Tesseract back to summer! A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle

For my book blogs, I’m going a slightly different route than the other Muses (who woulda guessed), and will focus on more boy-friendly reads. I’m doing this not solely because I like to buck trends, but it’s mostly what I read. Plus, I hope to open y’all up to some different type of stuff, just as I’ve been exposed to the YA world through the Muses.

Anyhow, onto the books.

Ahhh. Beach reads. I grew up in New Mexico. And as my dad says to anyone who'll listen (plus, all those who refuse), "we have beach in New Mexico. Not a lot of water, but plenty of beach." So my beach reads are more of Summer reads. However, they still conjure up memories of those long vacation days with two or three months of freedom (TWO or THREE?!). I would flop on my grandma’s couch under the swamp cooler (look it up, it's like Air Conditioning-light) and read for hours.

Today, I barely have time to dive into at the current trends and bestsellers. But every year, I make an effort to crack open a few of those nostalgic stories to have a sip of what-life-used-to-be-like. A fellow Muse (hi, Katy) recently reminded me of one of those top throwbacks, A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle. And I decided to revisit that little piece of my summer.

From Amazon.com:

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."

If you don’t get chills reading that, please check your pulse. I’m worried about you. This is one of those spot-on stories that awakes the writer in me. It makes me horribly jealous because she is sooo good, while fueling me to strive for her level.

Obviously, I’m not the only one who feels this way. A WRINKLE IN TIME won the Newbery Medal in 1963 and has tangled generations in its tale of the Murry family, the evil IT, and Aunt Beast. Of course, the text is beautifully written, wonderfully imaginative, and just the right amount of trippy (travelling to a two-dimensional world = awesome). Meg is sympathetic and flawed. Charles Wallace is lovable, if a tad creepy (come on, who’d want a telepathic little brother?). The pace is perfect. There’s plenty of action wrapping around a nice message about growing up.

I could go on, but I know most of you have read this book. I urge you to read it again. Read it as a writer because it’s bound to teach you something. Except, don’t forget to enjoy it as a kid since summer holidays are a week or two (boo!). We may not be able to lounge at grandma’s house anymore, but luckily we can get back a piece of those wonderful days by just grabbing a book.