You wouldn’t know it from this list, but I really have been reading some books aimed at adults (and books outside the fantasy genre). They will feature in June’s Into the Stacks, however, because I’m not done with them. Patience, people. Patience…

The Wee Free Men: A Story of Discworld, by Terry Pratchett

From the jacket: “Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnapped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk’s local Nac Mac Feegle — aka the Wee Free Men — a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning drones, and grimhounds — black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors — before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler of a world in which reality intertwines with nightmare.”

Why this book? I’ve long heard good things about Terry Pratchett, but hadn’t ever read anything by him. I don’t know why, but this seemed like a good remedy to that particular problem.

My take: I liked Tiffany. She was a real girl — a little resentful of a younger brother whom she had to mind and whom she uses to bait a fantastical creature and feeling somewhat overlooked at home. And who couldn’t use a Granny who knows us — really and truly? But I did think that the book was a bit one-dimensional. Other than having an acceptance that fantastical creatures do exist, she was a modern girl in an antiquated world and a colorful character in a black-and-white existence. This was a bit frustrating, because I wanted there to be a living adult who was capable of commiserating with her and there just wasn’t. I’ll definitely consider, however, seeing how other books in the series flesh out the rest of the world around Tiffany.

Pages: 263

Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling

From the jacket: (I’m not sure this is really necessary. Have any of you not heard of HP1?!?) “Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He’s never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him … if Harry can survive the encounter.”

Why this book? Book Seven, the conclusion to the series, arrives before we know it. I felt like I need to revisit the series before it wraps up.

My take: I have reread this book more in the last decade more than anything else. In fact, it probably ranks right up there with Anne of Green Gables and Little Women as my most-reread books of all time. I still love the descriptions of Halloween and Christmas at Hogwarts; you really can picture the Great Hall. And Rowling is a master at characterization. Even tertiary characters are distinct in my mind.

Pages: 309

River Secrets, by Shannon Hale

From the jacket: “Razo — short, funny, and not a great soldier — is sure it’s out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern’s great enemy. But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, it’s Razo who discovers the first dead body. He’s the only Bayern able to befriend both the high and low born, the people who can provide information about the ever-increasing murders. And he’s the one who must embrace his own talents in order to get the Bayern soldiers home again, alive.”

Why this book? I couldn’t find any of the books I was actually looking for at the library, so eventually I settled for another Hale book, since I liked The Princess Academy quite a bit.

My take: I feel like there are fewer great boys in modern children’s lit than I’d like there to be, so it was great to encounter this story, featuring Razo, a male protagonist I really liked.* He’s the guy next door — maybe like if someone wrote a book about Ron Weasley instead of about Harry Potter — and it’s nice that the good, but “normal” guy doesn’t always finish last. I wish I’d realized that this followed Goose Girl and Enna Burning, because I certainly would have read them first if I’d known. That said, I enjoyed the characters in this book enough that I’d like to go back and read the earlier tales.

Pages: 290

*Jen Robinson and her readers compiled a list of 175 Cool Boys from Children’s Literature last year. It is well worth looking over, particularly if you have young boys in your life.