Diana Wynne Jones (1934–2011)

Sophie's life is plain and uneventful as befits the eldest daughter of three - everyone knows exciting things only happen to the youngest of three children. However, when the Witch of the Waste comes into the hat shop where Sophie works and casts a curse on her, Sophie's life is turned upside down. In the wake of these events she ends up in the castle of the Wizard Howl and then her life becomes truly unpredictable.

I've been fond of the Miyazaki film adaptation of this book for years but had show more never read the original source material until now. I found the book a delight with many fascinating plot lines that differ greatly from the film and charming character development for all. A sweet, charming, fantasy novel that holds up well no matter your age. show less

Oh, the joy of a Diana Wynne Jones book I've never read, at age 37! Howl's Moving Castle has been my favourite book for over 20!! years and while I didn't fall in love in quite the same way (my nickname at age 12 or 13 *was* Howl), I adored this book and the feeling of family I got from it. I loved the concept - paid tours of fantasy land - having read plenty of 'people from earth suddenly transported to a land of magic and dragons' books but never seen it run as a profitable (to some) show more business and from the point of view of those acting out the fantasy clichés. Absolutely full of wonderful, well built characters (as Diana Wynne Jones is so, so good at!) and I'm not sure who I liked the most. Maybe Sc...no, Kit. Or Lydda. Ah I liked everyone. Some well done scenes that are actually horrific in their own way, but done so that a younger reader could gloss over, very clever. All in all a brilliant read and I really did mean to do something else today. My mother in law is here in an hour and I really shouldn't have sat down and read a book non stop for the last 5ish hours...but I did. I regret nothing! :D show less

Polly has lived a pretty normal life. Or has she? Packing up her room at her gran's to return to university, her eye is caught by a sci-fi story collection that suddenly jogs a whole set of parallel memories stretching over the past 9 years, starting when she accidentally gate-crashed a funeral at the imposing house down the road and met Thomas Lynn. Over the next several years, she and Tom became friends, just as Polly needed support when her parents' marriage fell apart. Together they show more imagined another world and got scared when the things they imagined came true. But Tom's ex-wife's family kept a close eye on him, and when Polly finally got too close, the memories suddenly stopped. Can Polly remember what happened and what she did to Tom before it's too late to save him?

I've read this book countless times, starting when I was about 11. That's about the age Polly is at the beginning of the book. The last time I read it before this most recent reading (in 2025) was in 2011, when I was 19, the age Polly is at the end of the book. I've counted it among my favorites for decades, and it's still up there -- the story and writing are brilliant. Reading this as a 33-year-old, though... wow, the relationship between Polly and Tom gets real squicky real fast. It's a little scary to me how not squicked I was when reading it as a child and a teenager. I've been recommending this to people for ages as one of my favorite DWJ books, and unfortunately I just don't think I can anymore. Tom is supposed to be in his 20s when he meets Polly at the age of 10 -- I would say if we're being generous, he's probably 15 years older than her. I really wish the book didn't end with a romance between them, or at least if there's a romance, give Polly more time to grow up and mature before making that choice. But the Tam Lin element requires that Polly love him... so I'm conflicted, because it's squicky but I still think the story is brilliant. Anyway, I think this book is very much of its time, and I don't think I would recommend it to a modern reader or anyone other than the biggest DWJ fan. But it holds a very nostalgic and special place in my heart and was one of the two books that inspired my love of Tam Lin retellings (the other one is Tam Lin by Pamela Dean which I think has held up a lot better over time by virtue of the protagonist being 18 when it starts), so I'm going to continue to give it 5 stars. show less

(4.5)

Ah, good ol’ Howl’s Moving Castle. To be honest, I haven’t read this for a long time, and I remember feeling lukewarm about it then, but I’m glad I had time for a re-read. Some stories age well.

Book content warnings:
- decapitation (not shown on page)

Representation:
-

Though adventure and destiny are for the youngest children, Sophie Hatter -- eldest of three -- gets thrown into an adventure involving the dreadful Witch of the Waste and the evil, heart-eating Wizard Howl.

After show more being cursed to become an old woman by the Witch, Sophie seeks Howl’s help, and discovers through his fire demon that Howl himself is cursed by the Witch and has a contract he needs to break. Sophie makes a deal: she’ll break his contract, and the fire demon, Calcifer, will break her curse. As Sophie stays on in the castle and prepares to face the Witch, she (unfortunately) finds that there’s more to Howl than she first thought and is perhaps growing fond of him.

Ah, Howl’s Moving Castle, you have nearly everything: brilliant and complex characters, romance, the element of time running out, the found family trope, and a wonderful setting. Okay, so it might be my love for the Ghibli movie talking as well, but the book does stand on its own (I really tried to read as objectively as possible). But it’s really hard to ignore the book’s charm; it reads like a fairytale almost, with a fun modern wit.

The one thing I’d mention is that right after the climax, the book ends. There’s no breathing room. I know it’s deliberate (Howl and Sophie unwilling to look away as the other characters scramble for their attention) , and it creates a very sort of satisfying finality, but I don’t get a chance to settle before it’s all over. I also wish there were more from Howl -- we get everything from Sophie’s PoV: when she fell in love with Howl, when she started seeing everyone in the castle as her family, etc., but you only get teeny tiny glimpses of what Howl’s feeling through other characters’ dialogue. The dialogue at the end could’ve been where things could clear up, but it went by so fast!

This is a very personal opinion though! Howl is a character of mystery anyway, so other people could love this about him (when he truly fell in love re: the tiny glimpses, etc.). Who knows?

As for true flaws I really can’t find much. It’s just a really well-written and well-constructed book. There’s a reason it’s such a loved classic. Now that I have a better appreciation for it, I’ll definitely be going back to read it again and again. show less