Harper Collins, 2003
Young Tiffany Aching of Discworld has always felt different than your average girl. She knows things, feels things that others, well, they just don't. But she didn't realize that her powers made her guardian to the gates of the faery world--until an evil power tries to break in. Luckily for Tiffany (and somewhat to her annoyance), a group of renegade faeries, tiny blue imps called the Wee Free Men (or Nac Mac Feagle, in their Scots-like dialect) want very much for the gates to stay closed. And they've made Tiffany their queen.
Why Boys Will Like It: Despite it's female main character, this is definitely not a "girly" book. It has great action, adventure, and pacing that will keep boys turning pages--and, as mentioned, Tiffany is not your average girl. Her cool common sense and goal-driven personality may in fact resonate more strongly with male readers than the average female. Certainly boys will be fascinated by the feisty secondary characters, the Nac Mac Feagle, who are as full of humor and pranks and ridiculousness as any boy could wish for, and who (as the title might indicate) are prone to running away with the story from time to time.
The reading level of this book is upper middle grade/lower YA, making it ideal both for young adults and for younger boys whose reading level has jumped ahead of their maturity/experience.
And though we're showcasing this book, all Terry Pratchett's children's books are excellent. His humor is astounding. His characters are totally unique. His writing is incredible--in fact, his first book for children, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, a humorous take on the Pied Piper story, was the winner of the Carnegie Medal, England's closest equivalent to the U.S.'s Newbery. (And for another famous recipient, how does the name C. S. Lewis sound?)
