In the first part of the seventh chapter of Games Wizards Play<\/i>, Nita asks Dairine for assistance; Kit worries about the complications of his burgeoning relationship. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Young Wizards<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
I love the potential<\/i> of all of this. Duane is setting up the pieces for a giant game of chess, and the end result is FEELINGS.<\/p>\n
Nita<\/b><\/p>\n
After the first few chapters, I went into this book believing the main conflict for these characters would be their struggle to get their mentees up to speed. The Invitationals loomed so huge over the story that they felt big enough by themselves. But now, I find myself drawn to the interpersonal conflict between these characters WAY MORE than the actual competition itself. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a genuine surprise in this story, and I WANT TO KNOW HOW THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE ALL GOING TO WORK OUT THE MULTIPLE COMPLICATED ISSUES THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122VE BEEN DEALT.<\/p>\n
In Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been given a mentee who is talented and creative, but he is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 a challenge. Which honestly feels like an understatement, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Despite that Kit and Nita have been fairly open with him about his shortcomings, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to get it! And I quote:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Kit had spent a total of nearly eight hours over two days getting him to fill in the multiple sketchy, incomplete, or half baked parts of his coronal management spell, while Nita prowled around the edges ignoring penn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s smart remarks and inept attempts to get on her good side.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not changing, is he? He still sees Nita as a threat, as competition, as inadequate, or some messy combination of these three things! How the hell can you possibly get this guy to learn anything? And from what we learn here, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sound like he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s willing to learn because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not aware he has anything he needs to fix<\/i>. Nita and Kit have such a huge obstacle to overcome, and it feels so impossible. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S AWARENESS. This kid isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even aware of how much work he has and how much he needs to improve his behavior.<\/p>\n
I do wonder how much of that has to do with his isolation. We still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if this is due to external factors or if he just prefers<\/i> doing things alone. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly not a bad or negative thing! I consider myself pretty damn independent. I hated group projects growing up, I was living on my own at 16, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m used to not relying on other people. But I suspect that, like Mehrnaz, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something else going on here. How has Penn not ever<\/i> gone on errantry with another wizard? Or do small wizardries for a hobby? Or travel while using wizardry? These all seem like things anyone would leap at the chance to do, especially<\/i> the part about traveling to other worlds.<\/p>\n
That being said, that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t invalidate who he is as a wizard. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s different, sure, but again: not inherently bad. But perhaps his problems partially come from the fact that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not used to working with anyone<\/i>. (I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t blame it all on that; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still mean as shit to Nita.) Now that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s forced into a situation where he has<\/i> to compromise and cooperate with two other people, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing just how difficult that is for him.<\/p>\n
MAYBE. I still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know!<\/p>\n
Kit<\/b><\/p>\n
I appreciated that Nita asked Dairine to accompany her to the practice universe, in part because I suspect she needs<\/i> someone else to validate her perception of Penn. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also<\/i> interesting to see how this will affect Kit and Nita. This chapter does a really cool thing during Kit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s POV: it largely focuses on all the complicated \u00e2\u20ac\u0153rules\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of a romantic relationship. And since Kit and Nita have been quieter and more contained about each other, other<\/i> people in their lives are reacting strangely to that. Does Penn suspect or know that they are a couple? Does Dairine look at them different? Hell, will<\/i> she look at them differently once she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fully aware of everything? (I suspect she knows more than she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s letting on.)<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s yet another angle to this that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t readily discussed, and I love that it is here. Duane touches on peer pressure, misunderstanding, and feeling isolated from your peers, all things that, despite the contextual details, a person would probably be able to relate to. Obviously, we weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worrying about how to address rumors by telling our classmates that we were wizards. (IF ONLY.) But how many of us have dealt with the confusing rush of emotions over experiencing intimacy or affection? THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S EXACTLY WHAT THIS ALL IS. Kit hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever<\/i> dealt with any<\/i> of this stuff, you know?<\/p>\n
Then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the Ponch-sized punch in the heart. THANKS FOR THAT, DIANE DUANE.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/youtu.be\/3549yxA_ZWY<\/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":"
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