A Wrinkle in Time

1962 was clearly a creative year for writers. The Phantom Tollbooth is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year and I just found out that it's also the fiftieth anniversary of A Wrinkle in Time. I am a huge Madeleine L'Engle fan. I still remember sitting outside and hearing my mom read the book out loud to my brother. She did all the voices for Mrs. Whatit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which and I couldn't help but listen. I ended up reading the entire Time Quintet not long after that and absolutely loving it.

As a character, Meg really spoke to me. She was geeky and felt out of place in her world. She was stubborn and quick to anger, but she would do anything for her family. And Calvin (the first tall adorable red head that I fell for before meeting my husband) recognized how special and smart and beautiful she was despite how her adolescent personality. Meg is completely three dimensional and easy to relate to. Her angst has a cause and over the course of the series, you really see her grow up and mature.

I started collecting Madeleine L'Engle books at some point. I loved the Austin family and Camilla. Recently I read her previously unpublished book, The Joys of Love, which was wonderful. I rarely read anything besides fiction, but I adored her memoir about life with her husband, Two Part Invention. I was even fortunate enough to hear her speak twice, and even got to meet her in person and had her sign my copy of Wrinkle.

Starting this month, Macmillan is running a year long celebration of A Wrinkle in Time and Madeleine L'Engle, which includes a graphic novel edition of Wrinkle and a brand new web page dedicated to Madeleine. I can't wait to see what else they come up with!