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Review Summaries
"Two years on from the events in Wee Free Men, Tiffany Aching is ready for her witch training. With uncomfortable new boots on her feet, and her First, Second and Third Thoughts in her head she leaves her home on The Chalk to be apprenticed to a Miss Level in the mountains, a witch who has more than a split personality. Tiffany has some all-too-familiar growing up problems, like run-ins with other young witches-to-be. But she is also about to have have a big problem: the aeons-old entity that's waiting to take over her brain (and has done so to countless other brains before).
Tiffany has the help of the greatest witch in the land, Mistress Weatherwax. More dubiously, though, she's also being protected by the Nac Mac Feegle, the 6" tall, blue-skinned, red-haired, all-drinking, all-fighting all-cattle-rustling wee folk (aka Pictsies)."
Marina Thonus, Resident Terry Pratchett Scholar
"
HarperCollins, Jun 2004, 16.99, 278 pp.
ISBN: 0060586605
Eleven-year-old Tiffany Aching leaves the Chalk and her friends, the six-inch Nac Mac Feegle, to apprentice as a witch. Saying goodbye to Granny Aching was hard and departing from her Wee Free Men pals (at least her buddies when the Nac Mac Feegle are not drunk) is not easy, but service at her advanced age is expected. So though her parents are fooled as to whom she will work for, Tiffany leaves with Miss Tick to begin her training.
Unlike when she was young and immature, Tiffany as she enters adolescence has become aware of her looks. This attentiveness to her outer beauty makes her prone to attack from terrible beings. The hiver, a being that seeks out the potentially powerful by stealing control of the host's mind until the victim dies, sees Tiffany as a perfect lodging locale. The parasite begins the pre-occupation and occupation with only Nac Mac Feegle to try to rescue his young pal.
The story line makes it clear that to find one's full self, one must accept flaws, blemishes, and foibles; not an easy task in a youthful beauty is best society. Tiffany and Nac Mac are terrific characters though they be inane at times and the hiver is as vile a villain as there is. A HAT FULL OF SKY is amusing, but though nutty, the plot never loses sight of the key underlying message while entertaining the author's vast universe of fans.
Harriet Klausner"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Terry Pratchett Scholar
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Overall Review
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Plot
Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence - 10% planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 35% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 25%
Tone of book
- very upbeat
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- fantasy world/fantasy past
- fantasy story on current Earth
Coming of age
Yes
Youngster becomes
- a powerful magician
Lifeform altered?
Yes
Kind of alteration:
- Under control of magical being
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Kid's book (ages 7-14)
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a kid
Has magical/special powers?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- magical being
- An "It".
Has magical powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- mind control
- can fly
- Invisibility
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Genius (really!)
Setting
Terrain
- Mountains
- Forests
Earth setting:
- current (early 21st century)
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- humans in a primitive/fantasy society
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- none/very little science jargon needed
How much dialogue?
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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