Book VS Movie: A Wrinkle in Time

Some of you may remember my “Times the Movie was ActuallyBetter than the Book” post. I’ve decided to have a “Book Versus Movie” post on occasion. That doesn’t mean that the movie will be better. I can see some of you in my mind’s eye going, “Duh, the book is always better.” If that’s you, go read the aforementioned post.

To start off this series of posts, let’s talk about Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time. You may recall that I reread the first few books of the series in anticipation of the movie’s release. I had decent hopes for it, but ended up not seeing it in theaters because of all the bad things I was hearing about it. I finally watched it a few weeks ago (Thank you, Netflix), and while I don’t feel the need to be quite as critical as some comments I’ve read, this is definitely a case where the book was better than the movie.

I had a few hopes/expectations for this film:

• If nothing else, it would be pretty. The trailers seemed to promise that.
• It would be better than the made for TV version that Disney made in the early 2000’s. If you haven’t seen it, I would suggest that you don’t bother.
• It would be a decent representation of the book despite whatever changes the creators of the film chose to make.

A little side note: I’m not one of those people who will hate a movie just because it’s not a copy and paste format of the book. Some things that work better on the page don’t work in quite the same way on the screen. I also sometimes value the different choices made in telling the story because you can actually end up taking more out of a story by having the two forms of media working together.

That being said, the film just didn’t quite live up to its full potential. It’s evident that a lot of time, thought, and effort went into the film. It truly was beautiful to watch as far as settings and good use of CGI. There were some changes that I was totally fine with them making (the absence of Meg’s twin brothers, for example, as that would have taken extra time and potentially distracted the audience with two new faces that would really only be a part of the story for about a minute). There were some other changes that I wasn’t quite sure why they did it (Mrs. Whatsit turning into a giant lettuce lady comes to mind).

Whether you’re for or against the various changes from book to film (I won’t get into all of them), there was one thing that stuck out in my mind as I watched it. I felt like I didn’t truly know who these characters were, at least not from my movie watching experience. I knew who they were because I had read the book. There just seemed to be something lacking.

One example in particular involves Charles Wallace. As we head towards the climax of the story as told in the book, it is very clear that we each have strengths and flaws and that both of those things can either aid or inhibit us in certain situations. In the book, Charles Wallace is specifically warned upon their arrival at Camazotz, and it becomes blatantly clear why he was given that warning. Although he believes he’s doing what’s best, he ultimately is nearly lost to the darkness and has to be rescued. This sequence in the movie didn’t have quite the same effect, and I believe that’s because some of the dialogue and setup was either omitted or slightly changed.

While one of the overarching messages of the book is still present—Meg’s struggle with self-esteem while learning about her own strengths and flaws as well as the power of love—it still felt like we were missing some of the essence of the original story. There are some scenes they could have done differently, or even possibly cut, to make way for a deeper sense of connection with the characters.

The movie did some things well, but in the end, the book was the clear winner for me.

What are your thoughts? Is there anyone out there who liked the movie better? I promise I’ll still be your friend if that’s the case.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet

Before getting to the review, I'd just like to point out that the blog now also has a twitter! Woohoo! Click on the link on the side bar and follow my book related twitter escapades!

Title: A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Rating: 4/5

Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Pages: 278
Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction

Synopsis:

Some time has passed since the events of A Wind in the Door, somewhere around ten years, and all the Murrays have gathered together for a nice Thanksgiving feast. Unfortunately, their festivities are interrupted by a phone call from the president about the threat of nuclear war. Their only clue as to how to stop it is an old rune that Meg’s seemingly crazy mother-in-law suddenly remembers. He’s not sure how, but Charles Wallace knows it’s up to him to save the day. With the help of a new found friend, a unicorn named Gaudior, and Meg, they may just have a chance. But with time against him and absolutely no idea what he’s meant to do, can Charles Wallace save the world in time?

Reaction:

I enjoyed this book better than the last one, but it didn’t resonate with me in the same way that A Wrinkle in Time did. I think the subject matter was just more enjoyable for me. No, not the threat of nuclear war, but the way Charles and Gaudior have to go about fixing it. This book still uses the echtroi as a sort of nemesis (they were introduced in the last book and could be compared to devils who basically just want to make everything horrible for everybody). So Charles has to fight against them and his lack of time to stop a madman from setting off his nuclear weapon, and he does this by time travel. It was almost like L’Engle’s version of a Doctor Who episode.

One of the things I thoroughly enjoyed was getting glimpses of different time periods. At one point, he’s in the Salem witch trials era. At another point, he’s in the civil war era. Having a bit of interest in history, this aspect of the story really appealed to me. Plus, there’s a bit of a mystery to be solved which also made things interesting. The whole time you learn little bit by little bit with the characters until everything comes together and forms a resolution.

One of the major themes I got from the book was the idea that by trying to control everything we sometimes do more harm than good—a valuable lesson and a realization that sometimes we need to accept that things are out of our control.

Reader Guidance:

There are a few brief instances of things such as domestic violence, recollections of war, a man falling to his death—things of that nature. The war descriptions include a man getting his face blown off and another man stabbing his own brother because they were on opposite sides. The domestic violence describes a young man getting in the way of a blow intended for his grandmother. As a result, he falls down the stairs and fractures his skull.

Similar Books:

The other books in the Time Quintet:

A Wrinkle in Time
A Wind in the Door
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Many Waters
An Acceptable Time

Next Book:

I had some other books in mind, but since I received that proof of Sheer Power: Second Chances, I decided to go ahead and do that one next. So we’ll take a break from Madeline L’Engle for now. The other two books are about Meg’s twin brothers and Meg’s daughter respectively. Since they don’t focus as much on the characters we’ve focused on in the last three books, this seems like a good place to take a break! Happy reading!

A Wind in the Door and a Follow Up on Last Week's Post

First of all, here's a little follow up on last week's post.

Thanks everyone for reading and commenting! You offered a handful of books that you wouldn't recommend, and I'll admit, I haven't read a single one of those! I also got a couple of book recommendations out of the deal, so it was a win-win situation for me. In case you are curious, here are the books that your fellow blog readers said they wouldn't recommend:

1. The School for Good and Evil - This specifically went for book one as they didn't keep reading. A choppy and predictable story line as well as an immature main character without enough growth made this book not very enjoyable.

2. Eat Pray Love - Apparently this one is hard to get into. I know that it was pretty popular at one time, but I've actually heard a few people say they didn't like it. Having only seen the movie myself, I can't make my own personal judgement on the book.

3. Across Five Aprils - There were conflicting comments on this book actually. So, possibly, this one is worth a read. It may just depend on whether or not it's your cup of tea.

4. Banner in the Sky - This book sounds quite adventurous and exciting (I just read the book description on Amazon), but apparently it's a bit of a let down and is actually quite boring.

5. Ready Player One - I've been curious about this one with the upcoming movie and all. It looked interesting and sometimes I like a good pop culture reference, but apparently the premise is really the only good thing about it. But hey, it's a bestseller, so someone obviously likes it...

So there you have it. Add those to your don't read list or possibly to your I'm going to read this anyway and see if I agree list. Seriously, the only reason why I read the The Golden Compass was because of all the negative hype surrounding the movie. It peaked my curiosity. So, the second book list is totally legitimate. And come to think of it, I went on to read the second book in that series, didn't care for it, and never read the third. I suppose that's another series that didn't tickle my fancy.

Okay, on to business!

Title: A Wind in the Door
Sequel to: A Wrinkle in Time
Rating: 3/5
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Pages: 211
Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction

Synopsis:

Something is seriously wrong with Charles Wallace. Up until this point, Meg has attributed it to the bullying he's received since he started going to school. But when he tells her one day that there are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden, she's forced to realize that Charles Wallace's condition is much worse than that.

Once again, Meg is called upon to fight and incredibly evil force. With the help of Calvin and some new friends along the way, they must pass three trials in order save Charles Wallace's life as well as their own!

Reaction:

I'm not as in love with this book as I was with the first one. I just didn't connect with it as much, I suppose. It's not a bad story, and it certainly isn't poorly written. It just didn't pull me in as much and therefore landed in the middle of the rating scale.

It still has some religious themed mixed in with the science, although it's not quite so straightforward in this one. If you're a religiously minded person, you can pull out parallels and similarities to things like the devil and temptation, but it doesn't come straight out and mention things like the Bible, etc. There are also some good themes about the power of knowing who you are and how love makes you the best version of yourself, the true you. So there are definitely some great themes and thinking moments. In the end, I just preferred A Wrinkle in Time. The book is still worth a read.

Similar Books:

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Next Book:

Time for the third book in the Time Quintet! We'll be reading A Swiftly Tilting Planet, which I can't remember a single thing about! There's a unicorn on the cover, so I guessing there will be unicorns. Who doesn't love that!

See you next time!

A Wrinkle in Time

Rating: 5/5

Author: Madeleine L'Engle

Pages: 211

Genre: Children's/Young Adult/Science Fiction

Synopsis:

It's been a long time since Meg Murray has seen or heard from her father--long enough for people to start spreading rumors. Meg knows that he's off doing something incredibly important, but she doesn't know what. It's getting to the point where people are telling her to move on, but she can't while there's still hope that her father will one day return. 

One day, Meg is introduced by her incredibly intelligent younger brother to three mysterious figures who not only seem to know what her father was working on before he disappeared, but they also know where to find him. And he's in incredible danger! Meg, Charles Wallace, and there newfound friend Calvin are whisked away on incredible adventure to different worlds where they learn about the war of light against the darkness. Only together can they save Meg's father, but can they resist the powers of darkness and save her father before it's too late?

Reaction:

This is my fourth time reading this book, and I must say, that I don't think I've ever enjoyed it so much as I did in this last reading. I loved it! The only slightly negative thing I could think of is that Meg is sometimes a little whiny, but given the circumstances and her age, I think it's justified. Not only that, but the fact that she has flaws is actually pointed out by the characters and is used to make a good point--we can do great things despite our flaws, and there are times where what we consider flaws can actually become a strength. So it worked in this case, and wasn't too the point where I wanted to tell her to shut up. That sort of thing happens to readers on occasion when they encounter certain characters.

But I digress.

Not only does this book stir the mind and imagination and has some great adventure and conflict, there were themes in the book that just spoke to me this time around. That classic fight of good versus evil, the idea that our world isn't perfect but having our own individuality is a blessing, or the idea that we can be a force for good no matter our circumstance. There are also some religious references in the book, and for me, being a religious person myself, I enjoyed having those in there.  They talk about how Jesus is taking part in the battle against the darkness, there's reference to guardian angels, and Meg's father quotes from the bible to bring her some encouragement. I saw L'Engle's style of writing compared to that of C. S. Lewis who is also known for Christian themes in his writing.

It's a great read that kids everywhere will love to read under their desks instead of listening to their fifth grade teachers, just like I did (Just kidding, teach your children to pay attention in class!).

Fun Fact:

This book is a Newbery Medal winner, but it is also on the American Library Association's list of  Frequently Challenged Books, meaning it is a book "that is sought to be removed or otherwise restricted from public access, typically from a library or a school curriculum" (Thanks, Wikipedia!). Did you know there was a such a list? I learned about it in my Young Adult Fiction class in college. We were given an assignment that involved reading one of the books on the list. I chose this one, and that's how I got one of my four readings in. It sounds like it's been challenged for references to witches and crystal balls, religious content, and listing Jesus alongside well known artists, philosophers, scientists, and other religious leaders as people fighting against the darkness. I wasn't bothered by any of those things at all, and I should mention that those references to witches and crystal balls aren't actually references to magic or witchcraft, not really. One of the characters even says essentially, "You know they're not witches." Anyway, no dark magic going on. Take a read for yourself and see if you would put it on the challenged list!

Reader Guidance:

I've already mentioned the Christian themes, so if that's something that bothers you, this may not be the book for you. The only other thing I can think of that might be troubling is a glimpse at a boy who didn't stay synchronized with this particular world's rhythm (watch the trailer for the new movie and you should get an idea of what I'm talking about). He appears to be in extreme pain as he is forced to synchronize. 

Similar Books:

Well, this is the first of five books, but as I recall, they also work pretty well as stand alone books. But, besides the other books in the series, another great series is The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. That series is more on the fantasy side than the science fiction side, but still a great one if you enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time.

Next Book:

Next up is the next book in the series of course, which is A Wind in the Door. The only thing I remember about this next one is that it deals with saving Charles Wallace. Let's jump in! Also, you should know, I finally got a copy of Red: The True Story of Little Red Riding Hood which I've been wanting to read ever since I finished Rump. So, just keep in mind that that book will be coming up on our list shortly!