A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Father is missing! His top secret job as a physicist for the government has taken him away--but where?--and how? Meg and her younger brother, Charles Wallace, set out with their friend Calvin on an exciting adventure through time and space to search for him. With the help of the mysterious Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, the youngsters learn to expect the unexpected as they move in the fifth dimension known as the "tesseract".

With this award-winning story, Madeline L'Engle has captivated millions of readers throughout the world. Her universal themes of courage, perseverance, and love are interwoven with imagination and suspense. A Wrinkle in Time, published in 1962, won the distinguished Newbery Medal for children's literature in 1963.

This is a perfect example of why the blogging community is such a wonderful thing. When I read this book for the first time I didn't know anyone else that had read it. I couldn't even find the rest of the books in the series easily! Thankfully there was Barnes & Noble. I bought almost all of L'Engle's novels fro the States this way. This was before Canada had joined in on the online shopping, so my options were limited. Then, I went to a Barnes & Noble when I was in Texas and they had a whole section of books by her! So, um, I had a very heavy suitcase coming home... Fast forward to the present day and I have actually met people that have read L'Engle before. Not only that, but a group of us are reading her together. I really wanted that when I read her the first time around, so it thrills me that it is a possibility now.

Anyways, so it was a few years ago that I read this book the last time. I bought a four-in-one edition and reread it then. I am always nervous that I will hate the book when I reread it, so I try not to reread it too often. It was one of my very first science-fiction novels, though, so I think that for the memories alone I will always consider it one of my favourite books. I know that I notice things now when I read it that I wasn't really aware of when I read it all those years ago for the first time. I am much more aware of the religious aspects, for example. When I read it as a kid I knew religion played a part, but I guess I didn't pay a lot of attention to it.

Meg is still one of my favourite characters. I still don't entirely get all the science involved in the book. Charles Wallace is still cute. The three ladies still amuse me. Calvin is still a really good male character. I still find the books a tad bit old-fashioned at times, but I found that when I read the book for the first time. I find that with all of her books, though. Many of her famous ones were written during a different period of time than the one we are living in now. What else can I say but that I am glad that I had the chance to read this book with others and I look forward to reading the rest of the series!