. Using special powers from Mrs. Who's glasses, Alexander transports Calvin, Meg, and himself to the planet Ixchel before IT can control them all. Charles Wallace is left behind, still under the influence of IT and Meg is paralyzed from from injuries sustained during the trip. An inhabitant of the planet with featureless faces, tentacles and four arms proves to be both wise and gentle and cures Meg's paralysis.
The trio of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which arrive and charge Meg with rescuing Charles Wallace from IT. Arriving at the building where IT resides, they find Charles Wallace under IT's influence. Inspired by hints from the Mrs. Ws, Meg focuses all her love at Charles Wallace and is able to free him from IT's control. They all then transport back to Earth and the Mrs. Ws leave.