Wintersmith

by Terry Pratchett

HarperTeen
Ages 12-up
336 pages

In his third Tiffancy Aching adventure, acclaimed author Terry Pratchett puts our sweet, feisty heroine face to face with -- The Wintersmith, a winter spirit who threatens to freeze over the world.

Tiffany is no stranger to challenges, however, having battled the Queen of Fairyland in The Wee Free Men, and a Hiver in A Hat Full of Sky. Now, as a young teen, Tiffany must face an elemental, one with a crush on her. The Wintersmith, however, can only demonstrate his feelings toward Tiffany in forms of ice, snow, and blizzard-like conditions. And snowflakes shaped like little Tiffanys. Sweet, except lives are being threatened.

Tiffany started it all by not listening to her teacher, her witch-teacher, that is. Tiffany, a witch-in-training, has a different sort of teacher than is found in the local high school. Miss Treason is 113 years old and sees and hears through other living things' eyes and ears. She warns Tiffany of many things, and one: Don't join the dance.

But one cold night, Tiffany does. Her feet did, that is. And when the music stopped a strange voice said: 'Who Are You?'"

The Wintersmith, dazzled by Tiffany, sends her the custom-made snowflakes and even giant icebergs. But his affections are freezing the land to a bitter crisp. As Tiffany strives to control this worldly threat, she's joined once again by the humorous Nac Mac Feegles. Like Pratchett's previous adventures, Wintersmith is a tangled web of magic and humor, lead by a girl who doesn't run away.

Review by D.