Having just finished the first Tiffany Aching book, I eagerly jumped into this one almost immediately afterwards. (Hey, I waited a full two hours before I read it...) I wasn't quite sure if I'd like this one as much as I did the first one, and I have to admit that while I loved the heck out of this book I just didn't like it quite as much as the first.

The story picks up a short while after the events of the last book. Tiffany is being sent to study under the mysterious Miss Level, a witch who was born to two bodies. If being away from home & dealing with snobby student peers wasn't bad enough, there's a strange being trailing after Tiffany that is bent on possessing her body & powers!

Really & truthfully, the best scenes in the book were the ones where Tiffany interacted with Granny Weatherwax. It was interesting to see Tiffany being groomed as a "Granny Weatherwax in training", but it was also nice to see a new side of Granny. Some fans of the regular witch series may find it a bit strange, but I rather liked seeing how Granny would react to someone with similar thoughts & actions. (I just hope that Tiffany doesn't replace Granny eventually- I don't like her THAT much!) The good news for this book is that it's a fun & easy read. The bad news is that there are one or two scenes where the book seems to drag a teensy bit, mostly the scenes with Miss Level & her twin body. (I just found Miss Level a bit of an annoying character.) Still, those scenes don't last for very long & soon enough the book moved on to the real meat of the novel.

Overall I think that most readers of Pratchett's work should like this entry. New readers would be better off if they started with the first Tiffany Aching book or if they started at the beginning of the Discworld saga. (Or at least read some of the Witch books.)