I Shall Wear Midnight

I have heard rave reviews of Terry Pratchett's books. I admit I've been curious, but 30+ books in a series seemed daunting. Did I really want to commit to that many!? No, I wouldn't need to read them all at once, but eventually (if I liked the series) I'd commit to reading them all. That is a LOT of reading! A Series of Unfortunate Events only has 13 books (and they're children's books!), yet that is also off-putting. How would I read a series that's triple the size, and probably double the page length. I'm speculating on page count, but there's probably at least 100 page difference between the books.

So how did the first book go? Well, it started like this: “Hmm ok. It's a witch. A young witch in a glade. Runs errands... It's like Kiki's Delivery Service. Cool.... uh oh, something's happening. What? a death? hatred? a trial? Oooh there's an underlying theme here. It's not just a regular fantasy novel where someone who is an outcast/freak/ugly/”ordinary” finds out they have magical powers, or a magical item and goes to save the day?? Lies! Oooh snarky sarcasm.... character zones out mid-conversation and thinks about food?? Well that's pretty realistic. They have emotions, and actual motivations?? This is actually getting pretty good. OOOh I need to go back and reread that. What happens next! I wish I could read/listen (used an Audiobook) faster. STUPID THING SPEED UP!! Oooooooooooooooooh! “ book ends. “Well... better build a new bookcase. I have 30+ new books to purchase.

Terry Pratchett is one of the most amazing people I wish I knew. The man came out with like 3 books this year while battling Alzheimer's and still being a decent human being. I've gotten behind on my Discworld, but picking this up again reminded me just how much has happened as old friends breeze through the story guiding, meddling, or interfering with the new cast. It's just neat.

The Tiffany Aching books are billed as Discworld for Young Readers, but seeing as this one begins with a girl who has a miscarriage after her father beats her half to death for getting pregnant, “Young” is a relative term. Tiffany is young, but it is her business to sort out the messy bits, and Pratchett doesn't shy away from showing all those bits. It's in the older school of fiction for young readers that assumes both A) Children know more than we give them credit for and B) Children will censor themselves if they are truly not ready for something.

I Shall Wear Midnight feature a 16 year old Tiffany who is not much changed from the little girl first introduced in the Wee Free Men. She is the type of practical, no-nonsense protagonist Pratchett writes so well. The story itself, while not my favorite in the vast ocean of Pratchetty goodness, is nevertheless a compelling addition to the series and lets the readers get a glimpse of Tiffany (and possibly her young coven's) future as she handles her steading with grit and determination. Thematically, it harkens back to the early books in the Witches Chronicles with mob mentality and prejudice woven into Tiffany's uniquely adolescent coming of age element.

If you enjoy Tiffany's stories (or any of the Witches Chronicles) definitely give it a read. It could stand on its own, but like most of Discworld, I think it just reads better once you can get more of the references.