Why A Wrinkle in Time Matters to Me
A Wrinkle in Time is an oldie but a goodie. In fact, when asked what my favorite book is, I often state it's this one.
Written by Madeline L'Engle and first published in 1962, this book is a true classic. My mom loved this book as a child. Kids today love this book. I know I'm not special for having liked it, but that's not the point of this post.
I was in elementary school when I read this, and I'm almost certain it was assigned reading. I loved assigned reading because I could openly read something and no one could make fun of me. I had to read it, okay? I still remember so many fondly. Like, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Indian in the Cupboard, Walk Two Moons, Bridge to Terabithia (which absolutely ruined me), etc. But I liked this enough that at the next school book fair, I bought myself a paperback copy, and then, years later, my mom gave me her old, hard-cover copy. I cherish that thing and it has a coveted spot on my bookshelf that isn't covered up or stacked on. I read it many times over the years. It was a series, but somehow I didn't realize that and never read the other books.
I think I loved that Meg was a bit nerdy but smart and interesting to read about. She wasn't a helpless damsel. As a young girl, that was something I didn't see a lot of.
The adventures she went on were fun and made me dream of meeting some dying stars that wanted to jet around the universe with me. Just not to that 2D planet. That one sounded painful. As they drew closer to IT and Meg noticed all the influences of IT. Like the one with the kids outside, bouncing their balls in time. I even liked the cute little relationship between Meg and Calvin. Of course, Meg saves her dad and goes back home. I love the story.
I remember very vividly the second I saw the trailer for the 2018 (seems like it was SO MUCH LONGER AGO than that, thanks COVID) movie and it was maybe halfway through when I realized it was A Wrinkle in Time and I even exclaimed "They are making a new Wrinkle in Time Movie?" and got shushed. First time that had ever happened to me. I was just so very excited. A gal next to me, at the end of the trailer, when they said the name was like "how did she know?"
I hated that movie. I hated that they cast Oprah as Mrs. Witch. She clearly wanted screen time, and that's whatever, but Mrs. Witch is just a wavy, unseeable mess in the books (visually, I mean. She's obviously very helpful and powerful as a character). Mrs. Whatsit is mean and really treats Meg like an idiot and really seems to hate her, while in the book, she is kind and her love is what saves Meg and helps her realize how to kill IT. The Happy Medium situation was just annoying. Aunt Beast is just gone. Poor Meg who has some self-esteem issues in the book seems outright disliked by almost everyone in the movie, not just Mrs. Whatsit. There are other things, like the stupid ending, but it doesn't matter. It's just disappointing that Disney and that star-studded cast can do so badly.
As a writer, we all know how hard querying is and how depressing the whole process of getting your book out into the world can be. We hear these things like Stephen King's Carrie was rejected so many times, he threw it in the trash and his wife rescued it. Many famous books and authors deal with rejection. This book was no different. Apparently, L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times. She suggests part of the reason is that her MC is female and it's a science fiction book, and she might just be onto something there. She almost lucked into getting it published and once she did, it won the Newbery Medal and the rest is history.
If you haven't read this book, I highly suggest you do so. And one of these days, probably soon, I'm going to do a book review on it. Because why not.
