Tess of the Road

I loved loved loved this! But I didn't at first; I very nearly bailed on it completely, finding Tess's self-loathing almost too much to bear. But the writing was so witty and hilarious, and the non-human character (and most of the human ones, too) was so engaging, it wasn't long before I was totally hooked. I hadn't read the Seraphina books, but I didn't find it really necessary; I could gather the backstory from context.

There's a strong underlying message to all the hilarity, though: self-exploration, self-reliance, openness to new experiences, self-acceptance.