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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
This book is too much fun. It's also the first real Terry Pratchett but I didn't need to know a thing about his previous books to read this. My favorite part is the setting -- a small town in... Scotland? Northern England? Made-upland? Not sure. But it's cool, because it's about a daughter and her relationship with her grandmother, the town "might-be-a-witch-not-sure-I'm-not-gonna-ask", one of the many shepherds. I love everything Pratchett says about shepherding, like burying one with a piece of wool to let God know that this was a shepherd and maybe didn't go to church every Sunday because when sheep give birth, you gotta be there for that.
And the funny thing is the titular "wee free men" are only in about half the book (but scattered throughout). And they're hilarious too. They speak in thick Scottish accents and love drinkin', fightin', and stealin'. And they swear fealty to a little girl who's a smart cookie due to trading vegetables for lessons at the local bazaar.
My only beef is the last part, where the final battle with Generic Queen Witch drags on for quite a few chapters. It bobbles back and forth between "is it a dream or isn't?" and repeats the same tension. Not to mention that the bad queen has no strong beef with the protagonist, so the dramatic conflict has nothing invested in it.
And the funny thing is the titular "wee free men" are only in about half the book (but scattered throughout). And they're hilarious too. They speak in thick Scottish accents and love drinkin', fightin', and stealin'. And they swear fealty to a little girl who's a smart cookie due to trading vegetables for lessons at the local bazaar.
My only beef is the last part, where the final battle with Generic Queen Witch drags on for quite a few chapters. It bobbles back and forth between "is it a dream or isn't?" and repeats the same tension. Not to mention that the bad queen has no strong beef with the protagonist, so the dramatic conflict has nothing invested in it.
I cannot wait to read this book to my daughter some day, if I ever have one. If I don't, I'll read it again to myself when I'm older and need a little inspiration not to dream but to act.
Even in a dream, even at a posh ball, the Nac Mac Feegle knew how to behave. You charged in madly, and you screamed . . . politely.
-----
"Good. Now . . . if you trust in yourself . . .”
“Yes?”
“. . . and believe in your dreams . . .”
“Yes?”
“. . . and follow your star . . .” Miss Tick went on.
“Yes?”
“. . . you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Good-bye.”
If lines like this amuse you, then you're in for a treat. I loved the humor in the writing. The story is pretty straightforward and some plot points seem all too familiar, but the writing is what makes this a fun read. Will definitely read more from the series.
Note that this is marked as YA, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book.
-----
"Good. Now . . . if you trust in yourself . . .”
“Yes?”
“. . . and believe in your dreams . . .”
“Yes?”
“. . . and follow your star . . .” Miss Tick went on.
“Yes?”
“. . . you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Good-bye.”
If lines like this amuse you, then you're in for a treat. I loved the humor in the writing. The story is pretty straightforward and some plot points seem all too familiar, but the writing is what makes this a fun read. Will definitely read more from the series.
Note that this is marked as YA, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
I had only read a couple of other Discworld books before this one, but this is my favorite so far. The Wee Free Men are instant favorite; I found myself missing them in parts of the book without them! And of course, Tiffany is more like a real person than most fiction characters you read of. When I started reading this one, I couldn't help but think how it made me think of some writings of Diana Wynne Jones, but I think I have come away with a better taste for Terry Pratchett himself. The humor literally had me laugh out loud - I'm pretty sure I scared my cats several times.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A good starter book for teenagers to introduce them to Terry Pratchett, it reminds me of willow & labyrinth