Genre: Science Fiction
Media: Watercolor and Acrylic Paint
Appropriate Age: Intermediate and Middle School
Review:
This book is a wonderful example of science fiction because the characters take what seem to be scientific evidence to support their adventures. Meg - with the help of her boyfriend Calvin, her grade school teacher, a cherubim, a giant, and a farandolae- has to find a way to save her younger brother, Charles Wallace, from the illness that she later discovers will start to deteriorate the universe if she doesn't fix the issue.

Character Analysis:
Mr. Jenkins is a minor character that is crucial to the plot line, for saving him is one of the tasks that Meg and her friends must overcome to save her brother Charles Wallace. Mr. Jenkins is a teacher who is not able to kythe as well as the others, and feels himself a burden to the group. Every time the story focuses on Mr. Jenkins, the reader focuses on Meg's reaction, because the narrator let us know that Meg has a negative view of Mr. Jenkins. She must learn to appreciate Mr. Jenkins, and want to help him in order to save Charles Wallace from his illness. ( )

This book kept me a little more captured because it ran off the last one. I thought that this would be a good book to do a novel study with a class because I think it would be easy, and good, to focus in on how the children felt different and left out by their peers. By doing that, I think it would take a more realistic turn on a typically more science like discussion. ( )

Another fantastical journey, this time into the microcosm of the human cell. I love the way Ms. L'Engle ties the fate of worlds in with the fate of the single individual. Again, love of others - the love that comes from appreciating the individual worth of each soul - is essential to overcoming obstacles. Ms. L'Engle does an excellent job creating worlds that seem real. ( )

Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Review: September 30, 2009
Edition: Copyright 1973 (0-374-38443-6)
Pages: 211
Overall Rating: 3/5 [Average-Good]
Synopsis: Meg's youngest brother Charles Wallace struggles to be himself at school without finding trouble, and to make things worse he is now also deathly sick. Meg and her friends Calvin, "Progo" the cherubim, and Sporos the "farandola" now must discover the source of the illness.
Strengths: Interesting concepts, consistent characters.
Weaknesses: Occasional writing quality problems.
Further Review: A Wind in the Door was, when I was younger, always my favorite of this series because at that time it always seemed somewhat surreal to me; unfortunately, I did not like it quite as much on this read-through. In re-reading this, I did get a little frustrated with Meg's persistent and repetitious questions since she comes across as so obstinately wanting to make the worst of things that it ends up making the reading drag a bit, but she as well as the other characters of the book remain consistently themselves. The writing occasionally slips, not in description because Madeleine L'Engle's ideas for the story are always presented very clearly, but in dialogue; for example, there are times when the character Calvin will be present but not interacting at all, almost as if he's been forgotten. Also, this book tends to be very [for want of a better word] sappy, almost annoyingly so. Otherwise, the story is smoothly expressed and L'Engle has a very clear idea of every scene, of every character, in the book, and that is conveyed well to the reader.
Yes. Charles Wallace's drive of dragons was a single creature, although Meg was not at all surprised that Charles Wallace had confused this fierce, wild being with dragons. She had the feeling that she never saw all of it at once, and which of all the eyes could she meet? merry eyes, wise eyes, ferocious eyes, kitten eyes, dragon eyes, opening and closing, looking at her, looking at Charles Wallace and Calvin and the strange tall man. And wings, wings in constant motion, covering and uncovering the eyes. When the wings were spread out they had a span of at least ten feet, and when they were all folded in, the creature resembled a misty, feathery sphere. Little spurts of flame and smoke spouted up between the wings; it could certainly start a grass fire if it weren't careful. Meg did not wonder that Charles Wallace had not approached it.
Again the tall stranger reassure them. "He won't hurt you." The stranger was dark, dark as night and tall as a tree, and there was something in the repose of his body, the quiet of his voice, which drove away fear.
The themes of this book, like A Wrinkle in Time, are ones that benefit young adults as well as grown-ups. While the major moral is to stay true to oneself and to know and accept oneself while learning to adapt to new situations, there are other messages as well including leadership and community/connection. There is encouragement to take control and have faith in oneself (a theme also present in the former book); as well as the importance of being together, expressed here via "kything," which allows characters to communicate without words and despite proximity. One of my favorite themes, however, is the reminder to remain optimistic despite how bad things are---that is, one should not allow the enormity of terrible things overwhelm one's basic sense of goodness.
"There are still stars which move in ordered and beautiful rhythm. There are still people in this world who keep promises. Even little ones, like your cooking stew over your Bunsen burner. You may be in the middle of an experiment, but you still remember to feed your family. That's enough to keep my heart optimistic, no matter how pessimistic my mind. ..."
There is an interesting article (located here) that discusses the state of the science behind this book at the time it was written, showing how much L'Engle speculated and how much was actually known at the time. I find it interesting, too, that it wasn't until twenty years after the publication of this book that the first diseases in mitochondria were proven to exist, according to the article! ( )

A giant multi-winged/multi-eyed angel-thingy steps to help save Charles Wallace's mitochondria.

In this sequel to the beloved children's classic, A Wrinkle in Time, and this time, the children travel through time, space, and to the microscopic level to fight the Echthroi, a race bent on nulling (or Xing) everything.

You may like it if you're a die-hard fan of the series, though many have found it to not be quite as good as its predecessor. I found them to be equally enjoyable, but I am not everybody, which is a good thing for you. ( )