A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle (Book Review)

A Wind in the Door
by Madeleine L'Engle

240 pages
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973
Young Adult Science Fiction
Read in 3 days

My Rating: ★★

Amazon.com / BN.com

"There are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden."

Review: Oh Charles Wallace! A young boy after my own heart. The best way I can think of to describe what reading this book was like for me is to reference a Magic School Bus episode. Yes, I know, that's a bit old school but trust me, it reminded me of the one where Miss Frizzle decides to take the class inside Ralphie when he's so sick he has to stay home. While this book has a sufficient cast of characters, why they enter Charles Wallace's body is for entirely different reasons. He is sick yes, but his illness could lead to death if his sister doesn't help him.

With the help of Mr. Jenkins (Charles Wallace's Principal), Calvin, Blajeny, Louise the Large, Progo, & Sporos, they save Charles Wallace's life! Don't worry, that doesn't exactly spoil the book since you must realize there will always be a happy ending.

I can't say I enjoyed this book as much as the first one though. I think it's because of the amount of time spent deep within Charles Wallace's forandolae or whatever they're called. It involved a lot of "kything", a sort of more involved form of mental telepathy. That's not really my idea of fun reading and it did bore me that almost half the book was spent in that state of mind. I hope the third book isn't so one dimensional and has a bit more adventure.

Summary: It is November. When Meg comes home from school, Charles Wallace tells her he saw dragons in the twin’s vegetable garden. That night Meg, Calvin and C.W. go to the vegetable garden to meet the Teacher (Blajeny) who explains that what they are seeing isn't a dragon at all, but a cherubim named Proginoskes. It turns out that C.W. is ill and that Blajeny and Proginoskes are there to make him well – by making him well, they will keep the balance of the universe in check and save it from the evil Echthros.

Meg, Calvin and Mr. Jenkins (grade school principal) must travel inside C.W. to have this battle and save Charles’ life as well as the balance of the universe.

With Meg Murry's help, the dragons her six-year-old brother saw in the vegetable garden play an important part in his struggle between life and death.

To learn more about Madeleine L'Engle visit her website.