L’Engle, Madeline. Hope Larson, adaptation.
Farrar Straus Giroux. 2012. ISBN: 0374386153
Summary
This is a graphic novel interpretation of the classic science fiction novel by Madeline L’Engle. Meg Murry and her brother Charles Wallace get a visit from the mysterious Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit, who send them in search of their father, who has been trapped on a dark planet. Along with their friend Calvin O’Keefe, and with the help of the three mysteries women, Meg and Charles travel to Camazotz, a planet plagued by darkness and evil. Along the way, they travel to different planets and meet an interesting cast of characters, like the Happy Medium and Aunt Beast. It is up to them to use their strengths to free their father from the grasp of the evil being on Camazotz. The graphic novel relays the same essential story but in a different format, through dialog and black and blue illustrations.
Critical Evaluation
The job of adapting A Wrinkle in Time into the graphic novel format would seem challenging to all those who read the novel. There are many concepts, characters, and settings described that are out of the ordinary. Hope Larson’s graphical adaptation of characters and settings is adequate, if sparse. The simple black drawings with blue and white shading take away some of the fantastic beauty and darkness described by L’Engle. Downsizing the story to fit into speech bubbles also takes away much of the meaning of the book, leaving the reader with the gist of the book and without a way to become fully immersed in the book.
However, the graphic novel is far from a failure. It is a new and creative way to look at a novel, and might attract a readership from those who haven’t read the book. Those who read the original as a child might want to pick up the graphic novel as a way to refresh their memory, just as I did. The recent trend of adapting classics into a graphic novel format serves a purpose of acquainting teens with classics they might be too intimidated to pick up. Books like the manga interpretations of Shakespeare or the graphic novel adaptation of The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds (review to come) might attract young adults who like graphic novels, and sometimes prompt them to pick up the novel. Those who enjoy the graphic adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time are encouraged to read the original novel since it is not very difficult to read and not very long. Although the original is many times considered a middle grade novel rather than a young adult one, the graphic novel is quite long and would appeal to all teens.
Reader’s Annotation
In this illustrated adaptation of Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, Meg and Charles Wallace Murry and their friend Calvin O’Keefe go to the dark planet Camazotz to save Meg and Charles’ father from the evil that has trapped him there.
About the Author
“Hope Larson is the author of Who Is AC? and the author-illustrator of Mercury, Chiggers, Gray Horses, and Salamander Dream, whichPublishers Weekly named one of 2005’s best comics. She won a 2007 Eisner Award, the highest honor for a comic artist. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles. You can visit her at HopeLarson.com.” – Simon & Schuster
“Madeleine was born on November 29th, 1918, and spent her formative years in New York City. Instead of her school work, she found that she would much rather be writing stories, poems and journals for herself, which was reflected in her grades (not the best). However, she was not discouraged.
At age 12, she moved to the French Alps with her parents and went to an English boarding school where, thankfully, her passion for writing continued to grow. She flourished during her high school years back in the United States at Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, vacationing with her mother in a rambling old beach cottage on a beautiful stretch of Florida Beach.
She went to Smith College and studied English with some wonderful teachers as she read the classics and continued her own creative writing. She graduated with honors and moved into a Greenwich Village apartment in New York. She worked in the theater, where Equity union pay and a flexible schedule afforded her the time to write! She published her first two novels during these years—A Small Rain and Ilsa—before meeting Hugh Franklin, her future husband, when she was an understudy in Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. They married during The Joyous Season.
She had a baby girl and kept on writing, eventually moving to Connecticut to raise the family away from the city in a small dairy farm village with more cows than people. They bought a dead general store, and brought it to life for 9 years. They moved back to the city with three children, and Hugh revitalized his professional acting career.
As the years passed and the children grew, Madeleine continued to write and Hugh to act, and they to enjoy each other and life. Madeleine began her association with the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where she was the librarian and maintained an office for more than thirty years. After Hugh’s death in 1986, it was her writing and lecturing that kept her going. She lived through the 20th century and into the 21st and wrote over 60 books. She enjoyed being with her friends, her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren.” – About Madeline L’Engle
Genre
Graphic Novel. Science Fiction.
Curriculum Ties
N/A
Booktalking Ideas
- Describe the graphic novel adaptation.
- Describe Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which, and their task of sending Meg and Charles into the planet Camazotz.
- Describe Camazotz.
Interest/Reading Level
Grade 7+
Challenge Issues: none
Challenge Defense Ideas:
The book presents no apparent challenge issues, but prepare to defend selection by having library’s selection policy at hand.
Reasons for Inclusion
Graphic novel adaptation of a classic.
Teen Picks 