WINTERSMITH
Terry Pratchett
HarperTeen
Fantasy/Adventure
ISBN: 9780060890339
464 pages

• Read an Excerpt

Tiffany Aching has had quite a lot of adventures. At age 9 she battled the Queen of Fairyland in THE WEE FREE MEN. At age 11 she fought against a Hiver, an evil demon that takes refuge in bodies, in A HAT FULL OF SKY. Now, at the prime age of 13, Tiffany faces a new challenge --- the Wintersmith.

Still a witch in training, Tiffany has a lot to learn. First lesson: Never dance with the wrong men. Tiffany is now under the tutelage of a 113-year-old witch, Miss Treason, and rather than listen to her elder, Tiffany learns the hard way. Miss Treason is most famous for her "borrowing skills" of seeing and hearing through animals' (or peoples') eyes/ears. But even though the witch is one of the wisest and eldest, one cold night on their way to the villages, Tiffany does not heed her teacher's warning about interacting with a group of mysterious dancing men. The dance reminds Tiffany of the Morris dances she saw as a child in her home village in the Chalk. The Morris dances in the Chalk, however, took place on warm spring days, not on chilly autumn nights. Still, the dance makes Tiffany feel reminiscent of home. As a child, she danced along to the Morris dancers as they made their way through her village.

So on that chilly autumn night, the adventure of WINTERSMITH begins when Tiffany ignores Miss Treason's warning and jumps into the dance. And then, "The eyes of the dancing men glared at her as she skipped and danced between them, always being where they weren't. The drums had her feet, and they went where the beat sent them. And then...there was someone else. It was the feeling of someone behind her...The dancers froze but the world spun...The drumbeats stopped, and there was one long moment as Tiffany turned...her face turned towards stars that were cold as ice and sharp as needles. It felt...wonderful. A voice said: 'Who Are You?'"

Enthralled by Tiffany's dancing antics, the Wintersmith is officially smitten. But this is not a typical YA crush. The problem is that the Wintersmith isn't a boy at all. The Wintersmith is the essence of winter --- snowy, icy, cold, blizzardy winter --- and the only way it can shower Tiffany with affection is through these powers. For example, the Wintersmith makes Tiffany-shaped snowflakes that are all exactly the same and makes her roses out of ice. But it won't stop snowing and Miss Treason has a vision of her own death (witches can predict that, you know), so Tiffany is left to figure out how she will stop the affections of the Wintersmith and save her world from turning into a frozen land. Can Tiffany save the day once again?

In his third installment of the Discworld story, acclaimed author and Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett brings us right back into the fun-filled adventure. The loveable and humorous Nac Mac Feegles (the Wee Free Men) are still looking after Tiffany and return with their usual zeal and wacky dialogue. Plus, our beloved heroine, Tiffany Aching, will remind readers of Hermione in the Harry Potter books and Lyra Belacqua in the His Dark Materials trilogy. Like these other adventures, WINTERSMITH is a fast-paced, magical read mixed with humor and danger at every turn.

   --- Reviewed by Kristi Olson

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