By Madeleine L’Engle
Part of marketing a book includes being a guest on podcasts. I must admit that it’s kinda fun. The podcast questions have also given me a new insight into myself. One of the questions that podcasters like to ask authors is “What’s your favorite book?”
While there are a number of authors whom I enjoy reading — and even look forward to their upcoming books — there is one book that stands out. I was a bit surprised to realize that my favorite book is “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle. It’s categorized as a sci-fi fantasy novel for readers 9 to 12. But it’s so much more.
Yes, I first read A Wrinkle in Time when I was in elementary school. At the time, the book was a wonderful adventure story with a (wait for it…) strong, smart female protagonist. That’s one of the reasons I always loved the book. Meg Murry, her genius younger brother Charles Wallace and Calvin O’Keefe (a neighbor boy whom Meg has a huge crush on) embark on a journey to find the Murry children’s missing father.
I’ve since read A Wrinkle Time as an adult and found it just as engaging — perhaps more so. The story is like an onion with layer upon layer of themes and life lessons. As I re-read the book, I was in awe of how L’Engle structured the universal theme of good versus evil. The plot lines seemed so familiar in today’s splintered world.
In 1963 the book won the Newbery Medal for excellence in children’s literature — and the judges really got it right. A Wrinkle in Time has stood the “test of time” on so many levels.
Podcast alert: You can hear my most recent podcast interview with EricZBooks on YouTube.