Obscurorant 2.0

One of the assignments for the Young Adult Literature course I’m taking this semester is to keep a ‘reading response journal.’ Since I know that some of my admittedly few readers might be interested in these titles, I have opted (with the professor’s kind permission) to keep this journal online. So, this is the first in a series of fifteen, that being the number of YA books I’m required to read. Right then, on we go.

Pratchett, Terry (2003). The Wee Free Men. NY: Harper Teen. 263 pages.

Summary and Evaluation: Tiffany Aching is a self-possessed young girl, who has the First Sight, the Second Thoughts and the Third Voice. She knows how to get things done, even if it means using her pesky little brother as bait for a monster like Jenny Green-Teeth, and is able to easily manage the Nac Mac Feegle, a clan of knee-high blue men who like nothing better than drinking, fighting and stealing. In Discworld, this makes Tiffany a prime candidate for witch school, a prospect that intrigues her to no end – although she’s not too sure about the bit that requires her to rescue her brother from the Queen of the Elves.

Terry Pratchett, like Neil Gaiman, always struck me as kind of a ‘cult’ author of fantasy fiction. Neither is as well known as say, J.K Rowling, but the people who like Pratchett or Gaiman tend to really like them. I tried a couple of Pratchett titles a few years ago, and while I enjoyed them (particularly the Luggage) I never felt compelled to rush out and read more. Which brings us to The Wee Free Men, a breezy read that to the best of my recollection didn’t seem too different from his adult offerings, apart from the main protagonist being a child. Maybe the jokes were a little tamer? (Although The Wee Free Men has a fair amount of booze-centric humor.) Anyway,once the very sensible Tiffany stakes out her brother as bait, the book moves very quickly and the arrival of the Nac Mac Feegle – think leprechauns with Scottish accents and a penchant for brawling – brings the funny. The Queen of the Elves, however, is not very frightening or intimidating as a villain, and mostly seems to serve as a means to get Tiffany and the Wee Free Men into motion. I’m not complaining as I liked this book more than I recall liking my previous forays into Discworld. A couple more like The Wee Free Men and I might find myself really liking Pratchett.

Booktalk Hook: You shouldn’t be surprised to hear that a Terry Pratchett book is funny. And did I mention there’s drinking, fighting and stealing?