{"id":4540,"date":"2018-05-08T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4540"},"modified":"2018-05-06T06:50:10","modified_gmt":"2018-05-06T13:50:10","slug":"mark-reads-the-wee-free-men-chapter-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/05\/mark-reads-the-wee-free-men-chapter-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Wee Free Men’: Chapter 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eleventh chapter of The Wee Free Men<\/i>, TIFFANY IS SUCH A BADASS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I AM JUST ENDLESSLY PLEASED WITH TIFFANY ACHING\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GROWTH AS A WITCH. Sometimes, that growth is subtle, slow, and quiet. And here, sometimes it comes with yelling<\/i>. BOTH OF THESE THINGS ARE GREAT.
\nAnd yes, chapter eleven is probably the shortest chapter so far, but wow, does Pratchett pack in a LOT of information and action into these pages. The \u00e2\u20ac\u0153awakening\u00e2\u20ac\u009d referenced in the chapter title could refer to a few things, too, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fun to interpret it in as such. Because you could easily say that Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s realization of where the Feegle were \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hiding\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was an awakening of sorts, and you could also<\/i> argue that the Feegle spilling out of the last dream is an awakening, too.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But of everything here, I think Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s epiphanies regarding the Queen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s powers is the most important element of the story. Tiffany comes to understand that despite her seeming omnipotence, the Queen only controls dreams, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s used to getting what she wants. That means she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never had to be clever<\/i>. Which seems so obvious in hindsight! If you can just get what, when do you ever have to trick people? Manipulate them? And in that, Tiffany is perfectly suited. This is what being a witch is about. <\/i>This is what she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been learning the whole book!!!! BEING CRAFTY AND UNDERHANDED BUT DOING SO IN ORDER TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what unfolds here is incredibly satisfying to experience. Tiffany figures out how to bring the Feegle into this dream\/reality, yes, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what she does after <\/i>this that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the real test of her skills. The Queen disappears because surprise! She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a coward! Well, that and<\/i> she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deal with surprises because they never happen<\/i>. Instead, she retreats into her realm and does the only things he knows: she tries to torment everyone with nightmares. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s literally her only weapon, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also worked every<\/i> time prior to this. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advantage: she is the exception to the rule. She is unique.<\/i> (And what a cool fucking message that is, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all!)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BUT THEN THE NIGHTMARES COME AND HI, I HATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!! If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the illustrated edition, you are missing out, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay! Because that one single page is the worst, most terror-inducing illustration in the whole book! (Look, I have two tattoos of Stephen Gammell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark <\/i>on my body. I KNOW WHAT I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M TALKING ABOUT.) So, these horrible THINGS are heading straight for Tiffany, and Tiffany makes a choice:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> going to fight them.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a bold decision, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t initially understand why<\/i>. The Feegle can hold their own, and I figured that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be able to take out the nightmares. But in hindsight, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing but an endless cycle, right? They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d fight the nightmares, the Queen would send more, and how the hell were they supposed to escape that? Did any of this weaken the Queen at all<\/i>? Instead, Tiffany reasons that they need to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wake up\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to escape the Queen, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that lone drome she spies is how she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll try to get them out. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easier to face a weakened dream sequence rather than a billion nightmares, right?<\/p>\n

Right???<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZAV80ZMQ2lg<\/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":"