I love Tiffany Aching. She’s brave, but not boastful. She’s considerate, but never a doormat.  She has defeated fairies with a frying pan, she has kissed the Winter, and she commands a brash, violent gang of pixies known as the Nac Mac Feegles. She does the work that others will not do. She is the witch for the region of Discworld known as The Chalk, and she is my favorite character of the late Terry Pratchett.  Lastly, she is the subject of the final Discworld book, The Shepherd’s Crown, released earlier this month on September 1.

Tiffany Aching is no Chosen One. She can’t do amazing magic on raw talent alone. What power she possesses, comes with great concentration and cost. Her influence is won through her constant hard work and occasional improvisation. Even if you read about her as an adult, you feel like Tiffany was beside you when you were growing up because you went through the same stupid growing pains (even if hers are a little more fantastic). Tiffany is a teenage girl who falters and can do stupid things (she causes a super winter by joining a dance), and she always works to clean up after herself. This is Tiffany’s greatest strength, and what makes her a wonderful character is that it’s also her biggest flaw: Tiffany believes that her messes are her responsibility, and that she must clean them up on her own.

Read the rest at Paper Droids.