Sunday, November 6, 2011

Howl's Moving Castle

by Dianna Wynne Jones
When I started this book I intended to like it.  I did not intend to fall completely in love with it, but I did anyway.  In a land where fairy tales are seen as true, it cannot be denied that the oldest is doomed to fail.  Sophie has resigned herself to the fact and plans to work her life away in her fathers hat shop after his death.  Then one day the horrible Witch of the Waste comes and puts a curse on her, instantly turning her into a 90 year old woman.  Sophie knows she can't stay where she is, so she makes her way elsewhere.  She ends up at Howl's moving castle (hence the title) and presents herself as a cleaning lady.  Upon entering the castle she meets the fire demon, Calcifer, who agrees to break the spell on her in return for her breaking the spell that binds him to Howl.  Sophie meets the "Heartless Howl" and is unimpressed by the childish man.  As time goes on she begins to see how many wonderful things he does without a word.  As she starts to see him better, she wonders what he might see in her

Audience

I think it's appropriate for almost anyone.  Besides the stray swear word or two there is nothing objectionable.  I could see a high 5th grader going for this one.  I don't see any gender specificity

What I Love About This Book


One thing Howl say has had me thinking ever since I first read it.  After you know the ending send me a message and I'll tell you what it is.  I also love the characters.  Every one is understandable and every single one is quirky in the extreme.  But even with their quirkiness I felt I could relate to each of them in turn.  The love story captured my heart and made me want to experience the book all over again

Cautions


This is a trilogy series, but I haven't read the other two.  I'm not going to recommend this as a series until I do

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