"A Wind in the Door" by Madeleine L'Engle

 Review by Madeline Salmon

 I couldn't read A Wrinkle in Time without reading its even better sequel, A Wind in the Door. This time Meg has to save her dying brother Charles Wallace with the help of an odd assortment of companions, the most loathsome of whom is her former principal Mr. Jenkins.

I'm not sure why I like A Wind in the Door better than its more famous companion. The story is probably not quite as nail-biting and may even be more difficult to wrap your mind around. But it reaches depths few young adult books dare to explore. Madeleine L'Engle never shies from topics like God, responsibility, and love in all its forms. As you might have guessed, love will once again save the day, but not in the way you'd expect. Meg and her friends have to learn that the love that doesn't come easily is the kind that's most important.

L'Engle also has a gift for seamlessly weaving together such disparate topics as math and music, biology and poetry, the factual and the metaphysical. I can't say much lest I give anything away, but the climax scene of A Wind in the Door is one of her best examples of this.

The rest of the books in the Time quintet don't do much for me. They're enjoyable once through, certainly, but it's the first two that I come back to time and again. In a world of young adult fiction with a lot of shimmer and not much substance, A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door stand out as rich and compelling alternatives.