Book Report By:
Madeleine L'Engle a French author uses a creative mixture of science and fairy tale magic for building the story line in her book A Wrinkle in Time. From beginning to end Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin go through adventure after adventure bursting with animated fairy-tale characteristics. This book has a model preteen coming-of-age theme. The three are intertwined naturally, and work well within the science-fiction twist of this very unbelievable fantasy tale. The main character Meg Murry is the perfect innocent child turned into a hero. The beginning of the story presents a 13 year old Meg as young, and constantly wallowing in self-pity. Meg enters the first chapter emotionally immature with a self-centered "why must everything happen to me" attitude . Although her five year old younger brother Charles Wallace is "rumored to be not quite bright" he is actually extremely advanced for his age and Meg's main caretaker.
"How did Charles Wallace always know about her? How could he always probe (and understand) with frightening accuracy" ? The two are remarkably close, and whenever life becomes too much for Meg, Charles Wallace reaches out to comfort her.
All three, Meg, Charles Wallace, and their new found friend, 14 year old Calvin O'Keefe, fit the average misunderstood characteristics found in many fairy-tale and teen stories. While both Calvin and Charles Wallace are misunderstood by most, Charles Wallace at least has the support of a loving home, with preoccupied parents. Calvin, on the contrary, has no one to understand and appreciate him. "The funny part of it" he says, "is that I love them all and they don't give a hoot about me I care, but nobody else does" . All three children, each with his or her own special individual qualities, strive to get along in their world. The boys don't seem to care much what others think, only Meg, with her many imperfections, flounders from day to day.
Mixed in with this is a