Under the spell of a stressed-out young witch called Tiffany

I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett Published by Doubleday ISBN 9780385611077

Tiffany Aching is a witch and she takes her job very seriously. After a long apprenticeship, Tiffany, nearly 16, is now the chief witch of all the villages on the Chalk, the lowlands where they live. But her job is far from fun or glamorous.

A witch is a mix of nurse, do-gooder and social worker. She is out there on her own, day after day and night after night, helping people. Cutting old ladies' toenails and looking after sickly babies can be daunting and tiring for a teenager. But responsibility is responsibility, and Tiffany didn't get special training from Grannies Ogg and Weatherwax just to throw it away.

Tiffany is supported in times of trouble by her friends, the pocket-sized Mac Feegles. The group's leader, Rob Anybody, and his crew of feisty little blue men also tend to pop up when Tiffany least needs them. She feels she has the weight of the entire world on her shoulders.

Yet whenever she is needed, Tiffany puts on her black, pointed hat and gets onto her broomstick. She has also learned to live with the fact that a bunch of Mac Feegles might suddenly materialise, hanging onto the broomstick.

And the hard work of witching is just getting harder. Rumours are spreading around the Chalk that witches are not to be trusted. She discovers a dark force lurking in the shadows to destroy her.