I Shall Wear Midnight Wins Norton

Let's hear it for the marvelous Terry Pratchett, who, as you may recall, won the ALA's 2011 Margaret A. Edwards award a few months back for his body of work as a YA writer. Now his fourth and final book in the Tiffany Aching quartet, I Shall Wear Midnight, has won the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

In case you missed this book, check out my review from last summer. And in case you've somehow missed all four books (perish the thought!), they are as follows: The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, and I Shall Wear Midnight. Set in the Discworld of Pratchett's adult comic fantasy series, these books star a pragmatic young witch who is trying to figure out how to best use her powers up in the sheep-raising countryside where she lives. (Guest-starring Granny Weatherwax, my favorite Pratchett character! I think you'll be pleased to find that Tiffany has a little Esme Weatherwax in her.)

In these books, while Pratchett's signature humor is present and accounted for, most often in the form of a tribe of little blue men called the Nac Mac Feegle, there is also some amazing character work, especially in his depiction of the yearning and fierce pride of a bright, unique teenage girl.

Update 6/6/11: Read this excellent interview of Sir Terry Pratchett by Jonathan Hunt of School Library Journal. Thanks to Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 for the link.