In the second chapter of\u00c2\u00a0The Wizard<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dilemma<\/i>, Kit reunites with a friend to work on a project, but has mixed feelings on the result. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
AHHHHH, I HOPE THIS IS SETTING A STANDARD FOR THIS BOOK BECAUSE IF SO, I WILL BE VERY PLEASED. Like, maybe this will be like\u00c2\u00a0High Wizardry<\/i>, and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get alternating chapters, and\u00c2\u00a0yes yes yes yes<\/i>. Even if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the case, this was still a satisfying experience. I loved getting to be inside Kit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head as he worried about Nita\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0worked on the wizardry to start repairing the Great South Bay with S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee. WHO I AM SO PLEASED IS ALSO IN THIS BOOK, AT LEAST FOR NOW.<\/p>\n
I suspect I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t gotten to the main conflict in\u00c2\u00a0The Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dilemma<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0yet, but even so, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already a lot of conflict to keep me intrigued and desperate for more. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clever of Duane to switch over to Kit after the first chapter because we get a chance to see both his cluelessness\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0his concern, which is an important combination. He could have just been clueless about Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious that he thinks highly of Nita and wants to keep her happy. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t negate how confused he is, of course. From his perspective, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s treated her well, unaware that the way in which he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been dismissing her wizardry is exacerbating the distance she already perceives between them.<\/p>\n
And y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why communication is so important in all relationships, sexual, romantic, or platonic included. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been the one skill of mine that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve continually honed over the years because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen the reward of talking through difficult, complicated shit. I bring that up here because Duane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crafted a situation that allows us to see how internal narratives and experiences shapes the way we interact with one another. Nita perceived a meanness, a cruelty in the way that Kit dismissed her wizardry; Kit, however, is genuinely worried because he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figure out why Nita would react to him as she did. As they both get older, as the pressures of life build up and complicate them both, as they age away from their highest power as wizards, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to keep changing. A\u00c2\u00a0lot<\/i>. And if this friendship is going to survive, they need to talk about that, to check in with one another, to understand how they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re changing, too!<\/p>\n
Duane then makes this even\u00c2\u00a0more<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0complicated, and I admire that she does so. Why? Because just two chapters into this book, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an elaborate and emotion-rich canvas from which she can build a novel. Right from the start, there is angst and anger and confusion and concern, and we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even gotten to the main plot yet. (Or\u00c2\u00a0have<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0we??? DUN DUN DUN.) In that sense, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all the elements of a classic coming-of-age story here, but who knows if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re gonna get? (You all know, of course. JUST LET ME SIT HERE AND BE WRONG.) As it stands, Nita is not around for the wizardry that needs to be worked in the South Bay in order to\u00c2\u00a0start<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0removing the pollution in it.<\/p>\n
What unfolds is elegant, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know a better word for it. I spoke about this in the video for this chapter, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a magic system I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever come across like this, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153elegant\u00e2\u20ac\u009d fits as a description for it. Magic is not about forcing will or power on things; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about\u00c2\u00a0conversations.\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>(See? Even when it comes to the magical system in this world, having conversations is important! THEMATIC SYNCHRONICITY, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.) The spellwork that Kit comes up with is approved by S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee, which is most certainly awkward because it means that Kit was right. Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wizardries were going to be way too complex for what needed to be done.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get back to that. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about how Kit and S\u00e2\u20ac\u2122reee come up with a way to change the way the ocean deals with pollution:<\/p>\n
They were reminding the ocean how things had once been: a long discussion, setting aside for the moment its outrage over having been systematically polluted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how the conversation works! They persuade the ocean to react differently to the pollutants (well, the modern ones, that is; I loved that Duane pointed out that pretty much\u00c2\u00a0all\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>the living organisms in the ocean were seen as pollutants in it) by turning them into inert salts, allowing the ocean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s natural cycles to take care of the excess salinity. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BRILLIANT. Amazingly simple, and yes, achieved\u00c2\u00a0without<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0the help of Nita.<\/p>\n
Awkward, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposed to be. It was bad enough watching Kit remove Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name from the spellwork, but it was necessary. It meant that she was\u00c2\u00a0wrong<\/i>, and Kit knew that this was going to sting later. No one likes being wrong! Kit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also the kind of person who doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like reveling in someone\u00c2\u00a0being<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0wrong, either, especially not Nita. How is he going to have that conversation with her? I appreciate that he cares so much about it because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll at least mean he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll\u00c2\u00a0try\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>to be respectful about it, you know?<\/p>\n
But lord, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gonna be so uncomfortable. SO UNCOMFORTABLE.<\/p>\n
vid<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the second chapter of\u00c2\u00a0The Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dilemma, Kit reunites with a friend to work on a project, but has mixed feelings on the result. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[520,510],"tags":[513,511],"class_list":["post-3965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-wizards-dilemma","category-young-wizards","tag-diane-duane","tag-mark-reads-young-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3965\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}