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The Wee Free Men

(Discworld #30)

Terry Pratchett

4.27 · Rating details · 91,138 ratings · 4,170 reviews

Librarian's Note: For an alternate cover edition of the same ISBN, click here.

"Another world is colliding with this one," said the toad. "All the monsters are coming back."

"Why?" said Tiffany.

"There's no one to stop them."

There was silence for a moment.

Then Tiffany said, "There's me."

Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 375 pages

Published 2004 by HarperTrophy (first published May 1st 2003)

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· 91,138 ratings · 4,170 reviews

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Start your review of The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30; Tiffany Aching, #1)

Jun 29, 2009 Patrick rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-would-blurb, best-books-for-kids

I will never be able to write a book as good as this.

I just finished reading it again. This is probably my third or fourth time.

I love all of Pratchett's books. It's easy to do, as the best of them are utterly excellent, while the worst of them is merely great.

This, I think, might be his best. And I love it for so many reasons. It is diamond beyond price among the other brilliant (but perhaps lesser) diamonds.

Part of me wants to quote parts of it to you. But I won't. Out of context you can't f ...more

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Apr 12, 2011 Nataliya rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Catie

Shelves: locus-winner, pratchett, for-my-future-hypothetical-daughter, awesome-kickass-heroines, favorites, 2011-reads

I plan to use this book in the future as a strategic "weapon" for introducing my (future, hypothetical) daughter to the world of Terry Pratchett's imagination. Yes, I see it as a 'gateway drug' to fuel addiction to Sir Terry's writing. And that's the addiction I'm happy to perpetuate.

After all, this book introduces Tiffany Aching whom I love to pieces and want to adopt to be my level-headed and practical little sister.

"Yes! I'm me! I am careful and logical and I look up things I don't understand

After all, this book introduces Tiffany Aching whom I love to pieces and want to adopt to be my level-headed and practical little sister.

"Yes! I'm me! I am careful and logical and I look up things I don't understand! When I hear people use the wrong words, I get edgy! I am good with cheese. I read books fast! I think! And I always have a piece of string! That's the kind of person I am!

This book is written to be accessible to kids and adults alike - since Pratchett does not stoop to the condescending and patronizing attitude that can easily plague the story written for ...ahem... younger members of society. No, you see, Pratchett seems to believe that intelligent young characters, as well as intelligent young readers, obviously, are perfectly capable of following stories with several layers of complexity in them.

"Zoology, eh? That's a big word, isn't it?"
"No, actually it isn't," said Tiffany. "Patronizing is a big word. Zoology is really quite short."

This book is also quite accessible to those who are just starting their journey into the superficially magical but actually very firmly grounded in reality and not afraid to deal with uncomfortable issues and ask uncomfortable questions world that Pratchett created.

And please don't be fooled that the action takes place on a flat planet traveling through space on the back of four elephants standing on a back of a giant space turtle - the issues he writes about are quite applicable to the lives of people on a giant blue-green ball hurtling through space while circling along the hot yellow Sun.

In The Wee Free Men, nine-year-old Tiffany Aching, a budding witch in a country that does not take kindly to witchcraft, has her first encounters with the supernatural world of Discworld. Intelligent and reasonable and practical, she takes it quite in stride - and so when her world is threatened by the invasion of monsters from the not-so-nice fairy tales, she firmly stands her ground, armed with little but a frying pan, analytical reasoning, common sense and Third Thoughts ("And Tiffany thought: No, that was a Third Thought. I’m thinking about how I think about what I’m thinking. At least, I think so.") and supported by a rowdy clan of the Mac Nag Feegle (the titular Wee Free Men) - a race of blue-skinned six-inch-tall pesky warriors who speak in vaguely Scottish dialect and are terrified of the evil also known as Lawyers.

“Another world is colliding with this one,” said the toad. “There. Happy now? That’s what Miss Tick thinks. But it’s happening faster than she expected. All the monsters are coming back.”
“Why?”
“There’s no one to stop them.”
There was silence for a moment.
“There’s me,” said Tiffany.

In this book, Pratchett creates equally memorable settings that are polar opposites of each other. On one hand, we have The Chalk - a land of green hills that are suited for shepherding and populated by sturdy rural folk that do not take kindly to things like witchcrafting.

“Ordinary fortune-tellers tell you what you want to happen; witches tell you what’s going to happen whether you want it to or not. Strangely enough, witches tend to be more accurate but less popular.”

In fact, they'd prefer to burn witches for little less than the suspicion of being one. You see, most people there, unlike Tiffany, do not stop to *think* about what they're doing and *why* they're doing it. But Tiffany is not the one to go along with the crowd thinking without stopping to think for herself and question her motives and reasons.

On the other side of Tiffany's reality, there is the Fairie, a surreal dream-like place -- and when I say dream-like, I'm referring not to the warm fluffy place of children's book but the dreams from which you wake up screaming and covered in sweat.

“This is a dream, after all, Tiffany told herself. It doesn’t have to make sense, or be nice. It’s a dream, not a daydream. People who say things like “May all your dreams come true” should try living in one for five minutes.”

But nothing in this fantastical and yet horrifying world is ever prepared for Tiffany with her logical mind and common sense and fierce desire to protect anything that is *hers*.

"Yes! I'm *me*! I am careful and logical and I look up things I don't understand! When I hear people use the wrong words, I get edgy! I am good with cheese. I read books fast! I think! And I always have a piece of string! That's the kind of person I am!"

The best thing about Tiffany Aching, a budding witch in the country that does not approve of witchcraft, is her propensity to question things and information that others take for granted. She bases her conclusions on evidence, and is able to think and reason intelligently. Not too many young literary heroines have actually shown this ability (even though some of them claim they have!). For this alone, I want to give her a huge bear hug and invite her to sleepovers with my (future, hypothetical) daughter.

"And all the stories had, somewhere, the witch. The wicked old witch.

And Tiffany had thought, Where’s the evidence?

The stories never said why she was wicked. It was enough to be an old woman, enough to be all alone, enough to look strange because you had no teeth. It was enough to be called a witch.

If it came to that, the book never gave you the evidence of anything. It talked about “a handsome prince” ... was he really, or was it just because he was a prince that people called him handsome? As for “a girl who was as beautiful as the day was long” ... well, which day? In midwinter it hardly ever got light! The stories didn’t want you to think, they just wanted you to believe what you were told...

Anyway, she preferred the witches to the smug handsome princes and especially to the stupid smirking princesses, who didn’t have the sense of a beetle...

She couldn’t be the prince, and she’d never be a princess, and she didn’t want to be a woodcutter, so she’d be the witch and know things."

Yes, this is my favorite thing about Tiffany - she wants to be a witch because she wants to know things. Just think about it - how awesome is it? Isn't it the opposite of what popular culture tries to teach young girls - to be pretty princesses just waiting for the Prince Charming???

“Open your eyes and then open your eyes again.”

“The thing about witchcraft,” said Mistress Weatherwax, “is that it’s not like school at all. First you get the test, and then afterward you spend years findin’ out how you passed it. It’s a bit like life in that respect.”

Tiffany has a highly logical and practical mind. She stops to think about things. She is reasonable and level-headed. She is fiercely protective of the things she loves. And she is awesome. She is the role model every young girl should have. She is what I hope to be on a daily basis (and unfortunately, I keep miserably failing at that). Oh, and did I mention that she is wickedly smart (“She’d read the dictionary all the way through. No one told her you weren’t supposed to”) and has a strong sense of justice and fairness? After all, her worldview was influenced by her legendary shepherdess grandmother, perhaps a bit a a witch herself (who, I think, could be a soul sister of Granny Weatherwax), and Tiffany has internalized her grandmother's philosophy quite well:

“Them as can do has to do for them as can't. And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices."

From her first action of smacking the supernatural invader with a frying pan (after carefully and thoroughly planning out her defense, of course) to her final act of saving her little corner of the universe, Tiffany manages to be an awesome role model for girls everywhere - sharp, intelligent, critically thinking, resourceful and never in the need of saving - as well as remaining a very believable nine-year-old girl, both selfish and selfless at the same time, both brave and frightened, sweet and prickly, and curious, determined and fiercely protective of what's hers. And she can stretch the definition of *HERS* pretty far - the knack that her world should be thankful for.

"All witches are selfish, the Queen had said. But Tiffany’s Third Thoughts said: Then turn selfishness into a weapon! Make all things yours! Make other lives and dreams and hopes yours! Protect them! Save them! Bring them into the sheepfold! Walk the gale for them! Keep away the wolf! My dreams! My brother! My family! My land! My world! How dare you try to take these things, because they are mine!"

At the end of her adventure, Tiffany does something that not that many heroines of books aimed at younger people do - she genuinely grows up, gains some maturity that is amazing and yet sad at the same time - sad because it's always a part of the emotions I feel when realizing that someone is slowly losing their childhood innocence bit by bit, changing from a child to someone with *responsibility* (and your age, really, has little bearing on whether you are an adult, after all). She no longer is just a little girl - she is a girl armed with knowledge and power (with which, of course, apparently comes great responsibility) - and she takes it on with the same quiet resignation and determination as she does anything else.

“I’ll never be like this again, she thought, as she saw the terror in the Queen’s face. I’ll never again feel as tall as the sky and as old as the hills and as strong as the sea. I’ve been given something for a while, and the price of it is that I have to give it back.

And the reward is giving it back, too. No human could live like this. You could spend a day looking at a flower to see how wonderful it is, and that wouldn’t get the milking done. No wonder we dream our way through our lives. To be awake, and see it all as it really is…no one could stand that for long.”

Wonderful Tiffany art by Iberghol and JazzySatinDoll

“The secret is not to dream," she whispered. "The secret is to wake up. Waking up is harder. I have woken up and I am real. I know where I come from and I know where I'm going. You cannot fool me any more. Or touch me. Or anything that is mine.”

---------------
This book is an easy 5-star read. I adore it and will definitely sneak it onto the future hypothetical to-read pile for my future hypothetical daughter.

"She’d never really liked the book. It seemed to her that it tried to tell her what to do and what to think. Don’t stray from the path, don’t open that door, but hate the wicked witch because she is wicked. Oh, and believe that shoe size is a good way of choosing a wife.

A lot of the stories were highly suspicious, in her opinion. There was the one that ended when the two good children pushed the wicked witch into her own oven. Tiffany had worried about that after all that trouble with Mrs Snapperly. Stories like this stopped people thinking properly, she was sure. She’d read that one and thought, Excuse me? No one has an oven big enough to get a whole person in, and what made the children think they could just walk around eating people’s houses in any case? And why does some boy too stupid to know a cow is worth a lot more than five beans have the right to murder a giant and steal all his gold? Not to mention commit an act of ecological vandalism? And some girl who can’t tell the difference between a wolf and her grandmother must either have been as dense as teak or come from an extremely ugly family. The stories weren’t real. But Mrs Snapperly had died because of stories."

...more

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Jun 02, 2008 Matt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: childrens, fantasy, literature, humor

I'm a huge fan of dangerous books for boys. I love classic boys literature, whether Dumas's 'Count of Monte Cristo', Kipling's 'Jungle Book', Burroughs 'A Princess of Mars', Tolkien's 'The Hobbit', or Heinlein's juvenile fiction. I love good stories that instruct boys in being adults. I love them for being persistently politically incorrect, not just now but then. I love them because they are stories by people who obviously know boys and know what they need. And, I love them for just being fun a I'm a huge fan of dangerous books for boys. I love classic boys literature, whether Dumas's 'Count of Monte Cristo', Kipling's 'Jungle Book', Burroughs 'A Princess of Mars', Tolkien's 'The Hobbit', or Heinlein's juvenile fiction. I love good stories that instruct boys in being adults. I love them for being persistently politically incorrect, not just now but then. I love them because they are stories by people who obviously know boys and know what they need. And, I love them for just being fun and exciting adventure stories. They abide, despite the distaste of limp wristed educators that would rather that little boys don't read them and are horrified when boys play with pretend weapons. I see that and I see someone that hates boys, and for that matter doesn't have a particularly high opinion of girls either. Far be it from me to be a child hater who insists that little boys and girls never be messy, smelly, or wild. You can't learn bravery or wisdom if you learn nothing about risk. You can't learn to be gentle if you aren't first strong.

But I don't have boys; I have two girls. That isn't to say that I don't intend to read to them all the great boy's literature, because I don't think that boys and girls are all so different as all of that. But, there just aren't a lot of dangerous books for girls. There aren't many daring books which feature female protagonists and address the question of growing up through a girl's eyes in ways that I approve of. Even Rowling's 'Harry Potter', features at its heart, a daring young man, not a daring young woman. And too much young adult literature for girls makes girls lives seem like they are all about boys and spend too little time on the other important things.

So of course, if you've read this book, you can imagine my joy at finding a story which is in the model of the best boy's literature but has as its protagonist - a girl. And what a girl! If you haven't read, 'The Wee Free Men', the protagonist is young Tiffany Aching, shepherd girl and cheese maker, who you'll fall in love with by the end of the first chapter. She's little, but she is doughty!

To give anything away about the plot would be unfair to the reader. The story is set on Pratchett's Discworld, but the connections are very loose and the reader gives up only a few easter eggs by not having read anything else in the series. There is no more need to read 'Lords and Ladies' or have an existing relationship with Granny Weatherwax than there is a need to read the Silmarillion before reading 'The Lord of the Rings'. So go ahead and open this story up, be you young or old, boy or girl, fan of fantasy or no; this is a treasure.

I love reading to my girls, but I sometimes get anxious for the probably all too quickly coming days when I can read something to them with more meat: something which is nearer and dearer to my heart. If I could only read them two fiction books, I'd read them Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' and Pratchett's 'The Wee Free Men'. It's of that stature.

Some of my readers - being who they are, or knowing who I am - may wonder that I'd so recommend this tale of 'witchcraft'. Well, for one thing, there isn't a lot of actual 'witchcraft' in the craft that Pratchett teaches. The problem with the word ‘witch’ is that it means so many different things to so many different people, that it really means nothing unless you know what it is pointing to. In Pratchett's case, the word 'witch' might as well mean 'nerd', because they are essentially pointing to the same idea. But, for people that don't know that words are merely pointers, and have no meaning until they are addressed and dereferenced, or who are uncomfortable with that, let me add this addition: I'm my children's parent, not a book. There isn't anything made by man which doesn't have a something in it which isn't fully edifying. I can round off the rough corners of my children's developing understanding fairly easily. I can talk with them about what they read. I would have to do that no matter what they read, for there is nothing written in the tongues of men that can't be misunderstood. What I can't do so easily is inspire children. I can't so easily make them care and make them excited so that they know something not just in their heads but also in their hearts. For that, I need the help of stories, and this is a good one filled with many things that are virtuous and true. I'm not going to let any minor confusion get in the way of that.
...more

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Feb 09, 2017 Lyn rated it really liked it

Pictsies not Pixies.

While Terry Pratchett’s 2003 Discworld STORY (signifying that it is young adult book) introduces the spunky and likable nine year old protagonist Tiffany Aching (spawning four more books) the true hero(es) of this very enjoyable adventure are the Nac Mac Feegle.

Standing six inches tall, ginger bearded and blue tattooed, the Wee Free Men are fearless, profane (in a YA approved package), and like stealing, drinking and fighting. They are as hilarious as minions, kick ass and ha ...more

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Dec 19, 2008 Siria rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 21st-century, young-adult, fantasy, british-fiction

I really, really wish that I had a younger girl cousin to pass this book onto, because I think it's a perfect antidote for some of the books that are enjoying a vogue right now (*cough* Twilight *cough*). Where the latter feature some downright disturbing gender politics, The Wee Free Men has a heroine who's sensible and smart and capable; a realistic, strong relationship between grandmother and granddaughter; a world where women are bounded by preconceptions and gender roles and fears, but a ...more

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Mar 28, 2011 unknown rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011, library-books, sci-fi-fantasy, ya

This was my first Terry Pratchett book. If you a looking for a way into his Discworld series (which is, at last count, 1 million books long), you could do worse. It's a totally separate story arc. It's the first of a shorter sub-series, giving you someplace to go if you like it. It's YA, so it goes down easy. It stars a creative, capable heroine and is in no way about her love of boys, which is always refreshing (still, still this is refreshing). And it's funny.

I mean, funny-ish. Funny is so inc This was my first Terry Pratchett book. If you a looking for a way into his Discworld series (which is, at last count, 1 million books long), you could do worse. It's a totally separate story arc. It's the first of a shorter sub-series, giving you someplace to go if you like it. It's YA, so it goes down easy. It stars a creative, capable heroine and is in no way about her love of boys, which is always refreshing (still, still this is refreshing). And it's funny.

I mean, funny-ish. Funny is so incredibly hard to do in books. Or maybe it is just hard to make a book that I will think is actually funny, instead of just clearly trying to be funny. I almost never laugh when I read. Other reviews of this book mention hearty belly-aching guffaws, streaming tears, books uncontrollably flung into the air in spastic fits of mirthful glee. Whereas I would encounter one of Pratchett's many, many puns or subtle off-color jokes (I would quote one but the book is already back at the library, but they are well-placed and will surely go right over a kid's head), and my brain would go, "Hey, that is clever. That's funny. Ha ha." But meanwhile, my face would look like this:

I don't know what is wrong with me! I want to be one of those people who giggle-snorts while reading on the subway. I do laugh when I read funny blog posts or Goodreads reviews so I don't know what is going on. The last time I remember laughing really hard at a book, it was one small part of The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant by Dan Savage.

Terry Pratchett deserves a better reader than me because this is a funny book. Tiffany Aching is the kind of girl you want your daughter to read about. And your son; he can read books with girls in them too. In the course of discovering she is a witch and, with the help of the titular Wee Free Men, who are like drunken, filthy-mouthed Smurfs, saving her little brother, Labyrinth-style, she learns she is a strong and capable girl with her own identity and a link to past generations of powerful women. This is clearly why the back of the book mentions Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I said this was YA, but aside from being light and easy to read, it is also well-considered and thoughtful and, yes, funny. Probably. ...more

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May 11, 2017 Melindam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: discworld, arc-by-netgalley, fantasy

“If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

Pure Pratchett, an ageless story with universal appeal to both children and adults.

This is one of the most serious stories of Discworld, as Terry Pratchett knew perfectly well that if you write to and about children, you have to be serious, otherwise it won't work.

I wish I could have been like Tiffany ...more

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Jul 21, 2015 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, kings-and-queens, let-s-hear-it-for-the-girl, all-ages-admitted, brown-eyed-heroine, the-fae-folk, subtly-snarky-narrator, super-siblings, the-woods, brown-haired-heroine

Tiffany Aching, aged nine, is the only member of her large family with a jot of curiosity about the outside world. For generations without counting, the Achings (also spelled Aikens, Archens, or Akins) have tended sheep in the Discworld backwater known as the Chalk. Nothing interesting has happened in the Chalk for all of recorded history.

But that's about to change. A parasitic fae world, made of selfish magic and dream fragments, is connecting to the Chalk. Monsters not seen in centuries are d ...more

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Jan 05, 2019 Mellie Antoinette rated it liked it

This lovely can teach you a “lesson you won’t forget in a hurry.” A lesson about the Nac Mac Feegle, those dreaded Wee Free (Scottish Cutie) Men.

About the useful utility of an 8” skillet (there’s a reason it’s exactly 8 inches...unless some poor sod has failed at his job and lets face it we’re all human, aren’t we?). About aching Achings, grumpy Grannies, witchy Tickies (they dry out quickly!).

If you’re not into a good belly of humor ... well ... we might not make good friends, but I’ll still ...more

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Dec 18, 2013 Algernon (Darth Anyan) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

Usually, I'm at a loss when it comes to Christmas gifts. I don't like to give articles of clothing and gift cards feel too impersonal. I get by with the occasional bottle of perfume, compilation album or with some silly toy, but this year I think I've stumbled on a real gem: I bought The Wee Free Men because it is by Pratchett and because it says on the back cover the heroine is nine year's old. Turns out is is one of the very best in the whole Discworld catalogue, one of the funniest but also ...more

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May 31, 2013 Joey Woolfardis rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, bairns, own, sterling, masculine, bookshelf, ce21, goblins, pterry, 2018

"So... Roland with the beefy face was the hero, was he? And she was just like the stupid princess who broke her ankle and fainted all the time? That was completely unfair!"

[First read: 2nd June, 2013: 3 stars.
Second read: 17th July, 2018. 4 stars.]

You know when you finish a book and it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling and makes you smile-not too wide, not a stupid grin-just a lovely little expression you give yourself, as if you're remembering a joke or something nice that happened to you once? ...more

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Mar 31, 2015 Gavin rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya-books, historical

It is a just a tiny review for this one as sadly I did not enjoy my first try of one of Terry Pratchett's books. I did not gel with the writing style. The style was actually quite similar to that of Neil Gaiman's books and so unsurprisingly I had the same issues. The story itself was too ridiculous to take seriously and I felt like the characters were just inconsequential mouthpieces for the author to crack some jokes and offer a few witty insights on society. Now admittedly I liked the general ...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, 2019-shelf, ya

This might be the best YA book I've ever read.

Need I say more?
Everyone knows how charming Terry Pratchett can be and his humor was always top notch. But what people generally overlook is the wisdom.

First Sight, Second Think.

That's the main thing about being a witch or even being a bit bright. See things as they are and never settle for your first think. Hello!

I love Tiffany. Harder than the earth, handy with string and a big pan. And she demands respect. :)

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Aug 16, 2009 Lightreads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, humor, young-adult, fantasy

Young sheep farmer's daughter begins training to be the witch of the chalk hills that she loves. She has the help of a lot of six-inch fairies with drinking problems and pointy swords, which is good because there's no school for learning witchery, unless you think of the whole world as the school.

Oh, marvelous. I read the three published books straight through everywhere I went, and I know I disturbed people by standing there beaming in the elevator. There may also have been bouncing.

These books ...more

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Sep 02, 2016 Cphe rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, faith, 2016, fantasy, humour

This was a book club read. I hadn't read anything by Terry Pratchett before and the novel certainly wasn't a genre that I've read a lot in. I enjoyed the world building that the author introduced and the delivery of the story. It was fast paced. I felt at heart that it was an adventure, a story of the "little guy" taking on the "big bad meanie" and triumphing against overwhelming odds. It's a theme that I often look for in the novels I read. In this case it was a nine year old girl called Tiffan ...more

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Sep 13, 2016 Anna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-aty-in-52-books, fantasy, read-in-2016, favourites

How can something be so funny, and at the same time so serious and deep? The whole story and Tiffany herself. She is so earnest, never surprised by the oddest things - wee free men popping up, witches and monsters appearing, the world needing to be saved…she takes all that in her stride. She questions things other people, even adults, take on face value, and she THINKS. About things in general, and also about her own thoughts and reactions.

“Yes! I'm me! I am careful and logical and I look up th ...more

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Dec 22, 2018 Jason Koivu rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

I'm new around here. I've only visited Discworld twice now, but I'm loving it! I was surprised, because I don't often enjoy modern fantasy with its cynicism. I mean, if I'm reading fantasy, it's because I actually want the fantasy. I want to be immersed in a different. I don't want to be reminded of this one. Isn't that the draw? Isn't it why fantasy and escapism overtakes skepticism and becomes popular again after tragic events like 9/11? Whatever the case, for whatever reason, I'm digging the ...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Jo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

OK, I’m going to start this review with some maths. No! Wait, don’t go. It’s going to be YA style maths and, well, it’s me… so it’ll be dead easy.
Though before we begin, you can leave your payment in the basket just over there. Not vegetables. I want chocolate. Not got any? No worries…I’ll wait until you come back from the paper shop*.
Back?
Right:

Hermione Granger + Mildred Hubble + Matilda Wormwood = Tiffany Aching.

I’m almost tempted to just leave this review at that because, honestly, if you’re ...more

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Apr 03, 2019 Justine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bolen-books-kids-bookclub, 2019-read, read-with-my-kids

The final pick for my kids' bookclub before they break for the summer. This is a complex and layered story that appealed to my 13 year old more than my 10 year old, although he might like it more at another time.

It isn't an easy read aloud with some of the accents (at least, not for me), but it is a pretty entertaining story.

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Feb 17, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: charming-mg, favorite-characters, notable-reads-of-2013, fantasy-awesomeness, awesome-girls, totally-awesome-book, middle-grade-awesomeness

I will start this post with another Old School Wednesdays’ confession: I only ever read one Terry Pratchett novel, Good Omens ages ago and that was only because he wrote that in collaboration with Neil Gaiman.

I know what you’re thinking right now: “CRIVENS! I can’t believe you haven’t read any Terry Pratchett till now, Ana.”

I KNOW, right? Anyway, the real problem with this course of action was of course, WHERE to start, given as how Pratchett has over 40 novels in the Discworld series alone. I h ...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Clouds rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, discworld, read-in-2013, locus-ya, pub-2000s, young-adult

Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my LOCUS Y-A list.

I think I’ll always have a soft-spot for imaginative young-adult speculative fiction and as the good people at Locus did such a grand job with picking their Sci-Fi winners, I’ll trust them to single out some special y-a books too.

A toast f ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 John rated it it was amazing

My first introduction to Terry Prachtett was The Wee Free Men. What a great start into this wonderful author. His use of language, especially the speech of the Free Men (Nac Mac Feegle) is magnificently inventive. Though fantasy, one can easily picture small blue men existing in our homes and explaining the daily oddities of life.
A must read for lovers of fantasy. No, a must read for anyone that enjoys a humorous and touching tale.

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Mar 30, 2017 YouKneeK rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, completed-series

The Wee Free Men is the first book in the Tiffany Aching subseries of Discworld. Calling it “young adult” might be a stretch since the protagonist is nine and I thought the story seemed suitable for a younger audience. On the other hand, as with many children protagonists, she probably behaved as if she were older than a typical nine-year-old. In any case, the story was entertaining enough for an adult to enjoy and I did enjoy it quite a bit.

The story is set in a small farming community, where w ...more

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Jul 23, 2020 Silvana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, series-i-follow, girl-power, growing-up, fyeahfantasy, sff-2020-reading-challenge, 2020-fantasy-novel-novella, scribd

One star is for the fantastic narration by Stephen Briggs. I am so glad I reread this.

To me, this is one of the best entries to the Discworld series, aside from Guards! Guards!. So many good parts. Characters, oh Tiffany Aching is one of the best children characters I read. She's brave, resourceful, and so logical. She thinks. She thinks about her thinking! Yet the way she was described does not make her sounds annoying at all. She's just awesome and should be a role model for younger readers.

An ...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Steven Harbin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I’m presently about half way through reading this marvelous little book. People have been recommending Mr. Pratchett’s work to me for years, and I must say that I’m sorry I took so long to finally start one of his books. I did read Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch a while back, which he co-authored with Neil Gaiman, and that book was excellent, but I was going through my NG phase at the time, and moved on to several of Gaiman’s books after reading GO. In retrosp I’m presently about half way through reading this marvelous little book. People have been recommending Mr. Pratchett’s work to me for years, and I must say that I’m sorry I took so long to finally start one of his books. I did read Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch a while back, which he co-authored with Neil Gaiman, and that book was excellent, but I was going through my NG phase at the time, and moved on to several of Gaiman’s books after reading GO. In retrospect, I should have pulled a TP novel into the mix at the time, but I am happy to be reading this one now. A “book friend” on the social network site Goodreads.com recommended TWFM to me and I must say, she was spot on regarding it. I started just this week and am already to page 158, which is pretty fast reading for me.

The story of young witch-in-the-making Tiffany Aching and her allies, the Nac Mac Feegle (otherwise known as “The Wee Free Men” – think 6 inch high tattooed blue guys who could give the Fremen of Arrakis a run for their money in a fight) and her familiar on loan, a toad who seems to have been a lawyer who helped folks find grounds to sue in a previous life, and their quest to rescue Tiffany’s bothersome little brother from the Queen of Fairyland has been quite entertaining so far, and I’m looking forward to finishing it and checking out some of the other books in the series. I’ll give a full review after I finish it.

After finishing this book, I'm a confirmed fan of Tiffany Aching, Terry Pratt, and Discworld. It was a good book to start reading the series, even though it is a young adult novel. Pratchett's sense of humor shines throughout, but at the same time there are definite serious things about this novel, for both young readers and older readers to ponder. Choices, what's real and what's important, all these things are explored by the main characters. I'm looking forward to more novels in the series, and I recommedn it to anyone who loves fantasy, young adult literature, humor, adventure, strong female characters and good reads in general.
...more

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Mar 30, 2015 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2016-favorites, fantasy, humor

And now I'm at the point of stacking reviews :)

Part of the Pratchett reread with the SpecFic Buddy Reads group in 2019.

The below review is from an audiobook listen a few years ago. This time around I did it in print, and even though I can nearly recite it at this point, after reading the brilliant Night Watch I just had to keep going.

Interestingly this was my first time rereading after reading The Shepherd's Crown and I found the parallels fascinating. As much as this is a book about Tiffany und And now I'm at the point of stacking reviews :)

Part of the Pratchett reread with the SpecFic Buddy Reads group in 2019.

The below review is from an audiobook listen a few years ago. This time around I did it in print, and even though I can nearly recite it at this point, after reading the brilliant Night Watch I just had to keep going.

Interestingly this was my first time rereading after reading The Shepherd's Crown and I found the parallels fascinating. As much as this is a book about Tiffany understanding the core of herself, it's about grief for her grandmother and there's a parallel there in the final book of the series that makes other elements of that plot important too.

Anyway ... brilliant book, master at the peak of his art and trying something new and difficult ... blah, blah.

-------------------------------

This review is from my latest "read" of this beloved book, this time by listening to the abridged audio recording narrated by Tony Robinson. I have previously listened to the unabridged audio narrated by Stephen Briggs and I have read the text editions at least twice.

It is, of course, brilliant. In my opinion, the Tiffany Aching books are the pinnacle of a long career. In this one we meet Tiffany at 9 years old as she begins the path of a witch as she deals with that and her deep grief for her grandmother. She meets her greatest allies, the Nac Mac Feegle, the small blue men, pictsies that were kicked out of fairyland on charges of being drunk and disorderly. And she takes on her first foe, the Queen of the Elves.

In terms of this recording Robinson does a good job. I much prefer Stephen Briggs, but I was in a vehicle with people who hadn't read this before and they appreciated it. In terms of it being an abridged edition, the cutting didn't seem egregious although I did end up missing a few elements.

If you haven't read it yet, you should. If you want to try Pratchett and are daunted by the numbers in this series, this is a good starting point with Pratchett as his peak. The two characters from the main series are introduced well here and not until the end of the book. ...more

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Dec 01, 2019 Trish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What do a frying pan, a pair of oversized boots and some cheese have in common? They are part of one of THE best adventures on the Discworld!

Meet Tiffany, a 9-year-old girl from The Chalk. Her gran was a shepherdess (not only tending to sheep) until her death a few years ago and little Tiffany has never known anything other than churning butter and watching people (and dogs) herd sheep. Oh, and her sticky little brother demanding sweets.
But one day, she is warned by some mysterious small blue cr What do a frying pan, a pair of oversized boots and some cheese have in common? They are part of one of THE best adventures on the Discworld!

Meet Tiffany, a 9-year-old girl from The Chalk. Her gran was a shepherdess (not only tending to sheep) until her death a few years ago and little Tiffany has never known anything other than churning butter and watching people (and dogs) herd sheep. Oh, and her sticky little brother demanding sweets.
But one day, she is warned by some mysterious small blue creatures and therefore able to defend the aforementioned sticky little brother with her trusted old frying pan. A ~~witch~~ ~~mystic woman~~ Miss Tick sees that and knows that Tiffany is ... special. But that kind of special is forbidden in the Chalk ... technically.
Nevertheless, Tiffany embarks on an adventure that introduces her not only to the Nac Mac Feegles' drinking/fighting/drinking-and-fighting but also to a talking toad, a snowy queen, dreams-come-true, some very misbehaving dogs and two persons dressed entirely in black.

I've heard that many people weren't all too happy with the introduction of such a young central character, which meant Sir Terry effectively entering YA territory. I am here to tell you it's all bullshit. Miss Tick, Tiffany, the Nac Mac Feegles ... they are all FANTASTIC. Hilarious, smart, lively, very thought-provoking (as we've come to expect from this author) and in one truly great setting!

This book is mostly about fairy tales and wishes that come true. But it is also about family - the ones we are born into as much as the ones we actually feel akin and belong to. It's about actually SEEING the world around you and caring for it. Deeply. It's about what really matters between people. It's about heart and being in the moment. Where and when it counts. And, of course, it's about Sir Terry's take on witches which is probably THE best version of magic I've ever read about.

I didn't think it would be possible, but I think I might have a new favourite book in this series! Aye! ...more

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Mar 02, 2008 Beverly rated it really liked it

Recommended to Beverly by: Kim

From the review on my blog:
Pratchett takes all sorts of fairy tales and children's stories--including one of my faves, Peter Pan--and mashes them into his own tale about Tiffany, a nine-year-old witch in training. Tiffany is gutsy, smart (she's got First Sight and Second Thoughts; I need to develop both myself!), and ethical. In the same way I wanted to be Jo March when I first read Little Women, I can imagine any girl selecting Tiffany as a role model.

Pratchett never writes down to his reader; ...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Althea Ann rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was marketed as a Discworld novel for 'younger readers,' but I
found the story and style to be no more (or less) juvenile than that
of any of Pratchett's other books. It's the 30th Discworld book, and
the first to feature the character Tiffany Aching (although i was
already familiar with her from reading 'Wintersmith' - I've never
tried to read Pratchett in order.)
Nine-year-old Tiffany's baby brother is kidnapped by the Queen of the
Elves - an antagonist who spreads winter where ever she goes. Th ...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Carly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, humor, worldbuilding, young-adult, world-within-world, fairy-tale

If you haven't read Terry Pratchett, you're missing out--he's one of the most humorous, creative, and profound fantasy writers I've come across. This book is a nice, self-contained story about a young girl, Tiffany Aching, who lives out in the countryside in Pratchett's fantasy world, the Discworld. The story itself is about faeries, but not exactly twinkly sparkly happy faeries.
Tiffany Aching is intensely curious and loves to both think and question everything around her, including the simple If you haven't read Terry Pratchett, you're missing out--he's one of the most humorous, creative, and profound fantasy writers I've come across. This book is a nice, self-contained story about a young girl, Tiffany Aching, who lives out in the countryside in Pratchett's fantasy world, the Discworld. The story itself is about faeries, but not exactly twinkly sparkly happy faeries.
Tiffany Aching is intensely curious and loves to both think and question everything around her, including the simple fairy stories she has been told. It's an issue that has come up in her village. Ever since the Baron's son disappeared while hunting in the woods, everyone has been (violently) opposed to any form of magic. But Tiffany can't help but wonder: why are the witches considered the evil ones? After all, Hansel and Gretel were busy destroying and vandalizing the poor woman's home, and why would she even have an oven that large? She decides that she wants to be in a fairy tale, but that she wants to be the witch rather than the vapid princess.
But even as Tiffany is coming to her own conclusions, she is forced to step up and take action. Something is stirring in the land of fairy. When her rather unloveable baby brother is taken by the Fairy Queen, Tiffany decides to fight back. Armed only with a frying pan (cold iron!) and advised only by a talking toad and a bunch of wode-painted, Scots-speaking, cheerfully homicidal Pictsies who call themselves the Wee Free Men, Tiffany must venture into fairyland, where all her dreams might come true...and would you like to be in a place where your nightmares can become corporeal?
The story weaves together elements from old Celtic legends and Scottish folk ballads, most memorably, Tam Lin, The Wee Wee Man, and Childe Roland--especially Tam Lin. Tiffany is a strong, intelligent, and sympathetic lead, and the story itself is the antidote to "believe in true love" or "wish upon a star" style fantasy.
To quote the book: "If you trust in yourself...and believe in your dreams...and follow your star...you’ll still be beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.” ...more

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About Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett

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Born Terence David John Pratchett, Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe.

Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, i ...more

Other books in the series

Discworld (1 - 10 of 41 books)

Books by Terry Pratchett

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1; Rincewind, #1)

Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8; City Watch #1)

Equal Rites (Discworld, #3; Witches, #1)

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Interview with Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

Visit another world with just the flick of a switch! The fantasy wizard and science fiction expert team up for The Long Earth, a novel about infini...

Trivia About The Wee Free Men ...

35 trivia questions

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Quotes from The Wee Free Men

“If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.” — 1459 likes

“Witches are naturally nosy,” said Miss Tick, standing up. “Well, I must go. I hope we shall meet again. I will give you some free advice, though.”
“Will it cost me anything?”
“What? I just said it was free!” said Miss Tick.
“Yes, but my father said that free advice often turns out to be expensive,” said Tiffany.
Miss Tick sniffed. “You could say this advice is priceless,” she said, “Are you listening?”
“Yes,” said Tiffany.
“Good. Now...if you trust in yourself...”
“Yes?”
“...and believe in your dreams...”
“Yes?”
“...and follow your star...” Miss Tick went on.
“Yes?”
“...you’ll still be beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Goodbye.” — 602 likes

More quotes…