I have a million things I want to say about this book, and somehow I can't find the words to say them. This is somewhat fitting, seeing as a majority of the book is made up of things people cannot say, and communicating through thoughts and feelings. To be honest, the fact that the author was able to illustrate communication of thoughts and feelings through written words is rather impressive.
I appreciated the theme of "things unfamiliar" throughout the novel. I feel like, over all, this is an easily related theme. Everyone has, at one point or another, been in a new place - a new school, a new church, a new sports team, a new job - so the feelings of unfamiliarity and discomfort of being far away from home are easily accessible. I think young readers who have moved between countries may also be able to relate in the way that everything feels foreign, and there are sometimes no words to explain the things going on around them.
While I appreciated the poetic nature of the novel, I struggled with some of the content. Maybe I'm too old a reader for A Wrinkle in Time, or maybe the recent train of ultra-depressing books I've read has left me feeling somewhat pessimistic about the world, but this novel really seemed to push the idea that "love is all you need." If you just love each other, everything will be great! You can save the world with love! You can overcome the darkness of the world with love! Evil and dark things don't have love, and that's how you can conquer them!
That message just didn't sit well with me. You need more than love to fix the problems of the world. Love won't bring your missing parent home - I think that young readers who have had less than an ideal upbringing may feel a lot of "unhappy" emotions when they read this book. It just isn't real. And, sure, it's not supposed to be...but adolescents don't care about genre tags. They want to relate to their readings, and this novel is really only relatable to for a certain audience.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the dynamic between Meg and Charles Wallace. It reminded me very much of my own relationship with my younger brother, and it was fun to think about how our interactions were very similar to Meg's and Charles' (although, my younger brother is no child genius). Overall, it was a good read - maybe something I'd suggest as a bedtime story for your 4th - 6th grade children.
It's been years since I read this book, and even with your disagreements with the novel, I found that your review/analysis of the novel makes me want to read it again! I like the message of love you talk about. I agree that it takes more than love to make the world go round. I like your interpretation of the messages the book has to offer.
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