This is YA Pratchett in a lot of ways, but it's the first book in the Discworld that seems to be what I remember it being. The A plot is strong, the side characters are fun, the main characters get a lot of room to grow, and it builds to a finale that actually means more than just "how do I beat up this demon". The dialogue is on point too - "I hate ---ing wizards." "You shouldn't --- them, then." Pratchett drops the cosmology almost completely and starts to realise that lives of all the people of the Discworld are the story here. Well, and their deaths, obviously.