Read-Along: Power of Three #MarchMagics

I almost forgot to write about Power of Three because I read the book last week and since then have have been enjoying seeing posts pop up from various other bloggers (Bookforager, Jean at Howling Frog Books). It felt like a discussion already in progress! I also went looking for past posts I had written about this book and had completely forgotten that I had written about it on Lory's old blog for Witch Week in 2014. This was my summary of the book from that post and I like it --

Power of Three is one of Diana Wynne Jones’s oldest books, first released in 1976. It is less fantastical than most of her other books, even while being rooted in magic. In the land of the Dorig, the Lyman, and the Giants, each race thinks that they are the “people” and that the others are savages, both dangerous and mean. It is the simple magic of words that give each group power, be it curses, charms, or negotiation, and they frequently use those words against each other. It is only when they use their words for friendship and forgiveness instead of enmity that all will be well in their world.

This story fit perfectly with the "All Together Now" theme of the month. Three very different groups had to come together to find a solution that would work for everyone and somehow they managed it. As I see more and more divisiveness in our world these days, even though we have far fewer differences than the Dorig, Lyman, and Giants (apologies to the characters for using what they consider slurs), I wonder if we will ever get over them for the common good. You would think things like climate change and a global pandemic would be big enough problems that the world could come together but, well, not yet.

As for discussion, I don't want to talk about DWJ's fat phobia because that's just depressing and we've already talked about it many times. Instead let's talk about the "people" in this story that surprised us. I loved how Mr. Claybury and Mr. Masterfield totally got on board with everything with NO hesitation. This is so different than how adults act in almost any other children's story. Was there someone that surprised you with their actions? Also, I was wondering if this book predates standard environmental reviews for civic projects. Isn't that what actually happened in this story? The creatures of the land (different groups of people, in this case) got to actually speak up and stop their habitats from being destroyed. That's pretty cool when you think about it, right? Finally--and this one sounds like a spoiler but it's not because anybody who hasn't read the book will have no idea what we are talking about--when did Ceri put a Thought on Gair on in the final scene?!? I honestly can't figure it out.

I'm planning one more post at the end of the month to tally up all of the great books I ended up reading. They have almost all perfectly fit the theme and have gotten me a little more excited to see people again later this summer. (I am one of the weird people who hasn't been overly sad that we've been locked away in our own homes and yards for a year.) Anyway, I hope that you all are fitting in one more fun DWJ or Pratchett read before the end of March!