Agreed on some of the Terry Pratchett comments.
My DD10 loved Maurice and his amazing Rodents at 8 and also some of the Wee Free ones. BTW, his last book just hit the shelves The Shepherd's Crown which features a young with and the little blue men.
She recently tried some others, loved Small Gods which makes me really happy because that is one of my faves too - enjoyed the ones featuring The Watch because she had already read LoTR and Twisted Tales - but was a bit at sea on The Hogfather so YMMV depending on real world experience to date. She does get a lot of the humor which again is very satisfying to observe.
Mark Twain is one of the pithiest writers ever - totally agree with you, Dude.
Idiots Abroad and Roughly It leap to mind immediately both for his engaging style and mercilessly sharp wit. The fact that they are valid from a socio-historical perspective as well doesn't do any harm either.
At that age I really got into reading biographies of famous characters from history too.
