Madeleine L'Engle hit her groove with this sequel. At the beginning of the novel, I hated Mr Jenkins. He was a small town villain archetype.

By the end of it, the way the characters had come to know one another and know themselves made everyone far more three-dimensional and human. Mr. Jenkins being afraid, which in turn makes him an antagonist is a really interesting character choice. I really enjoyed that this novel picked up at the next school year. It feels like seeing friends again after a long summer, and seeing all the little ways they've changed. Calvin and Meg are constants in each other's lives, and the way their bond has deepened was really neat to read. Sandy and Dennis's shared scepticism in the face of their other siblings' fantastical adventures, as well as when faced with their parents' scientific advancements is simultaneous frustrating and endearing. They are both firmly planted in the idea of tangible reality, and I think it's a fun character trait to give to characters in a fantastical novel like this. I also like that they both easily give up trying to figure it out with the assumption that their family will tell them a consumable "truth" in due time.