2016YA Book of the Month ツ A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle July 2016 → August 2016

[Lesle, Appalachain Bibliophile]

So far our YA Section has been a huge hit Thank you to all our Members for participating!

This is our third YA Group read!

Member ❀✿ Gem ✿❀ will be leading the discussion for our YA Classic Group Read!

A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel by American writer Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1963. The book won a Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Cannot wait to see where Gem will lead us!

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Just a reminder that we start reading mid-month, that is July 15. It is a wonderful book with a terrific first line.

[Lesle, Appalachain Bibliophile]

Oh Sorry Rosemarie, it already slipped my mind when we start! Guess Im getting old faster than I thought! Haha!

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

You are younger than I am! My daughter Victoria had a birthday on the 24th of June. I asked her how old she was and she said 30 something. I was 30 when she was born. Time goes by.
I remember the first time I read The Wrinkle in Time. I was in public school and I think it was the same JFK was killed. That was quite the year. And then along came the Beatles.

[Lesle, Appalachain Bibliophile]

You are right! I was in Mom's belly still when JFK was killed. Sad time. Beatles made it better!

[Gem]

Lesle wrote: "Guess Im getting old faster than I thought! Haha!"
Looks like I'm in good company then! lol

[Gem]

waves to everyone here and all who join us

I read A Wrinkle in Time for the first time in January. I'm looking forward to reading it again and am wondering what I'll catch that I didn't read the first time.

I will post some discussion point/questions but would also love to see this discussion also develop organically, so please jump right in!

[Gem]

It's almost time to start reading and discussing .

Here is a little bit about the book via Wikipedia:
A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel by American writer Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1963. The story revolves around a young girl whose father, a government scientist, has gone missing after working on a mysterious project called a tesseract.

In the story, Mrs Who and Charles Wallace explain to Meg that they will be traveling by "wrinkling time" through a tesseract and that "the fifth dimension's a tesseract. You add that to the other four dimensions and you can travel through space without having to go the long way around. In other words, to put it into Euclid, or old-fashioned plane geometry, a straight line is not the shortest distance between two points."

In the novel, the tesseract functions more or less like what in modern science-fiction is called a space warp or a wormhole, a portal from one area of space to another which is possible through the bending of the structure of the space-time continuum. This meaning is unrelated to the mathematical notion of a tesseract, a shape analogous to a cube in a space with four spatial dimensions.

The book won a Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. It is the first in L'Engle's series of books about the Murry and O'Keefe families. (I'd love to continue reading the series as a buddy read if anyone is interested.)

In 2003 a television adaptation of the novel was made by a collaboration of Canadian production companies to be distributed in America by Disney. In an interview with Newsweek, when L'Engle was asked if the film "met her expectations" she said, "Yes, I expected it to be bad, and it is." The film was subsequently released on DVD. In 2010, it was announced that Disney retained film rights to remake the novel. The film is expected to be released July 28, 2017.

It might interest you to know that, A Wrinkle in Time is one of the most frequently banned books of all time, according to meltalfloss.com. "It has been accused of being both too religious and anti-Christian. L’Engle’s particular brand of liberal Christianity was deeply rooted in universal salvation, a view that some critics have claimed, “[D]enigrates organized Christianity and promotes an occultic world view.” There have also been objections to the use of Jesus Christ’s name alongside figures like Buddha, Shakespeare, and Gandhi. Detractors feel that grouping these names together trivializes Christ’s divine nature."

I hope everyone enjoys this books as much as I have.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I have just read Chapter 1 and look forward to reading the rest of the book for the third time.

[Gem]

Rosemarie wrote: "I have just read Chapter 1 and look forward to reading the rest of the book for the third time."
Awesome!

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I like the three weird sisters, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which.
I find it interesting that this book was published a few months before the British series about a time- travelling Time Lord, Dr. Who, appeared for the first time on television in 1963.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I have almost finished the book and plan on finishing it later on today. I am enjoying the quotes from Shakespeare and other authors by Mrs. Who.
The scene in the Central Central Intelligence is eerily reminiscent of a scene from 1984, but at a level suitable for younger readers.
Two of the books we have read this year, 1984 and Brave New World have dealt with similar issues-- at what price a peaceful society?

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I finished the book. I am planning to read the sequel next week.

[Gem]

Good analogy Rosemarie. I read Brave New World recently but have never read 198 4 although it's on my list. I never would have draw that line (from Brave New World to Wrinkle in Time) but "at what price a peaceful society?" certainly can be seen.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Lois Lowry wrote a set of novels called The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger and Son that I highly recommend to anyone who likes A Wrinkle in Time.

[Summer]

I read AWIT when I was a kid, but haven't read it in many years. I'm about two thirds of the way through the audiobook and it's been a fun re-read. My opinions about the characters have changed a bit: I like Charles Wallace more, Meg less, and have much more empathy for Mrs. Murray. I recall very little about how it ends (I think in my memory it's mashed up with A Phantom Tollbooth), but I'm looking forward to finishing.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Esse, it is interesting to see how our perspectives change as we grow older. I am read this book when my daughters were in middle school, and have just reread it as a grandmother. I also felt more sympathy for Mrs. Murry this time. The reactions of the people of the town to her husband's disappearance were harsh and judgemental, totally lacking in empathy.

[Gem]

Rosemarie wrote: "Esse, it is interesting to see how our perspectives change as we grow older..."
I've felt that way about many books I've re-read as an adult or older adult. I chalk it up to life experience and emotional growth.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I have started A Wind in the Door and have read the first chapter. Poor Charles Wallace. If ever there was a child that needed home schooling, he is the one.
I did think that the scene in the school room was a bit overdone, or children are smarter now than back then. The book was written in the seventies when the education system was more modern, but it sounds like the teacher hadn't changed her teaching methods since the 50's.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I finished A Wind in the Door tonight. I found it quite intense at times, and the theme of love versus emptiness makes you think. It think my favourite part has to the "rebirth" of Mr. Jenkins, who was very difficult to love.

[Phil]

So much to love in this one. The use of tactile imagery just as much or more than visual imagery is unique.

Also, it is incredibly rare to have a fantasy novel for any age group that doesn't end with a sword fight or someone getting thrown into a volcano. I admire L'Engle for creating tension, suspense, and a satisfying conclusion without any violence. That's hard to do.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

You can tell that she is a thoughtful writer who tells a good story. She is probably one of the first modern serious fantasy writers with a very human touch and characters with distinct personalities of their own. I am pretty sure one of the later books in the set are about the twin brothers, who seem like the most "normal" members of the family.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I have just finished the third book in the set, A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Meg is now married to Calvin and we learn more about his mother, Mrs. O'Keefe. I have given it four stars, but I liked the first two books better. This book did have some exciting moments, but was lacking something that the other two books had.