Mark Reads ‘Games Wizards Play’: Chapter 11, Part II

In the second part of the eleventh chapter of Games Wizards Play, Nita tries something new and meets someone special. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Young Wizards. 

I don’t remember the name of this place, but years ago, on my very first trip to Houston, my friend Kelsey took me to a place that had like a billion flavors of soda and pop. I wanna say that this was in 2013, as I don’t think I made it to Texas on my first two Mark Does Stuff tours in 2012. (DON’T @ ME, TIME ALL MUSHES TOGETHER IN MY BRAIN.) That same trip was when I got to go to the Coca-Cola Museum thing in Atlanta, which is where I got super into trying WEIRD sodas. (There’s one there in particular that is apparently used in the UK as a palate cleanser between dishes, and oh, lord, does it EVER hurt to drink. HARD PASS.) I’ve had spicy sodas, savory ones, and all sorts of bizarre flavor combinations.

AND SOMEHOW, NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT CEL-RAY. Which is available here in New York??? I AM DETERMINED, Y’ALL. I am gonna find some, and I hope that by the time this review has gone up, I have recorded myself drinking one. I NEED TO KNOW, OKAY. This is even more pressing than the whole chocolate pasta saga, and I am going to make it happen.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system:

Jupiter.

Jupiter.

EXCUSE ME, it’s Jovie. There is a human personification of JUPITER in this book, and THEY ARE DATING SATURN??? Duane presents this in a way that’s initially surprising because… Jupiter. Jupiter is a wizard themselves. Well… okay, maybe not necessarily a wizard, but their essence can live in another body for a short period of time? And it makes sense that they’d speak with that specific recension. Exactly how often are they even talking with wizards? Not very frequently, I imagine. Still, it was fun trying to guess who this person was. I went from ALIEN to HORRIBLE MRA DUDE to SOMEONE WHO RARELY TALKS TO WIZARD. So… barely right?

Now, it would have been cool if Nita had had a small and whimsical interaction with Jupiter and then moved on. It’s the kind of thing I’d expect from a party scene like this, given that it’s the highest concentration of human wizards and their supporters that we’ve ever seen. There were gonna be some unique interactions! But Duane uses Jupiter (and their relationship with Saturn, I LOVE THAT I GET TO TYPE THAT OH MY GOD) to provide Nita with a chance to think about her own relationship with Kit. In particular:

“But you know, they laugh at us, the other planets,” Jupiter said. “They say, ‘You two have been going around together for how long? And you’re only now noticing it? Are you ever obtuse.’”

Clearly, that’s the same thing Kit and Nita heard, but like it or not, outside perceptions of a relationship or a partnership (or even a platonic friendship!) can affect the relationship itself. It’s hard enough to have to figure out your feelings for someone else, but it’s even harder when that is all under the microscope, when other people seem to be watching your every mood. And shit, Jupiter is a PLANET. Other planets make fun of him!!!! THIS IS TOO MUCH.

Anyway, I still can’t get over Jupiter and Saturn dating. I probably won’t ever recover.

https://youtu.be/EkHqM-71JSY

Mark Links Stuff

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now available for pre-order! If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter! DO IT.