A Wrinkle in Time (some spoilers)

I reread A Wrinkle in Time and was blown away by how much I realized this book affected me the first time I read it, particularly, the character of Meg.

Meg was everything I was and everything I wanted to be rolled into one. She didn't quite feel like she fit anywhere. And I was the odd duck in school. I grew up in a rural area, and I was the smart shy one. I didn't feel I fit in for a long time. I found a group in late junior high school and in high school, but when I read the book, I hadn't quite found my niche. Plus, Meg was assertive, something I was not. I can remember pretending to be Meg in my daydreams.

And Meg had Calvin. Whooo what a guy. I loved the hints of romance in the books between the two. Calvin liked Meg for who she was, odd duck and all. And I loved that and how much stronger it made Meg.

I also realized how this book has influenced my own writing. I've been told by a critique partner that I write strong heroines. In A Wrinkle in Time, Meg realizes at the end, she must act to save Charles Wallace. She had wanted her father to save him, but she's the only one who can pull it off. So reluctantly, she presses on and does what has to be done. My heroines typically help in the rescue at the end. They play a part in the defeat of the villain. It's never completely up to the hero to pull it off.

I really enjoyed rereading this. Do you have books like that? Books that you identified with a main character? Or that you realize have influenced your own writing in some way?

May the muses have dreams
Mechele