This book is a weird mix between fantasy and sci-fi, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s interesting how the author deals with the complexities of all the concepts used. But despite all the ideas about time-travelling which are somewhat scientific, the book feels more like fantasy than actual science fiction.

The book begins with Meg Murry, the only girl of a family of geniuses. She’s very smart, but she doesn’t do very well in school, because she feels weird. While she’s good with math, she doesn’t follow the methods her teachers insist on her using in classes, so she gets in trouble. Her little brother Charles Wallace is even more precocious, but he tries to hide it, so nobody thinks of him as a freak.

Apparently, the whole family is composed by brilliant people. Both Mr. and Mrs. Murry are scientists, and he has been missing for some years. The family believes that his disappearance had to do with some experiment he was working in, but they don’t know the details.

So, one dark and stormy night, the Murry household get an unexpected visitor. Meg spies her discussing about something with her mother, but she doesn’t get the entire conversation. The next day, she meets another boy from her school, Calvin. He comes from a fairly abusive family, and feels fascinated by the warmth in the Murry’s house.

Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin are approached by Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which, three women who reveal that they are extraterrestrial beings who are sort of in charge of keeping the universe in order. There is a strange dark force that is swallowing planets into darkness, and it has Mr. Murry. The kids have to rescue him, and quickly.

The rest of the book is basically a straightforward hero’s journey for Meg, mostly. In that way, it’s a pretty clever children’s book. It shows that adults aren’t always infallible, and that sometimes children have the power to save the world, even more than the adults that surround them. And it also deals with confronting one’s fears for the right thing. As the novel goes on, Meg becomes braver and surer of herself, her development is brilliant.

I’ll add a little note on the relation between Meg and Calvin. I mean… that ship sailed itself! Yes, I know they’re basically children, not quite teens yet. But every time either of them searched for the other for comfort and tranquility, I fangirled a little bit. I just couldn’t help it because the two of them are too sweet together. So, yes… I ship them.

The ending, however felt somewhat anticlimactic and predictable.

The power of Love? Really?

In the end, everything got resolved a little too quickly for my taste, but it was the kind of ending I was waiting for in a children’s book. I’m definitely going to read the rest of the books in the series, because I really want to know what’s in store for the Murry’s. Keep tuned!