Come with me to a magical place far, far away… This collection of fantasy short-stories focuses around humorous creatures, creative situations, and evil witches. Each narrative plot is seemingly different; however, this all ties in together at the end of the book. The characters, ranging from Geryboam to evil gnomes, have such contrasting personalities, which only adds on to the book’s unique perspectives. Although Terry Pratchett wrote these when he was 17, the themes hidden throughout the novel and the creative fonts of the words make for an all-around great kid-friendly novel.
In my opinion, this was definitely not one of my best reads. The actual plot was really confusing, and I didn’t really understand why the stories were laid out the way they were. These seemed more like bedtime stories than a teen novel. Furthermore, I felt like the short stories didn’t really interest me since their plots were too predictable. Plus, the themes were very repetitive and I wasn’t drawn into the book like I have been to others. I’ve been a fan of fantasy novels, but this Terry Pratchett one didn’t make the cut.
One thing that I took notice of was how Terry Pratchett wrote some of the words in really cool fonts and sizes in order to make the book come alive and seem more believable. I’ve never seen anyone do such a thing in a story, so I was really fascinated by this.
Reviewed by Mitali, Grade 9, Twin Hickory Area Library
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 