Nation by Terry Pratchett Nation. Like any good bookstore we have a few Terry Pratchett fans. When this arc came in I planned to passed it on to one of them. Lucky for me they were all busy reading something else. I really had no plans to read it but the other day, I said what's one page. It was a really good page so I continued and every so often I would think damn I am reading Terry Pratchett and enjoying it. This may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people but I am very stubborn when it comes to trying books outside of my reading comfort zone.

Nation grabs the reader from the beginning. Mau, a boy from Nation, is on a small island to prove himself worthy of becoming a man. On his way back home, a huge wave hits, killing everyone. Mau was a lovable character from the start, making more difficult to watch as he buried his people. In order to face this task Mau becomes two people.

He felt himself become two people. One of them, a grey body made of mud, began to look for the bodies that the wave hadn't taken. It did it carefully and as gently as it could, while the other Mau stayed deep inside, curled in a ball, doing the dreaming. And who am I, doing this? thought grey Mau. Who am I now? I am become like Locaha measuring, the contours of death.

I had to stop myself from sharing that whole passage. Mau isn't alone, there was a shipwreck, thirteen year old Daphne was the only survivor. The two aren't alone for long. Other survivors of the wave soon find there way to Nation. After bury his people, Mau refuses to let Locaha (death) take anyone else.

Nation is a beautiful story about many things including new beginnings, faith, and conquering nations. Pratchett was definitely worth stepping out of my comfort zone.
Nation will be released Sept. 30