I almost gave this 5 stars but the Miss Level plot device bugged me. Even though he eliminated some of the gimmick it was still awkward and an unnecessary distraction.

Tiffany is a little older, she's still making cheese and in touch with the Feegles. The new kelda Jeannie is suspicious and slightly jealous of the "big wee hag" but she comes to accept Tiffany's role and importance to the Feegle. Tiffany is eagerly awaiting her apprenticeship with a real witch, Miss Level and looks forward to learning the secrets of becoming a real witch. She does learn, along with the help of Granny Weatherwax but the secrets turn out to be both a surprise and disappointment.

She faces a new adversary, this one more fearsome than the Quin, er, Queen of the Fairies. She also makes new friends along the way and some familiar characters appear as well. As for the adversary she actually has 2, the hiver, a spirit-like being that consumes its victims from within and a bossy Queen Bee named Annagramma that rules over the other witch apprentices with a gleeful meanness.

Tiffany is disappointed to learn Miss Level, while a compassionate soul, is not very powerful. She spends most of her time caring for the sick, the lonely and infirm with little thanks for her efforts. She also has two identical bodies but one mind which controls both. Tiffany is homesick, she misses the chalk, the sheep and even Roland, who gave her a silver necklace before she left. Being a witch is harder than she originally believed and the rewards are few, yet she understands this is her destiny, she has no choice. She is the hag of the hills, she tells the land of the chalk who it is and it tells her who she is, they are entwined.

She manages to fight against the hiver while fighting herself at the same time and defeats it in an ingenious way. The Feegles are along, sent by kelda Jeannie, to protect her even if it is against an enemy that can't be kicked or head-butted. The Feegles are one of my favorite parts of the story, Rob Anybody and the new gonnagle Awf'ly Wee Billy my favorite of the Feegles.

This being Pratchett there is a bit of satire. Stereotypes about magic and what real power is are the main targets. Annagramma insists that real witches must wear black, have jewelry with mystical symbols and surround themselves with such necessary items as crystal balls while they work on spells and incantations. Even the witch trials (not what you think) remind Tiffany of the sheepdog trials back home and they are very similar. Examples of power and its qualities extend from Tiffany's relationship with Roland, the Baron's son; the hiver, which feeds on power within living beings; the apprentices particularly Annagramma and the shy, awkward Petulia; the struggle within Jeannie in her roles as wife and kelda; the humble witchcraft of Miss Level versus the flashy trappings of Mrs. Earwig; even Black Meg the goat versus Tiffany down to the struggle within Tiffany herself. Money, primarily its power over humans is explored when the Feegles find an clever way to follow Tiffany to Miss Level's and is also used as a method of saving Tiffany's hide, with unexpected but happy consequences. There's also something about life, what living really means, death and the natural order of things. There is a compassion and understanding of the dignity found in common, everyday tasks and duties that I appreciate as well. It is relatively easy to point our what is wrong and poke fun at it but harder to reveal the courage and strength of doing the right thing especially when the right thing is not easy.