I had a hole in my reading history, a big void. I'd read Terry Pratchett when he teamed up with Neil Gaiman with Good Omens but hadn't ventured much into the Pratchett catalog. It's a daunting catalog, to be fair, and I really didn't have any idea where to start.
As I was listening to Craftlit (currently running The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain), Heather, the host, mentioned The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett and even said that, while it's a YA book, it's an excellent place to start. Perfect! And my library had the audiobook! More Perfecter!
The Wee Free Men (narrated by Stephen Briggs) is an EXCELLENT book for young adults and adults. Tiffany Aching is a 9 year old girl who is a bit different from other 9 year old girls. She regularly has to care for her younger brother, Wentworth, and she is very good at doing her chores, including making butter and cheese. Her grandma, Granny Aching, has passed on but Tiffany greatly admired her. Turns out, Tiffany is a lot like Granny Aching. She's a witch.
Tiffany always aspired to be a witch, but the day that she saw little blue men in kilts and Jenny Greenteeth, a green monster coming up from the water, she realized there is more to the world than she was aware. In order to get rid of Jenny Greenteeth, Tiffany uses her little brother as bait, then smacks Jenny with an iron frying pan. Ingenious and clever, Tiffany is.
At this point, the wee blue men, The Nac Mac Feegles, come out of hiding enough to interact with Tiffany and she meets with up with another witch, Miss Tick who explains some things to her and also just adds to Tiffany's confusion. While Miss Tick leaves to fetch more witches, she leaves her familiar, a toad with somewhat good advice, to help Tiffany navigate her new world.
When Tiffany's brother is kidnapped by the Queen of the Fairies, Tiffany full on enters a new reality with the Nac Mac Feegles by her side. She takes on dreamland (not as nice as it might sound) and the Queen in a quest to save her brother (even though she doesn't really like him THAT much).
This novel is technically first in the Tiffany Aching series and 30th in the entire Discworld series. It really is a perfect introduction to Pratchett and the worlds he created. Tiffany is such a smart and brave girl, you often forget she's only 9. When everyone around her is scared to move forward, she marches ahead with her frying pan, ready to face down whatever crosses her path. She really doesn't tolerate patronizing adults and is able to think her way out of sticky situations.
The Nac Mac Feegles are always ready to fight, drink, and steal for any cause and stay by Tiffany through her quest. They are hilarious and Stephen Briggs' narration with their Scottish accents is superb.
There are 5 novels in Tiffany's series and I'm thoroughly excited to tackle them all!
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