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Madeleine L'Engle

About This Author
Reviewed

Read Time

9 min read

Age & reading levelAges 9+ · Middle grade
Reader rating

4.4

· 31,038 Amazon ratings
reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
$5.80 on Amazon
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A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Review: A Newbery-Winning Classic of Enduring Power

by Madeleine L'Engle

First published in 1962 and winner of the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle is a landmark science fantasy novel that follows awkward, brilliant Meg Murry and her companions on a journey across the universe to rescue her father from a cosmic evil — a book that has challenged, delighted, and divided readers across generations.

$5.80 on Amazon

LuvemBooks Verdict

Best for

Readers aged nine and up — and curious adults revisiting childhood — who are drawn to science fantasy that pairs cosmic stakes and physics concepts with a deeply emotional, coming-of-age protagonist whose greatest weapon is love rather than strength.

Worth it if

Worth reading if you want a pioneering children's science-fantasy that asks genuinely large questions about conformity, free will, and love, and don't mind a protagonist-driven story where interior struggle matters as much as plot action.

Skip if

Skip it if you find moralising didacticism and explicit theological undercurrents in children's fiction frustrating, or if you're seeking lean, plot-first adventure over conceptually dense, ideas-heavy storytelling.

Wikipedia's entry records the novel's landmark decorated history — Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award — while also noting that its unusual choice of an awkward girl protagonist drew early critical resistance. Kirkus Reviews contextualises the book's dual legacy as one of America's most beloved stories and, simultaneously, one of its most frequently banned, with its Christian theological elements drawing sustained challenge from multiple directions.

“It is adventure-filled and exciting — I would recommend it for exciting adventure-hungry children.”

— The Guardian (children's books site)

“Since its publication in 1962, the novel has become one of America's most beloved stories, selling millions of copies worldwide and inspiring countless authors and readers.”

— Kirkus Reviews
Sources: Wikipedia, Kirkus Reviews
4.4from 31,038 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score

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A Wrinkle in Time is Madeleine L'Engle's landmark 1962 science fantasy novel, following Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and classmate Calvin O'Keefe on a universe-spanning mission to rescue Meg's father from the planet Camazotz and its mind-controlling force known as IT. Winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal after being rejected by some 26 publishers, it remains a pioneering work for placing a self-doubting, intellectually driven girl at the center of a cosmic adventure — though its blend of theoretical physics, Christian theology, and conceptual density means it rewards patient readers willing to meet it on its own ambitious terms.
Is it worth reading?
For readers drawn to science fantasy that asks large questions — about conformity, free will, the nature of evil, and what it means to love imperfect people — A Wrinkle in Time remains a landmark worth reading, particularly for the originality of placing Meg Murry at its centre. Its combination of theoretical physics, Christian-inflected themes, and cosmic stakes in a middle-grade frame is still unusual more than six decades on. That said, librarian Carolyn Horovitz's enduring reservation about the depth of its literary quality, and the book's conceptual density, are worth weighing — especially for readers expecting a more straightforwardly plotted adventure.
Similar books
Readers who respond to A Wrinkle in Time's blend of imaginative world-building and a brainy, unconventional protagonist will find kindred ground in several of the curated recommendations below. A Wind in the Door, L'Engle's direct sequel, extends Meg's story and the Time Quintet's cosmic stakes. Matilda by Roald Dahl shares the theme of a fiercely intelligent girl navigating a world not built for her. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce offers similarly thoughtful middle-grade fantasy with a focus on time and wonder. The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly engages directly with science-fiction ideas in a middle-grade register, and The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett features a young protagonist who outsmarts cosmic threats through wit and determined love.
Who should read this?
A Wrinkle in Time is aimed squarely at readers aged nine and up, with its richest rewards likely going to those who connect with Meg Murry — a self-doubting, intellectually driven girl whose defining strength is love rather than physical courage. It is an especially strong fit for young readers interested in science fantasy, cosmic questions of good and evil, and coming-of-age stories with real emotional weight. Educators and parents should be aware that its liberal Christian theological threads have generated challenges in some contexts, and the conceptual density — touching on theoretical physics and the fifth dimension — suits confident rather than reluctant readers.
What age is it for?
Best for ages 9 and up — the novel's blend of abstract concepts (the tesseract, the fifth dimension, cosmic good versus evil) and its longer, more conceptually demanding prose suit confident middle-grade readers rather than early readers. The book has been designed for that age range since its original 1962 publication, and LuvemBooks notes it rewards different things at different ages, making it equally worthwhile for adult re-readers.
About Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
Tell me about the adaptation
A Wrinkle in Time has been adapted for both film and television. The review notes that its cultural reach has extended to film, television, and broader pop culture, including a prominent reference in the Netflix series Stranger Things. The 2018 Disney theatrical film, directed by Ava DuVernay, brought the story to a wide modern audience, though the review does not evaluate how faithfully any adaptation represents the source novel.
Why has it been banned?
A Wrinkle in Time has appeared on challenged and banned book lists for reasons coming from multiple directions. Conservative Christian groups have objected to elements of L'Engle's liberal Christian theology as incompatible with orthodox belief, while others have challenged the book on entirely different grounds. Librarian Carolyn Horovitz noted the interpretive weight the novel has always carried, and the review frames its contested status as part of the book's record rather than incidental to it.
Did it win awards?
A Wrinkle in Time is among the most decorated children's novels of its era. It won the Newbery Medal in 1963 — awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American children's literature — as well as the Sequoyah Book Award and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. It was also a runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and its accolades came after the manuscript had been rejected by some 26 publishers.
Summarize this book

Summarize this book

A Wrinkle in Time follows Meg Murry, a fiercely intelligent but self-doubting teenager, who travels across the universe alongside her younger brother Charles Wallace and classmate Calvin O'Keefe, guided by three supernatural beings — Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which — through a space-time phenomenon called a tesseract. Their destination is the planet Camazotz, where Meg's physicist father is held captive by IT, a malevolent disembodied brain that enforces absolute conformity. Beneath the science-fantasy rescue mission lies Meg's interior struggle with fear, self-worth, and love, set against a cosmic backdrop in which a dark force called the Black Thing threatens the entire universe. It is the first of five novels in L'Engle's Time Quintet.

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What is a tesseract in the book?

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Our Review

This review covers the content and published reception of A Wrinkle in Time based on the available record; it does not reflect hands-on reading or testing.

What the Book Is and What It Sets in Motion

A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel — the first entry in Madeleine L'Engle's five-book Time Quintet — originally published in 1962. Its central figure is Meg Murry, a self-doubting but fiercely intelligent teenager who, along with her preternaturally gifted younger brother Charles Wallace and her classmate Calvin O'Keefe, is guided by three supernatural beings — Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which — through a phenomenon called a tesseract, a wrinkle in the fabric of space-time.
Their destination is the planet Camazotz, where Meg's father, a physicist named Mr. Murray, is being held captive by a malevolent force known as IT — a pulsing, disembodied brain that imposes absolute conformity. The stakes extend beyond the Murray family: a dark evil called the Black Thing is described as threatening the entire universe.
The novel is structured as a rescue mission, but its true engine is Meg's interior struggle with fear, self-worth, and love.

Significance and Place in the Canon

Few debut children's novels have had as turbulent or ultimately triumphant a reception as this one. L'Engle's manuscript was famously rejected by some 26 publishers before John Farrar of Farrar, Straus and Giroux agreed to publish it under the Ariel imprint.
The gamble paid off decisively: in 1963 the Association for Library Service to Children awarded it the Newbery Medal, given annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American children's literature. It also won the Sequoyah Book Award and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was a runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
More than six decades later, it remains the opening volume of a beloved series, and its cultural reach has extended to film, television, and — as a prominent pop-culture reference — the Netflix series Stranger Things.
Back cover with synopsis, other titles in series, and publisher information.
Back cover with synopsis, other titles in series, and publisher information.

Strengths: Ambition, Originality, and a Female Protagonist at the Center

L'Engle's decision to place an awkward, self-critical girl at the heart of a science-fantasy adventure was itself a departure from convention. As Wikipedia's reception summary notes, some early critics flagged the choice as a flaw — an indication of how unusual it was at the time.
The novel blends concepts from theoretical physics (the tesseract, the fifth dimension) with Christian theological themes and the emotional texture of a middle-grade coming-of-age story, a combination that had no obvious precedent. Librarian Carolyn Horovitz, writing in the retrospective Newbery and Caldecott Medal Books: 1956–1965, acknowledged that the book is "good entertainment and that the writer carries the story along with a great deal of verve."
Its willingness to ask large questions — about conformity, free will, the nature of evil, and what it means to love imperfect people — within the frame of a children's adventure gave it a gravity uncommon in the genre.

Controversy and the Book's Contested Legacy

L'Engle's liberal Christian worldview, woven throughout the novel, has made A Wrinkle in Time a perennial target of criticism from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. Conservative Christian groups have objected to certain elements as incompatible with orthodox belief, while others have challenged the book on entirely different grounds.
It has appeared on challenged and banned book lists, a distinction that underscores how much interpretive weight the novel has always carried. Horovitz also raised a more literary reservation, noting there is "some question about the depth of its quality" alongside its undeniable entertainment value — a critique that has followed the book into the scholarly conversation ever since.
These tensions are part of the novel's record, not incidental to it.

The Square Fish Edition and Who the Book Is For

The edition under review is the Square Fish reprint, published in May 2007 alongside the rest of the Time Quintet. It includes two items not present in the original publication: a previously unpublished interview with L'Engle and a transcription of her Newbery Medal acceptance speech — materials that add historical and biographical context for readers who want to understand the novel's origins and its author's intentions.
The novel is designed for readers aged nine and up, and the Time Quintet framing means that those who connect with Meg's story have four subsequent volumes to continue into. Readers drawn to science fantasy with emotional depth, questions of good versus evil on a cosmic scale, and a protagonist whose defining weapon is love rather than physical power are the book's core audience — though its theological undercurrents and conceptual density mean it rewards different things at different ages.

Sources & Further Reading

The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.

  1. 1
    Madeleine L'Engle — author profile

    Madeleine L'Engle, LuvemBooks

  2. 2
    A Wrinkle in Time - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org

  3. 3
    A Wrinkle in Time : (Newbery Medal Winner) by Madeleine L'Engle

    booksamillion.com

  4. 4
    A Wrinkle in Time by Medeleine L'Engle - Book Analysis

    bookanalysis.com

  5. 5
    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Review - House of Cadmus

    houseofcadmus.com

  6. 6
    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (1962) – a review

    literaryladiesguide.com

  7. 7
    Review: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

    eyrie.org

  8. 8
    [A Wrinkle in Time]: A Review – greenish bookshelf

    greenishbookshelf.com

  9. 9
    A Wrinkle in Time: (Newbery Medal Winner) by L'Engle, Madeleine (9780312367541)

    allbookstores.com

  10. 10
    A Wrinkle in Time: (Newbery Medal Winner) by Madeleine Lengle, (Paperback) | Indigo

    indigo.ca

  11. 11
    PDF Download A Wrinkle in Time: (Newbery Medal Winner) pdf

    yumpu.com

  12. 12
    A Wrinkle in Time | ALA

    ala.org

  13. 13
    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine Lengle | Audible.com

    audible.com

Age & Reading Level

Recommended age

Ages 9+

Reading level

Middle grade

Browse all middle-grade (8–12) books

Tropes

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From how readers and romance sites describe it, not our own reading.

Content to know about

cosmic evil and enforced conformity
a child held captive and mentally controlled

Best for: Ages 9+ — abstract concepts (tesseract, fifth dimension, cosmic good versus evil) and conceptual density suit confident middle-grade readers

Skip if you want a straightforward adventure with no theological or philosophical undercurrents

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Read Next

In our catalogue

A Wind in the Door

Madeleine L'Engle

Direct sequel to A Wrinkle in Time — Meg and Charles Wallace return for a deeper, stranger adventure inside living cells and across cosmic scales.

Picking up where the Murry family saga left off, this novel sends Meg on a mission to save Charles Wallace from a mysterious illness that turns out to threaten the universe itself. The stakes feel both intimately personal and cosmically vast in the same breath L'Engle mastered in the first book. Readers who bonded with Meg's fierce, imperfect love for her brother will find that loyalty tested in entirely new ways here.

More by Madeleine L'Engle

On Amazon

Many Waters

Madeleine L'Engle

Same author, very different register — the Murry twins land in biblical prehistory, swapping cosmic horror for myth, warmth, and moral weight.

If you liked A Wrinkle in Time

In our catalogue

Tom's Midnight Garden

Philippa Pearce

A lonely child slips outside ordinary time to find friendship and belonging — same emotional core, gentler pace, rooted in mid-century British realism.

In our catalogue

Matilda

Roald Dahl

A brilliant, overlooked girl discovers extraordinary powers and uses them to fight an oppressive adult world — funny where L'Engle is earnest, equally satisfying.

In our catalogue

Impossible Creatures

Katherine Rundell

A hidden world of mythical animals, a world-ending threat, and two mismatched children racing to save reality — recent, acclaimed, and tonally very close.

Not your thing?

In our catalogue

The First State of Being

Erin Entrada Kelly

If L'Engle's abstract cosmic scale felt remote, this time-travel story keeps everything grounded, warm, and rooted in friendship and neighbourhood detail.