Title: Howl’s Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 304
Rating: 4*/5
Dianne Wynne Jones – Howl’s Moving Castle
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this book, because although I watched the movie several years ago, I couldn’t remember it too much. Because of that, I can’t really tell you how close the book and the movie are, but I can hopefully give a decent insight into the book by itself.
Howl’s Moving Castle was a delightful little read that could appeal to both kids and adults, a fantastic little sojourn into a fantasy world that still has traces of our own world scattered throughout it. It reminded me of an Enid Blyton book, or maybe even of The Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King. It has the vibe of a classic fairy tale with a young adult fantasy edge.
Loosely speaking, the story follows what happens to a young girl called Sophie Hatter after she’s placed under a cruel enchantment. Cursed by the Witch of the Waste and with nowhere else to go, she finds herself settling in to live with a wizard called Howl. He’s a complicated chap from a mysterious, faraway country called Wales, and at first it starts to seem as though he’ll never change. But then they start to have adventures and the character development kicks in – but I can’t tell you about that without spoiling the story line.
Overall then, this is a great addition to anyone’s collection, and a fun one to read to your kids, if you have them. I don’t, but I didn’t let that stop me, and I found it to be a lot of fun. It whizzed by too, and I also loved the illustrations at the start of each chapter. It was an aesthetically pleasing read.
Diana Wynne Jones
