{"id":4428,"date":"2018-01-11T05:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4428"},"modified":"2018-01-07T11:34:47","modified_gmt":"2018-01-07T19:34:47","slug":"mark-reads-games-wizards-play-chapter-3-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/01\/mark-reads-games-wizards-play-chapter-3-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Games Wizards Play’: Chapter 3, Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the second half of the third chapter of Games Wizards Play<\/i>, THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Young Wizards<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m deep into this series, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still pleased that we got to meet Mike and see Harry Callahan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flower shop in greater detail. Obviously, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m most excited about in the second half of this chapter, but this world is fleshed out just a little bit more than it was before. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s related to the comment I made in the video for the previous review regarding Wellakh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship with plants. Knowing that Nelaid would view plant life (and therefore, Harry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s job) in an entirely different light was meaningful to the reader. We understand why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so cool that Nelaid is in this scene and why he feels like the shop is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153full of life.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Now I wonder what Nelaid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thoughts are on Earth as a whole and the lush plant life that exists here. OR HOW WE TREAT OUR ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE WE TAKE IT ALL FOR GRANTED.<\/p>\n

Anyway, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just get to the meat of it: y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I LOVE HOW THESE THREE INTRODUCTORY CHAPTERS ARE STRUCTURED. Each one gives us a glimpse of the three main characters in their daily lives, and then each shows us the moment of discovery. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all invited to attend the invitational, and they each have a different reaction to it. I also noticed that Duane ordered these so that the reader would get progressively more information in each chapter, too, which is a brilliant way to avoid repetition when dealing with the same issue. RIGHT??? Because despite the pattern, these don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel the same at all<\/i>. Kit experiences excitement over the mystery and grandiose nature of it all. Nita is anxious because she is worried that she is being sent on errantry and because she isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure how to work out the details of her relationship with Kit.<\/p>\n

And Dairine is straight-up terrified<\/i>. Oh, she wants to attend the invitationals and be a mentor, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even more excited than Kit was. But after she deals with a bit of disappointment over not being invited to participate as a competitor, her main worry is that she won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be allowed to be a mentor. I thought that initial reaction\u00e2\u20ac\u201danger\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwas believable for Dairine, especially since she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such an openly competitive person. (And petty, too. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally petty, right? THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOT ALWAYS A BAD THING, I LIKE PETTY CHARACTERS A LOT.) More than anyone else, I also saw her as being the closest to the reader\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction. This competition is going to allow us the best opportunity to get a huge view of what wizardry is like on worth. Wizards! From other countries! From other cultures! And Dairine would have the chance to MENTOR one of them! Plus, this is another reason why this is going to rule:<\/p>\n

A whole bunch of new people\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwizards I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, people who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll take me <\/i>seriously. And maybe put me onto some spell or something that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve missed, something that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll help me find out what I want to know about more than anything else, the one thing that matters\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s technically two reasons. One: DAIRINE UNLEASHED. Now I understand why we had to see her training session with Nelaid: It had to come before<\/i> this invitation so that her excitement would be grounded in reality. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so challenging for Dairine to have to work within the narrow rules of Wellakh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wizardries, and here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a chance for her to be as creative and unorthodox as possible.<\/p>\n

And perhaps, that will lead her to Roshaun. Ugh, this subplot HURTS me. I desperately want to know where he is, but I also<\/i> want Dairine to have closure, one way or another. I really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dead, but I can also see how his absence eats at her. That affects her lessons with Roshaun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father, obviously, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also an obsession of hers. And what if this doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually lead to what she wants? How will she deal with that<\/i> disappointment?<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. I would love if this happened, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to expect it. What I am<\/i> expecting is an exploration of the mentor\/student dynamic, given that Dairine has such a hard time with Nelaid. How will she feel about this when she<\/i> is the one who must teach someone else? Oh gods, what if her student is really difficult??? THERE IS SO MUCH POSSIBILITY IN THIS Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/d_9pwGFvn7A<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"