A Wrinkle in Time, my favorite book of all time. I remember how surprised I was when I learned that other people also loved this book, in true Meg style, I thought I was the only one (ok, my sister, mother and I, but still).
I've picked it up again, not my original copy, that is tucked away in a packing box somewhere, but a new one. Kind of feels like I am reading it for the first time, but this time I am thinking a lot of the time it was written, 1962, and what kind of atmosphere Madeline L'engle lived in. It does have a anti-communist tone and it reflects the feeling then in the 60's of breaking free from societal norms and feeling confident in being different. I think we have lost that feeling in modern times, it seems to me so many people want to be like their neighbors/friends and have lost the sense of excitement that comes from being unique.
I remember when I was in 5th grade, maybe around Meg's age (Meg is the main character of this book) and my mother told me, "Sarah, it is OK to be different" - perhaps the best advice she has ever given me. I am teaching my Cornelia the same thing and I think it is sinking in, she told me the other day just out of the blue - "mamma, i don't want to be normal". I just hope her sense of being different brings her confidence in the long run and not stress.
But now I see they have made a movie out of the book! I started to watch it and even from the beginning was surprised to see that the Meg character doesn't have glasses (this was a big part of the book), she is super cute and does not have braces (Meg sees herself as very unattractive). Her scientist dad is made out to not be super hansom but in the movie he is played by a hot actor (not sure who he is). Plus the dog is not black, he is a standard german shepard. What the hell, the whole point of the book was that these people where out of the ordinary - why does Hollywood have to mainstream everything!?
If you haven't read the book, I recommend it!
