Book Review: The Wee Free Men (and sequels)

Friday Spines Book Review Number Three:

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

This book is not a summer book (slightly trashy fast-paced fiction to read by the pool) or a winter book (perfect for a rainy day-long and slow with lots of details) but an all-year-round book. The 30th book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and first Tiffany Aching novel, The Wee Free Men features a nine-year-old farm girl named Tiffany who is good with cheese. Tiffany, however, is not demure or meek in any way-she spots a giant monster in the river near her house one day, and instead of running away, she goes back home to fetch a frying pan. She then lures the monster out of the water using her little brother as bait and "clangs" the monster on the head with the pan. A witch named Miss Tick, who has been watching Tiffany and her frying pan through the first few chapters, informs us that another world is colliding with Tiffany's, and Miss Tick leaves to fetch help. She leaves her talking toad behind to watch over Tiffany, who refuses to be watched over: The toad soon tells her all about the colliding of the worlds, and introduces her to the mysterious red-headed creatures who've been popping up all over Tiffany's path in the past few weeks. The Nac Mac Feegle, or Wee Free Men, are 6-inch-tall, blue-skinned, kilt-wearing warriors. They were kicked out of fairyland for being disruptive and drunk, and are now wreaking unrestrained (though curiously moral) havoc on the rest of the world. Or worlds, as we soon find out.

After the Queen of Fairies (who personally ejected the Wee Free Men from her kingdom) kidnaps Tiffany's brother, the small but determined girl marches into Fairyland frying pan first, accompanied by the toad, her mother's trusty book Diseases of the Sheep, and large group of Feegles.

Along with the Wee Free Men comes "drinking, fighting, and stealing". There's a bit of swearing, but as it's all in either Toad ("croap") or a vaguely Scottish dialect ("crivens!"), you needn't worry about younger readers. Although the Feegles do steal anything and everything in sight, they're good-hearted and never steal from anyone in need. It appears that all Feegles are alcoholic, yet this fact is treated with indifference by Tiffany and the third-person narration: Drinking is not encouraged, but neither is it portrayed in a negative light. However, most readers that would enjoy the book are old enough to make their own judgements concerning the alcohol level of the little blue men. Terry Pratchett's writing is highly entertaining for all readers, and the older you are the more you'll laugh.

Other things I liked about this book:

• The asterisks. At the end of the page you'll often find a * accompanied by a hilarious notation or fictional anecdote.
• The frequent sarcasm-I'm a very sarcastic person myself, and Terry Pratchett uses it frequently but not enough to wear it out. 
• The sequels! A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith, telling of an eleven- and thirteen-year-old Tiffany's adventures, are every bit as witty and captivating as the last. I just discovered a third sequel, I Shall Wear Midnight (released in 2010), and am planning on reading it on Tuesday. (Yes, the whole thing.)
• Stephen Brigg's narration of the book is even more hilarious than the print version: although the Feegles' speech is a little hard to understand at first, you'll grow to love the Scottish-accented sound of frying pan hitting everything in sight.
• Although the book has a female protagonist, there are many strong characters of both sexes (and weaker ones as well). Humanity is humorously and accurately portrayed by the author.

Other books you might like: A Hat Full of Sky (and other sequels), Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce, Holes by Louis Sachar.

In other news, Friday Spines will be suspended until October 27th, due to a trip to Paris! In the meantime, check out my other favorite books on the sidebar over there, and stop by the Goodreads website-it's fantastic for all book-lovers, -likers, or once-in-a-while readers.

Book Review: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Friday Spines Book Review Number Two:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

I read this book when I was about 11. I was quite a prodigious reader for my age, but I doubt that I'd have stuck with it all the way through if I'd been reading. However, my mom purchased the audiobook, narrated by Anna Fields, and we listened to it in the car: This is perfect if you drive for more than 30 minutes at a time, and at least two or three times a week. It's best taken in large doses, to noticed the understated humor and pre-referencing, but the author includes just enough condensed summary to keep her inconsistent readers up-to-date.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn needs a patient and sensitive reader. It begins in 1902 and follows Francie, or Mary Frances Nolan, through the slums of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The book is narrated in third person, but we get frequent peeks into the minds of Katie and Johnny (Francie's parents) her brother Neeley, and the people they encounter. It could be described as a coming-of-age story, but that phrase is overused: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn doesn't just illustrate Francie's coming-of-age, but also her mother's childhood, her childhood, her brother's birth (and how Katie admits to the reader how much more she loves her son), her first kiss, and her father's death. Betty Smith tells of Francie's world with sincerity, clarity, and objectivity, without any wavering at her protagonists's tears or broken dreams.

In one of the most poignant and subtle metaphors I've seen, the author suggests a parallel between Francie and the irrepressible tree that sprouts up in all Brooklyn tenements: The Tree of Heaven. Without saying, "Francie was like a tree: small, delicate, but unbreakable," or even "Francie was a tree," Betty Smith opens the book with a description of the Tree of Heaven, slipping in images of the tree's growth over the years. Each time the Nolans move to a new home, the tree is included in its meticulous (but never tedious) description. In one tenement, the tree grows up and overshadows the Nolans' balcony, providing book-devouring Francie with a private, shady retreat where she can read, savor precious peppermint candy, and spin lives for the people passing below. She often watches from her balustrade as older neighbor girls preparing for their dates, taking incredible delight in watching their intimate ritual. The story closes as Francie prepares for her own date, looks out the window and sees her young neighbor seated on a balcony opposite the Nolans' own, with a book in her lap and a bag of candy by her side, watching Francie in the dim light.

Although A Tree Grows in Brooklyn contains some material unsuited for the squeamish younger reader (i.e., Francie encounters a sex predator who is then shot by Katie), the un-flinchingly honest narrative and Francie's reaction to the events subdues the more mature aspects of the book. I'd recommend it for ages 12 and up, although the audiobook will hook younger readers who are ready for the content but not the physical aspect of this book.


Other things I like about this book:

• The pace is slow enough to be relaxing, but quick enough to be mesmerizingly engaging. 
• The characters are realistic and easy to identify with, and the author gives us a thorough view of their thoughts-not just the "correct" ones.
• Even if you read the book ten times (I have), it's long and detailed enough that more insights can always be gained from it.
• It's a semi-autobiographical novel: The author lived her story, in a way, so the setting and characters seem all the more vivid.

Other books you might like: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and, for younger readers, All of a Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor.

Coming up next: The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett. It's hilarious--start reading now!

Book Review: 500 Great Books For Teens

Friday Spines Book Review Number One (drumroll please): 

500 Great Books For Teens, by Anita Silvey

This is an excellent resource for teens as well as parents. It's concise, articulate, and has convinced me to read nearly every book included. Pros and cons of books for the young and adult reader are included, brief summaries give an idea of the plot, and the otherwise-overwhelming 500 is organized neatly and nearly always accurately into genres, then by time frame (classic or contemporary) and lastly by author's last name. Sequels and prequels to listed books are included, as well as the occasional "similar titles" for the avid reader. 

A few books are, in my opinion, misplaced in their genre (Dreamland, by Sarah Dessen, is placed in "Romance" instead of my choice of "Realistic Fiction", for example); however, the author created wonderful categories and, for the most part, sorted them accurately. Another downside to this book is the date: it was published several years ago, in 2006, and leaves out more recent additions to series such as "The City of Ember", by Jeanne DuPrau. The author has written inconsistent plot summaries: sometimes she reveals the ending, at other times she leaves the climax out of the summary. This is somewhat irritating: I don't know whether to read the whole summary, or tread lightly--I don't like to hear the ending of a book from someone else.

Other things I like about the book: 

• Perfectly sized text: Not too big, not too small. 
• The format. Author's name, title, age recommendation (either 12-14, 14-18, or 12-18), copyright date, publisher, select awards the book has gotten, and number of pages are included in a layout easy to read and refer back to. 
• The appendixes. "Beyond the 500: Additional Titles of Interest" includes many pages of wonderful books (titles and authors only), organized in the same genres as the rest of the book. There's "Books by Geographic Location" and "Books by Historical Time Line" (not including any of the "Beyond the 500" titles). Also included is a list of recommended audio versions of the books included. 
• Nice big margins for your enthusiastic scribbles and sticky-notes.
• You don't have to read it front-to-back: I often pick it up, read a few entries, and put it down again (rather reluctantly, it's true). 

I'd definitely recommend it to all readers teenage and older.



Other books Anita Silvey has written: 100 Best Books for Children; I'll Pass For Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War; Henry Knox. See more. 
Click here for the author's website.


You might also like: Book Crush, The Book Whisperer, The Big Book of Teen Reading Lists, and The Heroine's Bookshelf.




Coming up next: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith.

(Note: All links lead to Goodreads information.)

Thanks for reading!
M. Gabrielle

Friday Spines

Hi! Welcome to my latest blog. I love books so much, and writing even a little more (if that's possible) and what better way to immerse myself in literary bliss than to write about books? I'm pulling great books from 500 Great Books for Teens, and adding a few of my own more recent favorites. Feel free to recommend your own well-loved books.

Reviews will be published each Friday, hopefully well before midnight, as I am still in my teenage years and have somehow acquired a ridiculously prodigious pile of homework (although I am a homeschooler. Yes, we do have social skills :).

Enjoy! (Oh, and by the way, unless you're on a smartphone there's a little button called "Follow" over there on the left, as well as one that says "Sign up for email posts" that let you stay updated with my reviews.)

M. Gabrielle