{"id":4548,"date":"2018-05-16T05:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4548"},"modified":"2018-04-30T10:15:15","modified_gmt":"2018-04-30T17:15:15","slug":"mark-reads-the-wee-free-men-chapter-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/05\/mark-reads-the-wee-free-men-chapter-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Wee Free Men’: Chapter 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourteenth and final chapter of The Wee Free Men<\/i>, Tiffany returns home to discover how much her world has changed and how much it hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I loved this. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. And if this counts as Pratchett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first foray into YA for Discworld<\/i>, then HOLY SHIT, I really hope there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more. (Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell me if there is, I want to be surprised.) More than ever before, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking about the role of young adult fiction in the lives of actual kids. I mean, I have<\/i> to. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thrust into that world myself, and after doing two school visits this year, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m aware of how words can change someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life. Change their outlook. Change their perception.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In that context, I can see such an immense value in the story of Tiffany Aching. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit of a loner. Everyone thinks she is strange. As I mentioned in the last review, the theme of isolation is all over this book. Tiffany felt abandoned by Granny Aching, and she lived apart from her own family, who didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem all that interested now that Wentworth was in the picture.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter that this is magical and fantastical because this is so real. <\/i>And y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all have already seen how much I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve related to this or projected my own experiences into the narrative. Granted, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I do. Truly, one of my favorite things in the world is talking honestly about how to relate to works of fiction. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been doing this for 9 years this summer (HOW THE FUCK), and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tire of it. So, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy for me to find power in the imagery that Pratchett gives us at the end of this book. Tiffany won, first of all, but not in a way that denies the reality of dreams, of fear, and of the difficulty that it takes to do what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right. I deeply<\/i> respect that because I feel like it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s honest. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not always easy to do the right thing; often, the right thing is the hardest choice to make!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Tiffany didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the choices she did with a reward in mind; no, she fought against the Queen and defeated her because she had<\/i> to. And there are some setbacks that we see later in the story because of what she did! But I adored that after everyone is rescued, Tiffany receives a visit from Miss Tick, Nanny Ogg, and Granny Weatherwax. I honestly didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect it at all, especially not once we got into the story. I wanted<\/i> it because I knew how instrumental it would be if Tiffany got to meet those specific witches. But I figured that Tiffany would just return to her life in the Chalk and have to adjust to seeing the world differently.<\/p>\n

However, I have<\/i> to acknowledge how important Granny and Nanny Ogg are in this moment. Look, I know it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sometimes positioned as cool and edgy to not care about validation or what your peers think. I get that philosophy, but it feels a lot different when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not received much of it before. When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re isolated and lonely, validation is a way to quench an unbearable, secretive thirst. So when Granny Weatherwax sizes up Tiffany, reviews what she did, and then removes her hat to bow to her,<\/i> I cannot imagine a more meaningful gesture on her part. First of all: SHE HAS NEVER DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO ANYONE IN THE WHOLE SERIES. On that point alone<\/i>, this was incredible. But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s assume that for someone else, this is their first<\/i> novel in the Discworld <\/i>series. This act conveys a monumental amount of respect for Tiffany, and I think anyone can see that. She is validated<\/i>. Her skills and her talent is honored<\/i>.<\/p>\n

And that means everything<\/i> when you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been validated before.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, this comes on the heels of the silent blessing from Granny Aching, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to ignore that. But once Tiffany is back home, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the norm. Most people will react as the people of the Chalk do: by letting Roland<\/i> take all the credit for rescuing Tiffany. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an obvious parallel to the misogynist phenomenon of crediting men for the work of women in this. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easier for everyone\u00e2\u20ac\u201despecially Roland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father, the Baron\u00e2\u20ac\u201dto accept this reality than the truth. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a more general theme in this, too, one that relates to the notion of reality and perception. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s integral to understanding how witches work in the Discworld<\/i>, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the perfect note for this story to end on. See, Roland knows<\/i> the truth. He knows he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t save anyone, that Tiffany literally did all the work. And even if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able to acknowledge that to Tiffany, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still deeply uncomfortable with her, as if her saving him isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough for him to just accept her and respect her.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, Tiffany has to do \u00e2\u20ac\u0153magic\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in order for Roland to get how important she is to this town and its safety. The legacy of the last witch who lived here weighs heavily on Tiffany, so I LOVED THAT SHE BASICALLY TERRIFIED ROLAND INTO RESPECTING HER. What else could she do<\/i>? If Roland was going to become the Baron some day, she needed him to know that he was not<\/i> to fuck with her just because she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird and different.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiffany is now part of that legacy, the very one she thought she was excluded from. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of it, and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I HOPE I GET MORE STORIES FROM HER PERSPECTIVE. This was amazing. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this is a terribly controversial opinion to have at this point, but wow<\/i>, the Discworld<\/i> books really do get better and better. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait for Monstrous Regiment<\/i>!!!<\/p>\n

vid<\/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":"