Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

This is the third book by Pratchett about Discworld, and involves no characters from the previous books – and as such the reader can read this one as a standalone without being disadvantaged.

It involves a small girl who happens to inherit and otherwise possess magic of a wizardly kind, and starts on a path of learning witchery before her mentor, Granny Weatherwax decides she really needs to be trained as a wizard.  The story then becomes about the girl, Esk, getting to the Unseen University and by a convoluted path, eventually becoming the first female wizard trainee.

It’s a fun, light read, with enough invention and twists to not be entirely predictable, and some nicely drawn characters – most centrally Granny and Esk. There’s also some fun and surprisingly through-provoking content about the nature of feminine and masculine magic, and how they differ.

Recommended

7/10