howl's moving castle book reviews

ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE

by Diana Wynne Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 1986

Sophie is caught between a powerful witch and wizard who are terrorizing the magical land of Ingary. Living a humdrum life as a hatter till the malicious Witch of the Waste casts a spell turning her into an old woman, Sophie seeks refuge as cleaning woman to Wizard Howl (although he's rumored to eat the hearts of young girls) in his castle, which moves at will about the countryside. Actually, Howl is a brash young man whose only vice is womanizing. He is a gifted wizard but the despair of his inept apprentice and of Calcifer, a humorously petulant fire demon, because of such human faults as messiness and spending too long in the bath. As in her memorable Archer's Goon, Jones has a plethora of characters who are seldom what they seem and an intricate plot which may dazzle with its complexity or delight by the hilarious common-sense consequences of its preposterous premises. Sophie is a dauntless heroine; when she regains her youth and wins Howl, the odds are this is only the beginning of a tempestuous romance. Great fun.

Pub Date: April 14, 1986

ISBN: 0061478784

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: April 30, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1986

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

Share your opinion of this book

More by Diana Wynne Jones

BOOK REVIEW

by Diana Wynne Jones

by Diana Wynne Jones & illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

by Diana Wynne Jones Robert Hutchinson

More About This Book

The 2019 Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Holiday Gift Guide (Part 1)

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the school for good and evil series , vol. 1.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Pub Date: May 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

SNOW PLACE LIKE HOME

From the diary of an ice princess series.

by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Barbara Szepesi Szucs ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2019

A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.

Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.

The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.

Pub Date: June 25, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019

More by Sarah Mlynowski

by Sarah Mlynowski & Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Maxine Vee

by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Kevin Hong

Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

C.A. Hughes Book Reviews

The literary journeys of a 20-something, bilingual, elementary school teacher.

Book Review: “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones

This was a children’s book I was really looking forward to reading. Earlier this year, I watched Hayao Miyazaki’s film adaption and enjoyed it! It wasn’t my favorite Miyazaki movie, but it was whimsical and fun and I’d heard the book was even better (as it usually is). I have to say, watching the movie and reading the book ended up being very similar experiences. If you loved the movie, you’ll love the book. If you were indifferent about it, the book might not quite be enough to change your opinion.

Spoiler-Free Review: “Howl’s Moving Castle” is a whimsical, joyful story with clever, funny, endearing characters. Clocking in at over 400 pages, the pacing was a little wonky and the story seemed to lose its way about 2/3 of the way through. However, the characters and their magical antics keep you engaged and the ever-changing setting (due to the moving castle) will keep you picking up the book again and again so you can return to this enchanting story where nothing is ever as it seems.

Below you will find a more thorough review containing my thoughts about the book. If you’re wanting to avoid any spoilers, you are welcome to jump to the TL;DR summary at the bottom of the page if you’d prefer!

“Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Castle Book 1) - Kindle edition by Jones, Diana Wynne. Children Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Year of Publication: 1986
Genre: Fantasy

“Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.”

Format: Paperback

Themes: Only you are in control of who you are. Be yourself. Friendship is found in the unlikeliest of places. Sisters have an unbreakable bond. Be brave and do the things you think you cannot do. Appearances can be deceiving.

Character Development: Strong for the main characters. Sophie, Howl, Michael, and Calcifer were a great main cast of characters. They were strong-minded and strong-willed, independent, and endlessly caring when it came to their friends and loved ones. That being said, there were so many characters in this novel that it became a little difficult to keep track of everyone. There were characters mentioned early on that didn’t make another appearance until a couple hundred pages later, and it took me a little while to remember who they were.

Plot/Pacing: Strong in the beginning, but a little bit off by the end. It picks up steadily throughout the first half, and builds a little more until about 2/3 of the way through. After that however, it’s a little bit all over the place. My biggest issue with the pacing (and the book in general), however, was the ending. The entire 429-page book wraps up in the last couple pages. The ending is so abrupt and jarring, and because the climax and falling action are rushed through it feels kind of anti-climactic.

Writing Style: The writing style kept me engaged the whole time. It’s fun and whimsical and even had me laughing out loud at times.

“Bingeability”: High for adults but maybe moderate for children. The length of the book might make it intimidating for younger readers.

Emotional Investment: Moderate. Due to the rushed ending, we didn’t get the full development and connection to the characters I was hoping for. It felt like some of the heart of the story was missing at the end.

Windows and Mirrors: Sister/sibling relationships. Step parents. Single mother household.

Overall Thoughts: I was really loving this book in the beginning, but it really let me down at the end. Interestingly, this was my exact experience when watching the movie. Unique and interesting initially, but rushed and convoluted at the end. It’s a well-written story the raises some interesting questions about identity and facing your fears, but the plot, characters, and themes are underdeveloped due to the rushed ending. It’s still a well-written and clever book, but the ending was a let-down for me.

Recommendation: I recommend this book (for both children and adults). It’s an imaginative and magical story that children and adults alike would enjoy. From a teacher’s perspective, I think this would be difficult to use in the classroom. It’s a little too long for a read-aloud or to be used for a novel study/book club, and the rushed ending is a little difficult to follow (I found myself reading certain sections several times to try to figure out what happened). I do think this would be a great book to recommend to more advanced young readers, however.

TL;DR: Year of Publication: 1986 Genre: Fantasy Summary: “Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.” Themes: Identity. Friendship. Sisters. Courage. Appearances. Character Development: Strong for main characters, but too many minor characters to keep track of. Plot/Pacing: Strong for the first 1/2-2/3, but then a little all over the place. Ending is abrupt. “Bingeability”: High. Emotional Investment: Moderate. Windows and Mirrors: Sister/sibling relationships. Step parents. Single mother household. Overall Thoughts: Whimsical and enchanting story that is let down by the rushed ending. Recommendation: Yes for children, adults, and teachers. Classroom recommendation: independent reading for advanced readers.

Thank you for reading my review! Leave a comment letting me know if you’ve read this one or have any questions about it, and keep an eye out for my next review!

Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes.

Oh my goodness, how has it taken until my forty-eighth year to read this book – to read it at bedtime with my daughter. It is utterly charming ! And very knowing as a book.

Sophie Hatter is – or at least appears to be – that staple of fairy tales and middle years’ fantasy: an orphan forced into a life of drudgery as an apprentice hatter by a wicked step mother who exploits her skills whilst gallivanting around town. So far, so many echoes of Cinderella. But Wynne Jones shows herself unable to resist turning a trope, a convention onto its head.

Sophie is worn down, anxious and lacks self confidence at the start of the novel, a fate associated with being the eldest child, apparently, until she is cursed by the Witch of the Waste with old age – and a concomitant loss of life expectancy. She flees to the hills and the moving castle where Wizard Howl lives, despite his fearsome reputation. There she meets Michael, Howl’s apprentice, and Calcifer the fire demon and installs herself in the castle before Howl returns.

Howl does not consume her heart or her soul as his reputation suggests, but instead accepts her as a cleaner, albeit somewhat begrudgingly and she becomes part of the castle household.

The plot is oddly rather loose and episodic and gentle – with a lot of cleaning and domesticity taking the foreground and the missing Prince and the wizard sent to find him rumble along in the background – and yet also incredibly tautly structured. Not one detail or sentence from the opening chapters is unimportant. Nothing is random. Did Sophie collect a walking stick, prop up a scarecrow or rescue a dog? All critical characters by the end. The final chapter felt a little rushed perhaps, but it was so incredibly satisfying as every tiny detail comes together.

I loved almost everything in the book: Howl should have been difficult to love with his tendency towards melodrama, self-indulgence and, well, green slime, but he was gorgeous; I loved that the resolution did not change or compromise him; I loved Sophie and her sisters; I loved the sudden, unsettling revelation that a real-world Wales lay beyond the Castle’s magic door; I loved Calcifer, and his final line in the story.

And what I was absolutely blown away by was my daughter. When we discovered that Howl had given his heart to Calcifer – sorry for the minor spoiler – my daughter stopped me reading, laid the book down on my lap and looks intently into my face. “That’s why Calcifer called him “Heartless Howl”,” she said. And yes, he does. Once. And she had remembered that – for all her additional educational needs – and connected the metaphorical to the literal image. And I, an English teacher, had not noticed that particular detail! I was just enjoying the ride!

This really was an exquisite and charming novel – and I am so glad the my daughter has reached an age to let me read it, finally!

What I Liked

Absolutely every single character – every one! Howl and Sophie, obviously, but also Lettie and Martha, Fanny, Michael and Calcifer; even the Witch of the Waste, Mrs Pentstemmon and the King.
The incredibly taut structures, all without feeling forced or pressured.
The challenge of the genre conventions.
The magical battles between Howl and The Witch of the Waste which were actually some of the best magical battles I’ve read!

What Could Have Been Different

Maybe there could have been a little more time spent on the final chapters…

Characters:

Plot / pace:, worldbuilding:, page count:.

Harper Collins Children’s Books

Amazon , Publisher

Published by The Book Lover's Sanctuary

#bookblogger, teacher, father | he / him | View all posts by The Book Lover's Sanctuary

5 thoughts on “Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones”

My husband received this book as a Christmas gift last year. He found the beginning to be a bit slow, but overall he liked it. I may borrow it from him at some point to see what I think about it.

Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!

Like Liked by 1 person

[…] Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones […]

[…] Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones […]

[…] Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones – Howl and Sophie […]

[…] and BlissThe Death of Vivek OjiThe Island of Missing TreesOliver TwistHowl’s Moving CastleA God in […]

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Buy me coffee!

Favorite SF&F Books by Women Project

Currently Reading

Incryptid book giveaway.

Recent Reviews

Review of The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
Review of The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
Review of Witch King by Martha Wells
Review of Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey
Review of The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart

Recent Tweets

Books from my library, author websites.

A. K. Larkwood
Alastair Reynolds
Alexis Henderson
Aliette de Bodard
Alison Goodman
Alix E. Harrow
Andrea G. Stewart
Ann Aguirre
Arkady Martine
Barbara Hambly
Brandon Sanderson
C. S. Friedman
Catherine Asaro
Catherynne Valente
Charlie Jane Anders
Chelsea Abdullah
Cinda Williams Chima
Connie Willis
Courtney Schafer
E. K. Johnston
Elizabeth Bear
Freda Warrington
Gail Carriger
Genevieve Cogman
George R. R. Martin
Guy Gavriel Kay
Helene Wecker
Iain M. Banks
Ilana C. Myer
Ilona Andrews
Jacqueline Carey
Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett
Jennifer Fallon
Joan D. Vinge
Joe Abercrombie
Julie Czerneda
K. S. Villoso
Karen Sandler
Karin Lowachee
Karina Sumner-Smith
Kate Elliott
Katherine Arden
Kim Harrison
Kylie Lee Baker
Laini Taylor
Lane Robins
Leanna Renee Hieber
Leigh Bardugo
Lev Grossman
Linnea Sinclair
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lyda Morehouse
M. K. Hobson
M. L. Brennan
Maria V. Snyder
Marie Brennan
Marie Rutkoski
Marjorie Liu
Mark Ferrari
Martha Wells
Max Gladstone
Megan Whalen Turner
Melissa Caruso
Moira J. Moore
N. K. Jemisin
Nalo Hopkinson
Nancy Kress
Naomi Novik
Nnedi Okorafor
Noelle Stevenson
Patricia Briggs
Patrick Rothfuss
Peng Shepherd
Pierce Brown
R. A. Salvatore
R. F. Kuang
Rachel Aaron
Rachel Hartman
Rachel Neumeier
Rebecca Roanhorse
Reni K Amayo
Rin Chupeco
Roshani Chokshi
S.A. Chakraborty
Saara El-Arifi
Sangu Mandanna
Sarah Monette
Scott Lynch
Seanan McGuire
Sharon Shinn
Shelley Parker-Chan
Sherwood Smith
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Somaiya Daud
Stephanie Burgis
Storm Constantine
Sue Lynn Tan
Swati Teerdhala
Sylvia Izzo Hunter
Tananarive Due
Teresa Frohock
Terry Pratchett
Ursula K. Le Guin
Vaishnavi Patel
Vera Nazarian
Walter Jon Williams
Yangsze Choo

Author Blogs

Carol Berg: Text Crumbs
George R. R. Martin: Not a Blog
J. M. McDermott
Kristin Cashore
Neil Gaiman

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Book Review

Howl’s moving castle – “world of howl” series.

Diana Wynne Jones
Fantasy , Humor , Paranormal

Readability Age Range

Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing
Horn Book Fanfare, 1986; and others

Year Published

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine . It is the first book in the Howl’s World series.

Plot Summary

Sophie Hatter lives in the country of Ingary, where such things as wizards and magic are a normal part of life. She takes care of her younger sisters, Lettie and Martha, while her father and stepmother run a hat shop. After his death, their stepmother, Fanny, must see the girls positioned into apprenticeships.

Lettie is sent to a bakery, while Martha is sent to learn magic from Fanny’s childhood friend Mrs. Fairfax. Sophie remains at the hat shop. As she makes hats, she often speaks to them saying things like, “You will marry money,” or “You have a good heart; someone important will fall in love with you.” Her friend Jane runs away with a count while wearing that hat.

Sophie sets out to visit Lettie at the bakery. A handsome rogue in a bright robe offers to guide her to the bakery, but she refuses. She finds Lettie overwhelmed by men wanting to be served by her. When the sisters finally find a quiet place to talk, Sophie learns that it is Martha, looking like Lettie, who is serving at the shop. Martha learned a spell from the witch she was serving and has swapped appearances with Lettie because Lettie wanted to learn magic more than Martha did.

The following morning, after Sophie has returned home, she receives a surprise visit from the Witch of the Waste. The fearsome sorceress accuses Sophie of trying to rival her power (through her speaking to the hats). As punishment, the witch casts a spell that ages Sophie.

The spell prevents her from telling anyone that she is under a curse. Being a practical girl, even though she now looks elderly, Sophie decides she must leave the hat shop. Customers would never buy a hat from her.

Sophie decides to try to make her fortune in the world. As she heads out of town, she finds a toppled scarecrow. She rights him and offers him luck finding his way home. She continues up the hill and comes upon a dog tied to a stick and choking. She frees the dog and uses the stick to help her walk.

As the day progresses, Sophie longs for a comfortable chair and a fire by which to sit. Her wish is granted when she spies the Wizard Howl’s moving castle. Although he is rumored to eat the souls of young girls, Sophie figures she is safe since she is old.

His house rambles across the hillside, but Sophie manages to find the back door and to jump inside. She makes a deal with Calcifer, the fire demon living inside the fireplace. He will let her stay, and help her break the witch’s curse, if she is able to help him break the contract he has with Howl. Unfortunately, she must discover what the contract is, as both Calcifer and Howl cannot disclose it.

The house does more than travel. It has a magic door that opens to four different locations. One place is Ingary, Sophie’s homeland. There the people view Howl as a villain to be feared. In Porthaven, a seaside town, the villagers come to him for potions to calm the sea and bring their loved ones safely home. The door also opens to Kingsbury, whose king desires Howl to find his lost brother and another missing wizard whom he believes to be captives of the Witch of the Waste. Howl will not disclose the last location to Sophie, telling her to mind her own business.

Sophie manages to ingratiate herself into the lives of Howl and his apprentice, a young man named Michael. She cleans the main room of the house and Michael’s bedroom. Howl’s bathroom is his sanctuary, and he spends several hours in it daily, bathing.

Sophie realizes he was the splendid young man who had offered to help her on May Day. Michael informs her that Howl loves to woo women, but once they love him in return, he is no longer interested. Sophie guesses this is where he got the reputation of “eating” girls’ souls. She soon gets her own reputation, as people in the various towns believe she is a witch, perhaps even Howl’s mother.

When Sophie cleans the bathroom, she accidently mixes up some of Howl’s powders, causing him to use something on his hair that turns it pink. Howl is despondent, creating green goo that threatens to cover the house and extinguish Calcifer. Sophie and Michael manage to clean both Howl and house of the slime, but Sophie learns something from Howl’s outburst. The new woman he is pursuing is her sister Martha, who still looks like their beautiful sister, Lettie.

Sophie knows she must warn Martha not to lose her heart to the fickle Howl. She plans to set off for home after Michael and Howl leave for the day, but she is stopped when a scarecrow appears at the castle door. It is the same one she helped on her way up the hill. Petrified, Sophie orders Calcifer to make the castle move faster, hoping to outrun it. Michael returns in the evening, thrilled to announce that the girl Howl is in love with is not his Lettie, who works at the bakery. Sophie realizes that Michael is actually in love with Martha, and the real Lettie must be warned not to give in to Howl’s attentions.

When Howl returns, he asks Sophie to pretend to be his mother and convince the king that Howl should not be sent into the Waste to look for Prince Justin and the Wizard Suliman. Howl does not want to go because he has been evading a curse that the witch sent for him the previous year.

Sophie and Michael use a pair of magic boots to help them get to Upper Folding quickly. When they arrive at Mrs. Fairfax’s home, they find Howl already there, courting Lettie. Mrs. Fairfax knew right away that Lettie and Martha had switched places. She thinks that a match between Lettie and Howl would help Lettie advance her magical career, but there is another suitor of whom Lettie is fond. Unfortunately, the Witch of the Waste has cursed him.

Michael and Sophie return to the castle where Sophie tries to help him with a spell Howl told him to practice. It appears to be a riddle, but neither can solve the puzzle. They believe it may be asking him to catch a shooting star. Using the magic boots, they chase a falling star, but it is so terrified that when they catch up to it, they let it go.

Howl returns and realizes that the spell Michael has been working on is not a spell at all. He hints that catching a falling star can be very dangerous. Howl then takes Sophie and Michael with him to the unnamed land that can also be accessed through the castle door. It turns out to be modern-day Wales, the land where Howl formerly lived.

His sister and her family still live there, but Howl is considered a prodigal. He discovers the “spell” Michael had was actually his nephew’s poetry homework. Howl, Sophie and Michael visit the nephew’s teacher in order to learn the rest of the poem. Howl is terrified when he discovers that the poem completes the rest of the Witch of the Waste’s curse. Immediately Howl appears to fall in love with Miss Angorian, his nephew’s teacher. He begins to woo her instead of Lettie.

Howl brings Sophie, pretending to be his mother, to talk to the king. First, she meets Howl’s mentor, Mrs. Pentstemmon. The old witch recognizes Sophie as a fellow witch, one who can speak life into objects. She begs Sophie to break the contract between Calcifer and Howl as it is turning Howl evil. It is the same thing that happened to the Witch of the Waste. Sophie then tries to blacken Howl’s name before the king, but that only convinces him that Howl is the man to face the Witch of the Waste.

A new resident comes to the castle. It is Lettie’s other suitor. The Witch of the Waste has cursed him into being a dog, the same dog Sophie had earlier freed. Lettie sent him to keep an eye on Sophie.

The Witch of the Waste finds Howl and the two have a magical battle over the town of Porthaven. Howl moves the castle to Market Chipping, to Sophie’s former hat shop. Now she will sell flowers rather than hats.

During the move, Sophie deciphers that Calcifer was once a falling star. Calcifer tells her that he had been terrified of dying so Howl offered to keep him alive the same way humans are kept alive, but he cannot tell her more than that.

Midsummer Day dawns. It is the deadline for the Witch of the Waste’s curse on Howl. Sophie’s family arrives unexpectedly. Fanny has come to tell her of her new wealthy husband and offer Sophie a home with them. Michael brings Martha to visit, and Lettie and Mrs. Fairfax also come to the castle.

Calcifer cries out that the Witch of the Waste has found Howl’s family in Wales. Howl hurries to save them. When Miss Angorian comes, Sophie sends her outside to look at flowers. The scarecrow arrives and delivers a message from the Witch of the Waste. She tells them that she has kidnapped Miss Angorian, and Howl must surrender or she will die.

Sophie uses the magic boots and runs to the witch’s castle. Once inside, she learns that the witch has taken parts of Prince Justin and Wizard Suliman to create a new man. She wants Howl’s head so she will have the perfect king to rule with her. The scarecrow arrives and battles with the witch. Howl appears and destroys what is left of the witch, but her heart remains with her fire demon, which they realize is in Howl’s home, disguised as Miss Angorian.

They find her taking Howl’s heart out of Calcifer’s flame, causing Howl to collapse and Calcifer’s fire to dwindle. Sophie enchants her walking stick to beat Miss Angorian, and she drops the heart. Sophie takes Calcifer in her hands and wishes that he would live another 1,000 years before she sets him free. She then replaces Howl’s heart into his chest. Howl awakens and defeats the Witch of the Waste’s fire demon.

At the demon’s death, its curses are undone. The scarecrow and the dog return to being Prince Justin and Wizard Suliman. Wizard Suliman wants to take Lettie on as an apprentice. Sophie’s youth returns. Howl and Sophie never admit their love, but he does say that they should live happily ever after together.

Christian Beliefs

A character says that a teacher puts “the fear of God” in her students. Someone is referred to as a lazy devil.

Other Belief Systems

Falling stars are dying demons. If they can be caught before they fall to the ground, a magician can offer to share his heart with it. The demon then works for the wizard, doing magic for him and increasing the wizard’s power. The heart keeps the demon alive. The longer the two remain united, the more powerful the demon can become, until it can entirely possess the human being.

The people of Porthaven come to Howl for various spells to keep loved ones safe or for calming the sea. Sophie mixes potions under Calciminer’s instructions to try and help the villagers. Her words are able to speak life into objects.

She is able to give the scarecrow enough life to continue his search for his master’s missing body parts. The words she speaks over her hats give their wearers good fortune. The Witch of the Waste disassembles people to create the perfect man. Wizards regularly turn themselves into other people, objects or animals in order to fight or evade detection.

Authority Roles

Fanny is the only parental character in the story, and she is fairly young. Martha convinces Sophie that Fanny is taking advantage of her talents, but we learn later that Fanny has gotten married to a wealthy man and wants Sophie to move in with them.

Profanity & Violence

The euphemism drat is used.

The violence is not overly graphic. The Witch of the Waste tells Sophie that she killed Mrs. Pentstemmon because she would not tell her Howl’s whereabouts. Howl and the Witch of the Waste have a duel over the town of Porthaven. She creates a horrible storm that dredges up mermaids from the sea. She turns herself into a bird that dive-bombs a ship that she believes Howl to be on.

The ship disappears and the bird crashes into the water, creating a monster wave that sweeps the mermaids away. Howl and the Witch then create illusionary monsters that chase each other away from the town. A large fireball is seen a few minutes later. Both the Witch and Howl survive the battle.

The Witch of the Waste has disassembled Prince Justin and Wizard Suliman to create a new man. She wants Howl’s head for her creation. Howl and the scarecrow battle her within a cloud as Sophie watches. Eventually, the Witch of the Waste is reduced to a pile of bones. Sophie enchants her walking stick so it beats the witch’s fire demon, Miss Angorian. Howl casts a spell, which gives him the witch’s heart. As it disintegrates, so does Miss Angorian.

Sexual Content

Discussion topics.

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

Additional Comments

Alcohol: A character drinks brandy. Howl comes home drunk after a night away from the castle.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

Latest Book Reviews

The Minor Miracle: The Amazing Adventures of Noah Minor

The Eyes and the Impossible

Castle Reef 2: Bloodlines

Compass and Blade

Nothing Else But Miracles

Waverider (Amulet #9)

Weekly reviews straight to your inbox.

Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle #1) Diana Wynne Jones Greenwillow Books Published August 1, 2001 (Originally published 1986)

Amazon | bookshop | goodreads, about howl’s moving castle.

To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE is the first book by Diana Wynne Jones that I’ve ever read. I think that’s weird, considering how popular her books are and how much I read as a kid, but there you go. First time for everything, I guess.

I wasn’t sure whether I would like this book or not when I first started it. I felt like the author was kind of making jokes about fantasy as a genre, and I wasn’t always sure I was in on them? For instance, Sophie worries about being the eldest of three sisters, because it means there’s no likelihood that anything magical or amazing will happen to her. I wasn’t sure if that was something that was particular to her world or a joke about fairytales?

Anyway, once the witch cursed Sophie and she ran away, I got a lot more invested in the story. She’s smart and loyal, and I loved her from the first moment she rescued the dog stuck in the hedge.

I also thought it was clever to tell the story from the perspective of a girl under a curse that makes her look like an old woman. Normally I’m not a fan of children’s books written from the point-of-view of an adult, but Sophie wasn’t really an adult… she just looked like one. Which was an interested juxtaposition.

All the way through the book, new pieces get added to the mystery of Sophie’s curse and the story of Howl and why he is what Sophie terms, “a slitherer-outer”. I loved the book, and really want to read more stories by Diana Wynne Jones.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content References to Howl falling in love with lots of women and trying to make them fall in love with him.

Spiritual Content Some characters use magic. Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Waste. Howl has a contract with a fire demon.

Violent Content Situations of peril.

Drug Content Howl comes home drunk one night.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

About Kasey

Comments are closed.

Never Miss a Story

Get reviews and book recommendations in your email inbox!

your email here

Donate Your New or Used Books

Follow For More Stories

Search stories reviewed, stories coming soon.

My Book for Authors

Subscribe by Email

Get reviews and book recommendations in your inbox.

Email Address

Follow The Story Sanctuary

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

Discover more from The Story Sanctuary

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle is a fantasy novel about the infamous wizard Howl, and a cursed hatmaker named Sophie. Sophie Hatter is a pretty average girl whose been left to maintain her family's hat shop. However, she gets cursed one day by the Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman. Sophie, seeking out an end to her curse, finds her way into Howl's mechanical moving castle, and in it, she meets Calcifer, a snarky fire demon, Michael, Howl's kind apprentice, and of course, Howl. Howl, rumored to be an evil wizard who eats the hearts of young women turns out not to be so harmless after all. Sophie quickly decides to appoint herself as Howl's castle cleaner, and we follow Sophie and Howl through their escapades, rooting for Sophie's curse to be broken. Howl's Moving Castle is truly a very lovely story, and as I read the story, I found that it was very easy and light to read. I enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the fairytale-like novel, and each of the characters all held a special place in my heart. I enjoyed how eccentric Howl was, and it was very entertaining to read through his and Sophie's bickering. I've also seen the Studio Ghibli film version of the story, and I think that both the film and book versions were equally as charming. All in all, I highly recommend this novel if you're looking for a light, magical read.

Reviewer Grade: 11

Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle

This post may contains affiliate links. If you click and buy we may make a commission, at no additional charge to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.

Howl’s Moving Castle

Diana wynne jones.

Publish Date: August 1, 2001 Greenwillow Books Borrowed from Megan Reviewed by Rachael

In which a witch bewitched the hatter’s daughter – and then some….Sophie lived in the town of Market Chipping, which was in Ingary, a land in which anything could happen, and often did – especially when the Witch of the Waste got her dander up.

Which was often.

As her younger sisters set out to seek their fortunes, Sophie stayed in her father’s hat shop. Which proved most unadventurous, until the Witch of the Waste came in to buy a bonnet, but was not pleased. Which is why she turned Sophie into an old lady.

Which was spiteful witchery.

Now Sophie must seek her own fortune. Which means striking a bargain with the lecherous Wizard Howl. Which means entering his ever-moving castle, taming a blue fire-demon, and meeting the Witch of the Waste head-on. Which was more than Sophie bargained for….- Goodreads

This was our book club selection for July. This isn’t “my” genre of YA (the combo of fantasy and magic is not usually a winner with me), but it is one of the things I love about our book club, the genres change each month and it helps keep everyone interested and coming back for more.

We have some YA Fantasy lovers in the group and it’s always fun to see people excited about a book, even if you don’t love it.

I didn’t finish in time for our discussion, but hearing other people talk about the book (and movie) made me want to finish. This book review of Howl’s Moving Castle shows why it caught my interest.

A Short Review of Howl’s Moving Castle

The characters in the book were interesting, as was the world that was created around the Moving Castle .

The beginning of the book was slow (and the paperback version I read had over 400 pages so a slow beginning is sort of a mood killer for me) but things picked up toward the end and I’m glad I finished.

I think I may have skimmed a bit too much in the middle because in the final chapters I found myself confusing some of the characters. I’ve heard great things about the anime movie version of the book, but have yet to get my hands on a copy as of yet.

This probably should happen, I’ve heard there are several deviations from the book that I can see as improvements and I’m excited to see how that plays out. I’ve never watched anime, but it sounds like this is an excellent movie to start with from what other people have told me.

Have you read Howl’s Moving Castle and/or seen the movie?

Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Publisher: Harper Collins Publication date: First edition: 1986 (This edition: 2009) Paperback: 304 pages

In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter. After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls. The Hatter sisters–Sophie, Lettie, and Martha–and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning. In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl’s castle? Diana Wynne Jones’s entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the Wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.

Stand alone or series: It is a standalone novel that has two companion books: Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways

How did I get this book: Bought

Why did I read this book: I just recently discovered the works of DWJ and this was recommended by many, many readers.

Excuse me while I fangirl my way through this review.

I only recently discovered Diana Wynne Jones’ books and am already counting them as one of My Favourite Things About 2011 (along with discovering the works of Connie Willis). I am completely head over heels in love with her books, her writing, and you wouldn’t believe how happy I am that she has this looooooong backlist. I finished Howl’s Moving Castle and immediately went and bought Fire and Hemlock which I hear, is Made of Awesome (although completely unrelated to How).

Howl’s Moving Castle is one of those books that everybody and their dog kept telling me I should read and I have no idea why I kept postponing it until now when I decided it was About Time. And it’s funny too because I actually watched the Japanese animated movie years ago and loved it like Whoa and Hell Yes Please. Though now that I read the book, I see that movie is totally different (in case you were wondering) although it retains the Heart of the Story (< << hint).

The basics: Howl’s Moving Castle is a YA novel by British writer Diana Wynne Jones and it was first published in what feels like a Long Time Ago, in 1986, way before this whole YA Boom that we are seeing right now. Why do I even mention this? Because Howl’s Moving Castle has this je ne sais quoi , this Quality that I wish I saw more in the YA Fantasy novels I’ve been reading lately: for it has a Quality that speaks of Forever and I believe Howl’s Moving Castle will stand the Test of Time and be read by generations ahead of us.

But back to the basics: Sophie Hatter is the eldest of 3 siblings living in Market Chipping, the obedient daughter of a hat maker. Her father died a few years ago and Sophie lives with her stepmother and two sisters until, due to their dire economic circumstances, her two sisters are sent away to become apprentices and Sophie stays behind to work at the hat shop. It is a dull life, but that is the lot of Older Sisters, as you know. Anyways, this one day, the infamous and evil Witch of the Waste shows up at the shop and after a puzzling conversation (it is one of the Mysteries to be solved) turns Sophie into an old lady and part of the curse is that she can’t tell anyone about it. Sophie takes that as an opportunity to leave the shop and the town and try her luck in life. She then finds her way to the Moving Castle. Owned by the equally infamous and evil (or is he?) Wizard Howl, who terrifies young ladies and steals their hearts, the Castle is this amazing place with a door that opens to 4 different locations (one of them being the Wales of our own world!). At the Castle, Sophie becomes Howl’s cleaning lady, a position she can only secure after striking a bargain with the Castle’s resident Fire Demon, Calcifer. The bargain says that she will help Calcifer break his contract with Howl (the terms of said contract cannot be disclosed though, which is Another Puzzle that Sophie needs to put together) and in return he will help her become a young lady again. Howl is not very happy to have Sophie around, because he regards her as a busybody who keeps cleaning and moving things around but eventually they start to get along just fine, and Sophie discovers that there is more to Howl than she originally thought.

Howl’s Moving Castle is such a fine read and if I try to talk about everything that could be talked about this book, we would be here forever and an extra day. I mean, it has such wonderful elements: an imaginative world where a Castle’s door opens to 4 different places, each place with its own history and politics and magic (or lack of); it delves in Court politics as the King is looking for a missing brother and a missing Court Magician (which is yet another puzzle) and wants to make Howl his new Court Magician (to Howl’s despair); plus a plethora of great characters and puzzles and romance and curses and it is like, Fantasy at its best because it does wonders with an imaginary world and with fairy tales (more on that later) whilst delving into very real concerns such as one’s lot in life, and family and loyalty, and fear and war, and love and friendship. Not to mention that the book has such hilarious moments (and all of them because of Howl’s tendency to be a Drama King).

No, I can’t possibly talk about everything that is good about the book so instead, I will concentrate on the three elements that to me were the ones that shone.

First of all, we have fairy tale connections: although Howl’s Moving Castle is not really a specific fairytale retelling per se, it does definitely has fairytale elements, trappings and a fairytale feel to it. It is in the way some ideas are put forth: like the matter-of-fact way in which Sophie is presented as the Eldest daughter who will have no luck in life, because that’s the Way Things Are. But most importantly to me, is how those fairytale ideas are taken, explored and subverted. For example: Sophie’s family and life are definitely reminiscent of Cinderella but with Sophie having a good relationship with her sisters and stepmother. But those relationships are put to test and a few things are brought to life only to be later on, explored even further. Similarly, Howl and Sophie are definitely Beauty and the Beast although the roles keep changing (Sophie is at times the Beauty and at times the Beast and the same goes for Howl) and are not so easily defined. Speaking of roles, both characters are in need of saving but that saving doesn’t happen without soul searching and change. And how about Howl for a hero? Although ultimately, he is definitely a good person he is also a vain, self-absorbed cowardly wizard, who many times pulls a tantrum because he has the man-flu or his hair is the wrong colour. Obviously, I have a huge character crush.

Then, I can’t proceed without mentioning the writing. Do you know what I love about Diana Wynne Jones’ writing? The fact that she doesn’t look down at her readers, doesn’t mollycoddle them, doesn’t make it easy: the story progresses with little to no exposition or explanations as the author completely trusts the readers to put things together and reach their own conclusions. I find this extremely revealing especially since we still seem to be living in a world where some authors who write for adults are still assuming that books for children are easy and puerile.

Which brings me to my final point:

Words. Howl’s Moving Castle is perhaps, at its heart a book about words, or a book that understands the importance of words. It is present in the clever writing but also in the plot in so many different ways: with puzzles, with songs, with words that hurt, with words that save, with curses, with self-inflicted harm that comes from believing in words. And then eventually, Sophie finds out that words ARE indeed magic.

Which is exactly what I love about Diana Wynne Jones’.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: Oh Howl, you crack me up so much. This is a scene where Howl tried to dye his hair (which is something that he does all the time).

Look at this!” he shouted. “ Look at it! What has that one-woman force of chaos done to these spells?” “If you mean me – ” Sophie began. “I do mean you. Look!” Howl shrieked. He sat down with a thump on the three-legged stool ad jabbed at his wet head with his finger. “Look. Survey. Inspect. My hair is ruined! I look like a pan of bacon and eggs!” Michael and Sophie bent nervously over Howl’s head. It seemed the usual flaxen colour right to the roots. The only difference might have been a slight, very slight, trace of red. Sophie found that agreeable. It reminded her a little of the colour her own hair should have been. “I think it’s very nice,” she said. “ Nice! ” screamed Howl. “You would! You did it on purpose. You couldn’t rest until you made me miserable too. Look at it! It’s ginger! I shall have to hide until it’s grown out!” He spread his arms out passionately. “Despair!” he yelled. “Anguish! Horror!”

Additional Thoughts: In 2004, the book was adapted into a Japanese animated movie written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Although very different from the book, the movie stand on its own and it is equally wonderful.

Rating: 9 – Damn Near Perfection

Reading Next: Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell

Ana Grilo is a Brazilian who moved to the UK because of the weather. No, seriously. She works with translations in RL and hopes one day The Book Smugglers will be her day job. When she’s not here at The Book Smugglers, she is hogging our Twitter feed.

53 Comments

Just watched this a couple weeks ago and the book is now on my TBR! Glad to know it’s different but still awesome.

*does the DWJ dance* (Why yes, there IS one :P)

Kimberly B.

This is one of my favorites! I love Diana Wynne Jones!

Tweets that mention The Book Smugglers » Blog Archive » Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones -- Topsy.com

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Book Smugglers and Roshni , Livia Blasi. Livia Blasi said: Fantastica recensione di Howl's Moving Castle di Diana Wynne Jones su @booksmugglers http://goo.gl/6nPOj (ancora non l'avete letto? :O) […]

Great review! Howl’s Moving Castle is one of my favorite books ever.

This is my favorite Dianna Wynne Jones! I use the term “slither-outer” to describe people all the time now. And it’s kind of impossible not to have a character crush on Howl.

You should try the Dark Lord of Derkholm next — it plays with and subverts fantasy conventions in a hilarious way.

Love hearing others discover DWJ! As a school librarian, I’ve had her books on my shelves for years, but never read one. Gasp! That is until this past summer. I decided to read after Neil Gaiman talked of his love for DWJ on either his blog or twitter or both. Oh my, I can’t believe I never read until now. Love! I think only those that haven’t read her works can’t understand how special her works are. If you haven’t read her Chrestomanci books, I’d recommend them as well, especially CHARMED LIFE.

This is the book that made me realize I shouldn’t be ashamed of reading fantasy books. 🙂

Jennifer @ An Abundance of Books

I picked up HMC after seeing the movie, it was a bit confusing. Once I realized that the movie had made a huge departure from the book it was much easier read. Loved both theta book and the movie (love how the book uses one of my favorite poems), but it’s important to understand that it’s very different from the movie. I read House of Many Ways and enjoyed it, but didn’t know about Castle in the Air – I will be picking that one up.

Fire and Hemlock also uses a famous poem (or fairytale) as a basis and it was fabulous!

I would love to see what you think of Archer’s Goon as I had to read it several times in order to maybe understand it. In fact, I should probably read it again, because I’m still a little unclear…

Jennifer (An Abundance of Books)

Because Howl’s Moving Castle has this je ne sais quoi, this Quality that I wish I saw more in the YA Fantasy novels I’ve been reading lately: for it has a Quality that speaks of Forever and I believe Howl’s Moving Castle will stand the Test of Time and be read by generations ahead of us.

I know EXACTLY what you mean. You. Me. Right on the same level.

This book sounds right up my ally. It sounds kooky and fun. 2011 reading should be more kooky and fun over at my place. I’m putting this in the buy lineup. Thanks so much for putting it in the spotlight.

How lucky you are to just be discovering the wonderfulness of Diana Wynne-Jones! And lucky that there are lots of them to read through.

Did you know that there are two more book that follow Howl’s Moving Castle? They are Castle In The Air and House of Many Ways. In both, Sophie and Howl appear again.

I love all of her books, but favorites (beside CITA) are Charmed Life, Magicians of Caprona, Dark Lord of Derkholm, Year of the Griffin (sequel), and her two adult books A Sudden Wild Magic, and Deep Secret. Her short story collections are very enjoying and well worth getting your hands on.

Lots of enjoyment ahead of you.

She is being treated for cancer, I believe, and selfishly I hope that she will recover fast and provide me with many more hours of reading pleasure.

Would Booksmugglers be interested in trying Terry Pratchett? Nation might be a good place to start as it’s a stand-alone, YA, and of a fairly serious nature.

The Discworld series is amazing, but you really need to read it from beginning to end as characters and arcs grow, change and develop over the series. And frankly, the first few books are not great. He hits amazing once you get to Small Gods, IMO.

Sylvia Sybil

I love Howl’s Moving Castle! The movie and the book are two very separate beasts indeed. They change everything from the villain’s identity to the moral of the story.

I second the recommendation for Dark Lord of Derkholm next. It’s about a fairy tale world that’s being run as a theme park for people from our world. 😀

I just bought EIGHT books off of Bordes.com! *smacks head* I should always come here before purchasing books! Well, it is at least on my wishlst now…

I discovered this book after first watching the movie by Studio Ghibli.

Sophie is my favourite heroine of all time!

Her books are awesome. I love her Chrestomanci series also. I would recommend reading the Lives of Christopher Chant before Charmed Life. Also Conrad’s Fate is excellent, and the audioversion is also exceptional. (love,love, love the name Throgmorten (sp) for a cat)

Kathleen Brown

I’m so glad you liked this book! I always worry when people review Howl’s Moving Castle because SOME people don’t love it… And that makes me sad. It’s been my favorite book since the fourth grade, I’ve yet to find another book that I can reread as much, love as much, or has characters that stick with me like HMC.

great review!! I came to Diana Wynne Jones after I fell in love with the Miyazaki film.

you got it spot on, DWJ writes in such a way that will stand the test of time. She is not a fad or a trend or a sub-genre that comes and goes. Our children and grandchildren will enjoy her works just as much as we do.

And by the way, Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki have a TON of awesome films.

I also love that DWJ does not mollycoddle her readers. In fact, it may be what I love the most. (And there is a lot to love). I’m currently reading the Dalemark books and I think these may be my favorite DWJ yet.

I will be very interested to see what you think of Fire and Hemlock. It is, to me, the most different of all her books. I do love it though. It and The Perilous Gard are the best Tam Lin retellings of all time.

Yay, you loved it! This book is one of my favorites. Howl is just hilarious. Do you remember the YA Fantasy Showdown last year? You’d be able to appreciate it more because the final match was Howl vs. Gen 😛

Yes! More DWJ love!

After “Fire and Hemlock” (which I didn’t love, but haven’t read in a while so I may like it better now) you should definitely read “Deep Secret.” I think it may be one of my favorite books of all time. The heroine in particular is so out of the ordinary for most books that I adored her immediately.

I think it’s About Time for me to read this too. Bumping up my TBR now. 🙂 You guys make me shuffle my to-read list way too often, but I’m not complaining. 🙂

Oh I’ve been having this book on my TBR too. Just did not go about reading it. I’ll bump it up 🙂

I am SO glad that you liked this. DWJ is one of my all time favorite authors. Howl’s Moving Castle has a special place in my heart because it was the first book I ever read by her and it was the first book where once I finished it, I immediately felt the need to pass it on to someone else. Eee so happy that DWJ is getting the love <3

I love DWJ so much. Love, love, love. So much love.

I loved Howl’s Moving Castle and other books by DWJ. And, though I love and understand the greatness that is HMC, my favorite DWJ novel is Dogsbody. The story holds a special place in my heart with its sweet and simple brilliance.

I love this book. It’s one of my all time favorites of any genre.

This is the kind of YA I like – one you can read and reread and get something new from it every time and where age is irrelevant.

Your review has made me want to re-read the book, which I read in 1986! I love Diana Wynne Jones, and I am happy you are enjoying her books. Please read Archer’s Goon, it is still one of my faves.

I discovered Diana Wynne Jones last year and fell in love with her work. Howl’s Moving Castle was such a treat. Glad you enjoyed it!

I must say that the Miyazaki movie adaptation is one of my most favorite movies of all time. Thank you! I heart DWJ. I will go get that book asap and revel in its most awesomeness!

I love Diana Wynne Jones! She is by far my favorite YA/children’s author. Speaking of which, in relation to the article you linked, she wrote a very lovely essay about how you have so much more freedom in children’s books as an author, and how much more restricted she felt writing books aimed at adults.

Here’s a link: http://www.suberic.net/dwj/medusa.html

And a quote: “To take the most obvious first: I found myself thinking as I wrote, “These poor adults are never going to understand this; I must explain it to them twice more and then remind them again later in different terms.” Now this is something I never have to think when I write for younger readers. Children are used to making an effort to understand. They are asked for this effort every hour of every school day and, though they may not make the effort willingly, they at least expect it. In addition, nearly everyone between the ages of nine and fifteen is amazingly good at solving puzzles and following complicated plots – this being the happy result of many hours spent at computer games and watching television. I can rely on this. I can make my plots for them as complex as I please, and yet I know I never have to explain them more than once (or twice at the very most). And here I was, writing for people of fifteen and over, assuming that the people who read, say, Fire and Hemlock last year have now given up using their brains.”

I use DWJ as a test case for potential friends/book lovers. If readers like her books, I know I’m likely to enjoy what they like and/or recommend to me.

As a US citizen, I’m not up on the ins and outs of this, but really, why hasn’t she been knighted already? (Received the Queens honors or whatever it is called for Services to Literature. I.e made a life peer?)

She’s amazing!! And well more deserving than a few others I could think of.

And to those who have yet to read this or any DWJ: doooooo it, you know you want to!

Also: thank you for all the recommendations as well. I am REALY intrigued by Dark Lord of Derkholm but it seems to be out of print in the UK (the mind boggles.) Will look it up book depository next.

and finally, @ Chachic: dude, NOW I understand the EPIC EPICNESS of that final. *faints*

This was the first Dianna Wynne Jones book I ever read and I became an instant fan girl too. I agree, it (and nearly everything she has ever written) is pretty darn near perfect. Try Hexwood next. Wow!

I hated the movie for not being like the book, but at the same time I loved the movie on its own.

So glad another person has found the magic of DWJ!

I love your review — HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE is easily one of my favorite novels. I love Diana Wynne Jones’ seemingly easy way with words, and oh Howl. I haven’t met a reader who wasn’t head-over-heels for him.

Fantastic review Ana! I love this book. I only saw the movie last year – the first movie I’ve ever seen with Christian Bale (except I just heard him 🙂 What a voice! *swoon*

Did you know there was an indirect sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle?

The Leaning Pile of Books | Fantasy Cafe | Reviews of Fantasy and Science Fiction Books

[…] Before I go back to it, I’m reading Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones after reading Ana’s review and being further tempted by Janicu, who convinced me to go track down my copy. That […]

Great review Ana – Howl’s Moving Castle has been on my ‘To Read’ list for a while and thanks to your review has been bumped up a couple of places. 🙂

I just finished reading Enchanted Glass and loved it – I think you will enjoy it. The only other DWJ book I have read is Dark Lord of Derkholm and it is also a great read.

Keep up the good work!

Shelagh http://thewordfiend.blogspot.com

Review of Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones | Fantasy Cafe | Reviews of Fantasy and Science Fiction Books

[…] I purchased it one day when I saw it in the bookstore, but I was recently reminded I should read it when Ana raved about it. With some further encouragement from Chachic and Twitter nagging urging from Janicu, I decided […]

I love Diana! Howl’s Moving Castle is definetly one of my favourite of hers but I agree with Maya, in my opinion DEEP SECRET is the best book she’s written. Its more for adults and its absolutely hilarious, as well as very original.

Sad sad news

Link didn’t post: http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-national/diana-wynne-jones-dies-at-76-british-fantasy-writer-influenced-many

Oh my god! This is one of my all time favorite books. I fell in love with it the minute I started reading. It was magical. The Miyazaki film was the best too (it’s one of my favorites).

Loooove the movie its my favorite 😀 my freiend just told me they had a book n i’m like “OMG I AM TOTALLY GOING TO GET THIS!” hahaahahaa i wanted to know more about the book n this website helped me alot! THANK YOU! ^^*

I just read the book after a recommendation from a friend and I have to say, this book is absolutely amazing. I can’t decide which I prefer more, the book or the movie. They are different but equally amazing. If anyone ever questions why he changed things around for it to be about a war between two nations and how war is stupid- I would suggest watching his Grave of Fireflies. Miyazaki has a lot of emotion targeted to war. I should read more of the books he’s based movies off of, I feel like I would probably see a pattern in things that he feels strongly about and his additions to the stories. The Secret World of Arrietty showed something about his beliefs of survival of the fittest theory.

Back to the book– I absolutely loved it as I said above, however the ending was the only thing that bugged me. Upon reading “ending” I’ll assure you that I’ll do my best not to spoil anything.

The whole book put forth such an effort to make Sophie oblivious to everything going around. The author makes a point in almost every chapter showing how she’s not putting two and two together or didn’t notice such and such… then at the finally there was no real revelation. I was hankering for a bigger ending similar to “Ella Enchanted”

trevnistreetart.tumblr.com

Amazing blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your design. Many thanks

shooting target systems

Wow, this post is nice, my younger sister is analyzing such things, thus I am going to convey her.

Well, I have to say something. (Sorry for my poor english, I’m spanish and my english is the worst one) I comment this review because i’m very happy. I’ve been founding a review of this book around blogger in spanish for a long time but there are not any review who says something realy true about the book. Ican’t say this very well… Is like you understand really the same things in book that I see in. You are the only one who have a opinion nearly whose I have. I don’t know if you are going to read that, if you have closed your blog for a long time. Anyway, I have to write all. It’s amazing! Now I see, I’m not alone. In my country no one read this kind of writers and if they do it is because it’s trendy. I think i’m the one and it’s beautiful to see this is not real at all. I know, you probably can´t read all that because my english but I have to try to tell you this things. Nice to meet you, I will subscribe to your blog 🙂

Hola Lorenzo

Glad to hear you liked the book as much as I did! : D

Things I Love About DWJ’s Howl’s Moving Castle | dreaming out loud

[…] (way more coherent) views: Book Smugglers | Chachic’s Book Nook | Fantasy Book […]

Nice book of DWJ!! I read this book after watch the movie version once again last week. Really love it!

Review: Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones – Spec Fict Lit

[…] https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2011/02/book-review-howls-moving-castle-by-diana-wynne-jones.html […]

Follow @booksmugglers on Instagram

Ftc disclaimer.

The Book Smugglers purchase books for review on this site, but also receive free review copies from authors, publishers, and other third parties.

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

For Parents
For Educators
Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

Get the app
Movie Reviews
Best Movie Lists
Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

Best TV Lists
Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
Common Sense Selections for TV
Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

Book Reviews
Best Book Lists
Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

Game Reviews
Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

Podcast Reviews
Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

App Reviews
Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

YouTube Channel Reviews
YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

Explaining the News to Our Kids

Family Tech Planners
Digital Skills
All Articles
Latino Culture
Black Voices
Asian Stories
Native Narratives
LGBTQ+ Pride
Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Howl's moving castle.

Parents say (8)
Kids say (13)

Based on 13 kid reviews

Amazing Fantasy Story

This title has:

Report this review

Loved this, howls moving castle, diana wynne jones is a genius, magical read, howl's moving castle, the best book ever written, it was o.k..

Hookable Books

Get kids talking.

Posted on 22nd January 2023 22nd January 2023
by hookablebooks

Howl’s Moving Castle: A review

I absolutely loved Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones . Think magic, defying the odds and adventure! This is a really great book which follows a girl called Sophie. As the eldest, she believes her fate is sealed. To never make anything of herself. She will stay in the shop and be forgotten about. But a curse by the Witch of Waste changes her life.

Sophie travels to Howl’s Moving Castle. Howl is a wizard, known for eating the hearts of young girls! But when Sophie meets Howl and inhabitants of the castle, she finds that everything is not as it seems.

This book is perfect for any child who loves stories about spells and adventure. It would be ideal for children in upper Key Stage 2. Who are maybe looking to read more advanced books but where you want to make sure it’s suitable.

The strength of this book is the way that Diana created interesting and multi-dimensional characters. It’s very much a book where I could empathise with characters and a minute later want to roll my eyes at them. Along the way, you’ll meet scarecrows, royalty and even a few transforming humans!

An enjoyable book for children, teenagers and adults alike. Probably one of my favourite middle grade books in recent years.

Enjoyed this review of Howl’s Moving Castle?

Check out some of my others here.

What would you like to add? Comment below. Cancel reply

Discover more from hookable books.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Commenting Policy
Advanced Search

Dear Author

Romance, Historical, Contemporary, Paranormal, Young Adult, Book reviews, industry news, and commentary from a reader's point of view

REVIEW: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Dear Readers,

Since beloved children’s book author Diana Wynne Jones passed away a few years ago, this review is addressed to you.

The protagonist of Howl’s Moving Castle is seventeen year old Sophie Hatter, the oldest of three girls raised by a couple who owns a hat shop in the town of Market Chipping, Ingrary. For Sophie, being born oldest of three is the beginning of her troubles.

You see, as everyone in the land of Ingary knows, the role of successful fortune-seeker is reserved for youngest children. Oldests are merely the ones who fail first. And Sophie, as the narrator tells us, isn’t even the child of a poor woodcutter, so she feels she has no chance of success at all.

Mr. Hatter, Sophie’s father, dies early in the novel, leaving behind considerable debts. Fanny, Sophie’s stepmother, decides to place her beautiful middle daughter Lettie as an apprentice in a bake shop, and her youngest, Martha—the one most likely to find her fortune should she seek it—with a friend who happens to be a witch, so that Martha can learn some magic. Sophie will remain in the hat shop, since she is skilled at sewing.

Hat-making bores Sophie, but she is good at it. The longer she stays at the shop and house, the harder it becomes for her to leave. One day she forces herself to do so and goes to visit Lettie at the bakery. Only Lettie turns out to be Martha. Martha and Lettie, it seems, switched places in order to do the things they are most interested in doing.

Martha warns Sophie that Fanny is working her to the bone and tells Sophie she deserves a wage. But Sophie isn’t very assertive, and when she returns home she doesn’t pursue this strongly enough. Sophie worries that she’ll be stuck in the hat shop for the rest of her life, but fate has something different in store for her.

One day, the Witch of the Waste stops at the hat shop in order to sneer at the hats on display. Even the ones Sophie suggests she try on meet with contempt. When Sophie stands up to the witch, the witch casts a spell on Sophie which turns her into an elderly woman.

Fearful that no one, not even her loved ones, will recognize her, Sophie leaves home at last, intending to find a way to undo the spell. As she wanders on a hillside, Sophie acquires a walking stick and performs a kind deed for a scarecrow.

Sophie doesn’t even realize that she has somehow talked her stick into magical wand-like properties, but when she stumbles across Wizard Howl’s moving castle while in need of shelter from the cold night, she and her stick manage to briefly bring the castle to a halt.

Wizard Howl, an enemy of the Witch of the Waste reputed to suck out young girl’s souls or eat their hearts, lives in the moving castle, but he isn’t present when Sophie arrives. Instead, Sophie meets Michael, his young apprentice, and Calcifer, a fire demon who resides in the castle hearth and operates the castle’s movements.

That night, while everyone else is sleeping, Calcifer and Sophie make a pact. If Sophie will find a way to break the contract that ties Calcifer to Wizard Howl, Calcifer will find a way to undo the witch’s spell and restore Sophie to her actual age.

Michael and Calcifer allow Sophie to stay put, and when Howl finally arrives, he does too. Sophie makes herself useful by cleaning the castle and putting it in order—much to the chagrin of the castle’s other residents.

Howl, Sophie discovers, is younger and more charming than she expected, and not the menace she supposed him to be. He doesn’t suck out young girl’s souls or eat their hearts—but he does break their hearts much too frequently and too easily for Sophie’s liking.

Will Howl break Sophie’s heart too? Will Sophie break the contract between Howl and Calcifer? Will Sophie destroy Howl by sweeping away the spiders that occupy his bedroom? Or will the Witch of the Waste get to Howl first? And where do Sophie’s sisters and stepmom fit in?

Howl’s Moving Castle is a difficult book to classify. Clearly it is not written for adults, and its content is relatively innocent and to my mind suitable for tweens. Sophie may be seventeen years old, but this doesn’t read like a book for kids in that age group.

Moreover, while I typically think of YA novels as having a young protagonist whose viewpoint is integral to the novel, I didn’t feel I got this here. Sophie was only technically seventeen. It wasn’t just her appearance but also her personality which was altered when the Witch of the Waste turned her into a woman in her seventies, so what we actually have here is a kids’ books written in omniscient voice which is infused with a senior citizen’s POV.

Nor is there a coming of age element in the story for Sophie or for any other character. That doesn’t make it a bad book by any stretch, but it does make it something different than what I expected.

There’s a lot of humor and cleverness to Howl’s Moving Castle , as my plot summary hopefully illustrates. I enjoyed the fairy tale elements which were given nifty little twists here. I liked that Sophie had her own magical power and that she eventually learned how to use it.

The worldbuilding feels simple and almost basic; the world mostly takes its inspiration from England, but it is entirely consistent and magic doesn’t come to the rescue for the characters—they have to figure out how to make it work for them, something I appreciated.

There is also a great deal of charm to the narration. For example:

Percival meekly did as she said. He was no fun at all to bully. Sophie suspected that was why Howl had sent him with her. She snorted, and took her anger out on the weeds. Whatever the stuff was that had killed the daffodils, it was strong. The weeds in the drive died as soon as it touched them. So did the grass at the sides of the drive, until Sophie calmed down a little. The evening calmed her. The fresh air was blowing off the distant hills, and clumps of trees planted at the sides of the drive rustled majestically in it. Sophie weed-killed her way down a quarter of the drive.

Still, I didn’t feel as much emotional investment in the narrative as I wanted to feel. Perhaps it was that I was never convinced the Witch of the Waste was a true danger to Howl or Sophie. Perhaps it was that Howl was so collected most of the time (even his tantrums seemed partly deliberate, a show for others) that his cucumber-coolness failed to persuade me that he was actually afraid.

Or maybe it was that the romantic elements were so muted for most of the book. With Sophie in her seventies and Howl pursuing young women left and right, I didn’t feel that there was that kind of spark between them until pretty late in the story. A romantic angle can really help to engage me but here it was only partially successful in doing so.

I also tend to prefer YA novels aimed at an older audience than this one was. I know this is a much loved and highly regarded book, but for me, Howl’s Moving Castle rates a B-.

Amazon BN Sony Kobo ARE Book Depository Google

Janine Ballard loves well-paced, character-driven novels in romance, fantasy, YA, and the occasional outlier genre. Examples include novels by Ilona Andrews, Mary Balogh, Aster Glenn Gray, Helen Hoang, Piper Huguley, Lisa Kleypas, Jeannie Lin, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Naomi Novik, Nalini Singh, and Megan Whalen Turner. Janine also writes fiction. Her critique partners are Sherry Thomas and Meredith Duran. Her erotic short story, “Kiss of Life,” appears in the Berkley anthology AGONY/ECSTASY under the pen name Lily Daniels. You can email Janine at janineballard at gmail dot com or find her on Twitter @janine_ballard.

I adore this book! I see this more as a children’s fantasy book- maybe for kids age 8 or so, and it has to be seen through that lens.

(Mind you, I read it for the first time when I was 24, not exactly a child.)

I read this when I was younger and liked it but I have to admit– the movie is better.

Hate to admit it, but I haven’t read this one – although DWJ’s ‘Fire and Hemlock’ is one of my all time favourite books, and I also love her ‘Hexwood’.

I read this for the first time this summer, and I had a similar kind of meh reaction – I wanted to like it more than I did, although I thought it was clever and fun. I feel like I was too old to read it for the first time – there are some books where I feel like it helps to discover them relatively young to properly bond with them – somehow being in my 40s didn’t work for this one. Part of it was the pacing – I was a more patient reader in my youth – but holy cow did this drag for me.

I read and loved other DWJs in my 20s, including the completely crazy-sauce A Sudden Wild Magic. I haven’t re-read any of them recently, so I don’t know what I’d think of her pacing in those now. I’m kind of afraid to re-read ASWM – I have such happy memories of being completely captivated by it and I’m not sure it will hold up.

Oh I love love love this book (and pretty much everything written by DWJ)!. I love this book so much that I’m actually a bit sad that you didn’t love it as much as I do :-)

I wonder if you were trying to hard to classify it? I don’t think when DWJ wrote it she thought of it as a YA or romance or any category, it was just a story that she wanted to tell. I read it when I was very young but even re-reading it now, I would be surprised that you thought of it as a YA novel – Fire and Hemlock would be more for the YA age range.

I did find it emotionally involving as I think there is quite a strong theme of loneliness and the outsider running through the book, especially the section where Howl went back to Wales and you can see how he doesn’t fit in there but really loved and missed his family. He can never go home. This reminds me of DWJ’s Homeward Bounders which has one of the saddest endings I’ve ever read.

And I have to say, I did have some tears when Sophy and Howl got together.

I’m afraid I have to disagree with regards to the film, I thought it was terrible! It wasn’t true to the book at all and lost all the gentle sarcastic humour, Sophy was pretty snarky in the book and I just found her wet in the film.

I have to agree that this book is pretty much sui generis — neither romance nor fantasy nor YA nor children’s nor adult — even the sequels (sortof), charming as they are, just aren’t the same sort of thing.

I have a tough time imagining anyone *hating* this book, but it truly is a book that people either say “Huh, cute” or “OMG I LOVE YOU BOOK WE ARE SOULMATES LET ME HAVE YOUR BOOKBABIES”; as you may be able to guess, I’m one of the latter.

(Actually, I *have* tried to have bookbabies with HOWL — the resulting stories just never mentioned up to the charm, the warmth, and [as Q perceptively notes] the sadness and loneliness and not-fitting-in-ness at the heart of the story)

Oh God, The Homeward Bounders. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. It’s in the running of being my favourite DWJ book, along with Fire And Hemlock and Hexwood.

I haven’t read all of DWJ books but I have read a fair bit, most of them as an older teen or adult. There really is a huge variety in the ages the books seem to be written for, some are obviously more for younger children, even though she never did safe and cosy. Som would get classified as YA these days, Fire and Hemlock being the obvious example. A few of her books were marketed for adults but none of those were ever as good as her childrens lit, IMO. She’s one of the cleverest writers I can think of, managing to fool (in a good way) her readers time and time again in the space of a short novel. And I never did quite understand what happened in the end of Fire and Hemlock, loved it more with each reread, but that ending is way too smart for me.

I read Howl’s Moving Castle in my early teens and I liked it a lot. Hated the movie, though I suppose that might be because I expected it to be a faithful retelling. The sequels were okay as far as I’m concerned but they didn’t quite match with the original.

I don’t think Sophie’s personality changes with the spell. I think Sophie feels free to behave in a different way because she appears to be an old woman and she is freed from the expectations and strictures that apply to younger women.

I love both the book and the movie. The audioversionis also good. This is an A read for me.

I didn’t love HMC the first time I read it either. I was about twelve or thirteen, and I’d read the sequel first (don’t even bother — it’s embarrassingly dated and more than a little racist) so I came in with some weird expectations about the setting. But something about Sophie got under my skin — not to mention the weirdness of encountering that Donne poem for the first time — and I started rereading it every year. For a kid who liked weird things/grownup things/ancient things and hated having to play nice all the time, Sophie was tailor-made for my affections.

At this point, it’s one of those books you’ll have to pry from my cold, clutching fingers when the darkness finally comes down over my eyes. The movie is … okay, but not the same kind of story.

(Is now embarrassed because leaving an em tag open is like the internet version of when your slip is showing.)

Oh, I love this book. I’m sorry it didn’t work as well for you, Janine. I didn’t read it until after I had seen the movie, which blew me away. The book was different but equally good. I can see how reading the book first can make the movie less appealing, but I just feel fortunate that I have two great ways to experience the story.

Perhaps because I found the Witch of the Waste quite impressive in the film, I didn’t find her less intimidating in the book. And I agree with Andrea K that Sophie doesn’t change as a person. That for me was one of the important aspects.

I discovered this book as an adult (after I started teaching children’s lit, I think, but I’m not sure; I think I found it on an “If You Like Harry Potter” list at the library). It would be in the running for the 5 books I would take to a desert island. But I guess we can still be friends. ;)

It’s interesting that you don’t see coming-of-age arcs for the characters, because for me this book is very much about both Sophie and Howl learning to be grown-ups: Sophie discovers her powers (of many kinds); Howl has to stop being a slitherer-outer. Most of DWJ’s books that I’ve read feature neglectful and self-interested parents, like Fanny in this book (though she’s treated fairly sympathetically). Her child characters have to scramble themselves into adulthood without much help; many of them live in/create their own worlds, at least to some extent, and this is how I see Howl’s castle. For me her exploration of their loneliness, bewilderment, and gradual maturing and empowerment is both moving and intellectually interesting. (And if you read the autobiographical essay on her website, you’ll get a sense of part of where these thematic preoccupations come from).

There’s a posthumous book of DWJ’s essays that was published, and the introduction is written by Neil Gaiman. One of the things he says is that DWJ was never as popular as she should have been because she totally ignored literary trends. I would definitely include categorization like YA/children’s lit in with that. She’s one of my favorite authors, I’ve looked for her book in many a library, and they can be found anywhere from picture books to adult fiction! I love all of DWJ’s books (as you might have gathered . . . ) but I can definitely understand coming to them too late or at the wrong phase of your life. Not DWJ, but I didn’t read Ender’s Game until I was 21, and I sorely wish I’d read it sooner. Still, some of her books have so much depth and nuance (Homeward Bounders, Hexwood argh argh argh, that book still makes me cry!). They’re worth reading at any age, really. It’s interesting–she was taught at university by both CS Lewis and Tolkien, and you can see some parallels in the intellectual intricacies of her plot lines.

Ah! Howl’s Moving Castle is still one of my favorite books, even twenty-five years after first picking it up! Still, I love Homeward Bounders best and even have a library copy I paid way too much for at a book sale a few years ago.

I love Sophie’s character because she takes her outward appearance as license to behave as she wants. She no longer worries that she’ll be socially unacceptable because in her mind old ladies can do and say what they want without fear of reprisal. The true thread that runs through the book will be ‘to your own self stay true.’ This is the defining mantra and if you think about it, a lot of the misadventures that the characters go through is because they’re not being true to themselves.

Sophie’s the exception. The really wonderful exception, but even she has to accept herself in order to find her own HEA. It’s going on that journey with her that gives the book such depths. (you should also try Archer’s Goon which always blows my mind now that I’m older and can catch a lot more of the nuances!)

There are so many comments to reply to today that I’m going to try something a little different today. First, Q , I am sorry I saddened you. I knew as I was writing the review that it would let some readers down and I felt bad about that, but I can only write reviews from my personal reactions. I wonder if cleo is right that I haven’t done myself a favor by waiting until my forties to pick up this book (my first DWJ, too) for the first time.

I also think that the fact that one of my favorite YA authors, Megan Whalen Turner, is a DWJ fan and was influenced by DWJ, may have led me to expect more than I should have. Oh well.

And yeah, hapax , I am one of those “eh, cute” people. I sort of picked up on the sadness that you and Q mention, but I felt that Howl had rejected his family as much as they rejected him, by spending so much time in Ingrary rather than Wales. Megan was a horrible harpy, it was true, but the children, being children, were a different story in my eyes.

I also wasn’t sure if the youngest child in Wales (named Mari, I believe) was How’s niece or his daughter. Something about the way Megan spoke to him about Mari made me wonder if he was Mari’s dad.

And while I know Howl watched over the kids from his bedroom window in the castle, he spent most of his waking hours in Ingrary, so I saw him in the light of an absentee father figure to those children. And so I felt he was guilty of abandoning at least as much as he had been cast out.

Sophie’s repeated comments about his slithering out, amusing as they were, didn’t help with that.

I had more sympathy for Sophie, but she was so critical and judgmental of Howl for much of the book that I didn’t connect with her much either. I connected with the secondary characters like Martha and Michael more than with the primary ones.

As for Sophie’s personality, Andrea K and Sunita , perhaps it isn’t accurate to say that Sophie’s personality changed but what I meant is that the transformation changed not just Sophie’s physical body but also her POV.

Andrea, you say that Sophie felt liberated from the strictures placed on young women after her body changed, but I feel that most elderly people speak their minds much more bluntly than young people, and I’m pretty sure this isn’t only because they don’t face the same strictures, or even only because they have less time left in which to express themselves. Since this type of thing is a common characteristic of aging, I think it also has to do with some of the biological effects of aging on the brain.

So what I meant when I said that Sophie’s POV changed was that her mind seemed to have aged and not just her body, and ergo, there isn’t really a young person’s internal POV in the book except in the very beginning. And I really do expect a young person’s POV from a YA or children’s novel.

(I found Mary ‘s comment on DWJ’s lack of interest in positioning herself within the market interesting and enlightening with regard to that).

Tasha , it is also interesting to me that you say about Sophie that “She no longer worries that she’ll be socially unacceptable because in her mind old ladies can do and say what they want without fear of reprisal.”

Where you saw it as Sophie deciding how to behave based on her idea of an elderly woman, I saw DWJ writing Sophie as an elderly woman, for the most part. I didn’t think Sophie was acting based on an idea of what elderly people were like, but rather that the witch’s curse had changed Sophie’s behavior not so much by choice, by turning not only her body but also her mind into that of an older person.

Re. seeing the movie first, Sunita , I know what you mean, because I saw the movie of a Merchant Ivory film of A Room with a View before I read the book and I will forever picture the characters from E.M. Forster’s novel much like the actors from the movie because of it.

But the Witch of the Waste really didn’t scare me much in the book, and Howl seemed more afraid of growing up than of fighting with her.

Which brings me to Liz Mc2 ‘s point that there was a coming of age element.

Yes, put that way I see it is there but when I think of coming of age I don’t think of simply taking responsibility that you have long avoided but also of crossing the threshold from childhood to adulthood via a process of disillusionment / loss of innocence. And that is what was missing for me here.

That said, I did appreciate Sophie’s discovery of her powers. Howl’s storyline of stopping the slithering out was cute but less meaningful to me because wasn’t he described as being in his twenties? And I wondered for part of the story if he was Mari’s deadbeat dad, so I didn’t have that much patience with his overgrown and occasionally tantrum-throwing child behavior when he was really a powerful adult. Esp. as from Sophie’s POV he was also pursuing one of her sisters for the conquest and little more.

Mary , I find your comment re. CS Lewis and Tolkien fascinating not just in regard to the world-building but also in light of Olivia Waite (@O_Waite) ‘s comment that the sequel to HMC is “embarrassingly dated and more than a little racist.”

I don’t know why it is that I can read and enjoy a lot of European historical romances with nary a person of color in them, problematic as they are, but when I encounter a fantasy genre novel in which the world seems clearly based on England and all the characters are white, as is the case with this book, it bothers me more. There’s surely a double standard there.

But for whatever reason — maybe because in today’s YA novels, there are usually at least some secondary POC characters– I did ask myself as I was writing the review of Howl’s Moving Castle whether there was something slightly racist about the book beyond the above. In the end though, I couldn’t put my finger on anything more.

I’m more conscious of sexism and racism when reading Tolkien and CS Lewis though, which is why I find the comment about DWJ studying with them interesting.

Tasha , “to thine own self be true” is one of my most favorite themes in literature so I really don’t know why it didn’t resonate with me more here.

I probably sound harsher on the book than I really am. It had its share of charm and I enjoyed it even without loving it.

I am one of those readers who just can’t be objective about Howl’s Moving Castle. For me, it’s an A+ and often my favorite book just ever. I first read it when I was 13 years old and at this point I basically can’t read it anymore because it’s burned in my brain.

I always saw it as more of a coming-into-confidence than a coming-to-age story. Sophie starts out as a young girl who is stuck in a rut. She’s bland, meek old Sophie, stuck in the hatter’s shop and destined to lead a boring dreary life. Until she gets turned into an old woman. Then she suddenly has the freedom to kick animated scarecrows, tussle with fire demons, scold wizards for throwing temper tantrums, and express her feelings with weedkiller and damn the consequences because it’s not like she has anyone to answer to any more. Society doesn’t care what a cranky old lady gets up to. She can be bossy and fussy and damn anyone who doesn’t like it.

I will always love Howl’s Moving Castle. And man oh man did I hate that movie. I love Miyazaki but he made a movie that was only loosely based on the source material.

It never ever occurred to me that Howl was any of the children’s father. I certainly won’t tell somebody else that they read a book “wrong”, but I honestly can’t see where that comes from — especially considering that he is only in his mid-twenties or so. Besides, I’m pretty sure that he *couldn’t* commit to a relationship even so far as fathering a child; his “curse” wouldn’t allow him to be interested in a woman who was interested in him — or at least that’s how I always read it (not that DWJ ever went into biological details)

And it isn’t just Howl who is sad and lonely, and feels like he doesn’t fit in — that’s pretty much a consistent trait of all the characters, even the most minor ones, even the “villains” (who weren’t even all that villainous; the Witch wasn’t supposed to be “scary”, just selfish and spiteful and ultimately pathetic). Which is what I loved about the ending; it wasn’t about Sophie and Howl’s romance, but about all the denizens of the castle, and their family and friends, forming a “found family”. (Acck! Two many “ffff”‘s!)

But it’s a fool’s errand to try to talk someone INTO love, even worse than trying to talk them out of it. :-)

I did love the movie, BTW. I just think of it as a beautiful Ghibli film that — by wild coincidence — shares the title and character names with one of my favorite books.

I loved Howl’s Moving Castle — which I just read for the first time last year — but Diana Wynne Jones’s books are really hit or miss for me. Some I love, some just strike me as too clever for their own good. She writes children’s books the way many beloved British authors do, without writing down or giving up an inch of complexity. Susan Cooper and Alan Garner also ride that line with me: they veer between brilliant and opaque.

I love the twist that Sophie becomes a young old woman — I can’t remember another book that uses that plot. A body-switching book, maybe? As someone who has had conversations with teens about the elderly, I love to see that sort of empathy in a book. But I also just love the whole magical story, complicated and messy though it is. So much fun.

I did think Howl was a bratty, bratty, brat until very late in the book. An artifact of reading it in my forties, I guess.

And I didn’t care for the movie, though I was really excited to watch it and couldn’t tell you what it was I didn’t like about it.

It never ever occurred to me that Howl was any of the children’s father. I certainly won’t tell somebody else that they read a book “wrong”, but I honestly can’t see where that comes from — especially considering that he is only in his mid-twenties or so. Besides, I’m pretty sure that he *couldn’t* commit to a relationship even so far as fathering a child; his “curse” wouldn’t allow him to be interested in a woman who was interested in him — or at least that’s how I always read it (not that DWJ ever went into biological details)

Well, I didn’t say that I believed this for the entire length of the book but I did speculate about it quite seriously for some time. Surely I’m not the only one who comes up with theories about what the surprises down the road may be when I read?

I frequently speculate when reading books, about what will be revealed later on, and I thought this was a possibility because Mari was described as “a small girl” (so I thought maybe three years old or so, which was certainly young enough that she could have been his), and recall, at this point in the story he was portrayed as a flirt/womanizing type and we hadn’t yet heard the details of the curse.

Also, even after it was revealed, it wasn’t clear how to me exactly how long the curse had been in effect, and Mari seemed closer to Howl than the other kids, and she also later proved to be the child the witch chose to threaten when she wanted to get at Howl. Plus it would have fit with Megan’s dissatisfaction with Howl vis-a-vis the kids –I can’t recall if Megan said that Howl was a bad example to the children or that he neglected them but something of that nature was said by Megan, and it fueled my speculations.

Reading this review reminds me of how I felt while reading The Secret Country by Pamela Dean. It’s another book with legions of loving adult fans and I had an odd, sort of out of body experience while reading it, in that I could see exactly how myself at 8 or 12 or 16 or even 20 would have been entranced, and yet at thirtysomething, I just wasn’t. Even though, technically, still a good book. I know I won’t want to reread it but I still put it aside for small relatives. In contrast, they will not be getting my DWJ’s – I’ll buy them copies of their own. I do think there is something to the idea that there is a window of time for these quasi-timeless books – they need to wind themselves into the limnal spaces of the mind while the reader is still receptive, and then, ever after they echo in the back brain and resonate for the returning reader, in a manner that gives them more meaning than the plain words on the page.

I loved this book when I read it about 14 or so, and tried desperately to find others- all I found initially were a tale of time city and fire and hemlock. I still regularly reread fire and hemlock and hex wood ( which was published later) but I haven’t reread howls in years. The movie made me sad, it’s a good movie but it pushes the theme of growing into yourself and taking responsibility aside for a more anti war message. I do love “deep secret” her other book ( a sudden wild magic is the first) aimed at the adult market. When I read both a house of many ways and Enchanted glass( her last two, or at least later works) at how much detail didnt seem to be there, or maybe I put so much of myself when I read the books when I was younger that I can’t do now. Which may be why her books work better if read younger?

Janine – no worries, we can’t all like the same things. I hated the animated film “The Illusionist” for example, everyone else seemed to find it charming whereas I found it incredibly sexist.

There are several points in the comments that I would like to respond/add to:

Racism – I don’t think the book is racist at all. Howl is set in the type of England in the same way that all old fashioned fairy tales are, it’s not meant to be today’s England. I am surprised that people would expect to see different ethnicities in it. In addition, even in today’s England, outside of the big cities, there are very few people who are not white (certainly in comparison to America). I worked in York for a year and didn’t see a single black person, and the only people of other ethinicities were tourists. I always felt that Ingary was based on the Cotswolds or Oxfordshire which are very white. I don’t think non-white characters should just be shoehorned into a story and I identified perfectly well with with Sophie even though I’m not white. There are commonalities to all of us that transcend on colour and to be focusing on whether there are non-white characters in a book I find a bit demeaning.

The sequel (Castle in the Air) plays with 1001 Arabian nights tropes e.g. Djinns, flying carpets etc. Again I didn’t find the book racist, at least not anymore racist than any Disney film not set in the Anglo Saxon world.

World building – DWJ didn’t write epic fantasy, her worlds are basically our world but subverted or riffed upon. She does it in such a clever and elegant way that I’m often in awe e.g. in another favourite of mine The Power of Three

Growing into yourself/confidence – yes a lot of her books are on this theme. Surely this is as much a part of growing up as becoming disillusioned. I would argue it’s a more important part of growing up and a message that children need. Disillusionment will come without you trying because the world is like that, we need someone to show us hope and that it’s alright to be ourselves, to be confident and that we are loved. In both Howl and the Power of Three, some of the most moving parts for me were the realisation by the main protagonists that although they felt lonely, out of place and not good enough, this wasn’t the reality, that the people around them loved and appreciated them. I cried in Howl when Sophie realised that Fanny did love and worry about her. I found the bit where her family gathered around to be incredibly moving.

The curse changed Sophie’s behaviour initially but as time went on, she discovered that this was actually part of her personality, and she grew into it and became comfortable with it. Does it matter whether it was a curse (this is a fantasy after all) or something else that was the catalyst? The point is she grew and accepted her strength and outspokeness and stopped being a self-pitying martyr which she was at the beginning of the book.

I haven’t read any YA of the current wave so I’m making a huge assumption that a lot of the “growth” in these books are around the characters realising that they are not centres of the universe and need to start thinking of other people and the world around them? DWJ tends to do the opposite, her characters are often sidelined at the beginning but grow and learn that there is a place for them in the world.

Howl – like others I’m surprised Janine thought he might have been the father of Mari, I didn’t get that at all from the book. I thought the Witch of the West took Mari because she was the youngest and therefore the most vulnerable. Also she seemed closer to him because I assumed that the nephew was going through the awkward teenager phase and so wasn’t going to act particularly close to anyone. I also assumed that Megan’s anger was at her perception of Howl’s neglect of them as a whole family. Maybe because I’m from an Asian background, I never think of the family as just parents and children but the whole extended family as well so this made sense to me.

Howl was meant to be bratty and I’m surprised at how lovable I found such a flawed person nevertheless.

DWJ did a lot of that kind of slight of hand writing in her books with both characters and plots, setting you up with one expectation and then completely subverting it. Sometimes, I come to the end of one of her books and just think ‘how did she do that? Pull so many strands that are so disparate, seems to be going no where, should even be in the same book together in to one whole, logical, satisfying conclusion?

The Witch – as others have commented, she wasn’t meant to be the big evil in this book. She was quite a pathetic character. For me the main tension and scariness in the book came from Howl’s danger of losing his and Calcifer’s soul.

General – I love that DWJ never wrote down to children whether on an emotional or intellectual level, she always assumed in her books that you were clever enough to figure it out. She wrote children incredibly well and realistically, she understood that children can be just as flawed and nasty. Witch Week is a fantastic book and incredibly funny but also slightly traumatic for me when I first read it as the bullying in there was so realistic. The whole atmosphere and whole children spoke to each other was just like my old school.

Thank you for your comment. I think you make a great point with what you say below:

I do think there is something to the idea that there is a window of time for these quasi-timeless books – they need to wind themselves into the limnal spaces of the mind while the reader is still receptive, and then, ever after they echo in the back brain and resonate for the returning reader, in a manner that gives them more meaning than the plain words on the page.

In addition, even in today’s England, outside of the big cities, there are very few people who are not white (certainly in comparison to America). I worked in York for a year and didn’t see a single black person, and the only people of other ethinicities were tourists. I always felt that Ingary was based on the Cotswolds or Oxfordshire which are very white. I don’t think non-white characters should just be shoehorned into a story and I identified perfectly well with with Sophie even though I’m not white. There are commonalities to all of us that transcend on colour and to be focusing on whether there are non-white characters in a book I find a bit demeaning.

Well, there has been quite a bit of focus on that same issue of all-white characters within the romance blogosphere, in the context of reading romances (including many set in early 19th century England), and I don’t think any romance fan wants to demean the genre, so I really can’t see how bringing up the issue is demeaning.

Since an all white cast is not something I point out habitually in book reviews, I probably would not have brought it up with regard to this book had Olivia Waite (@O_Waite) not mentioned racism in the sequel in her own comment (having not read the sequel I really can’t say what the stereotypes there are in the sequel; maybe Olivia will weigh in), but it was still on my mind while reading.

Your point about how white parts of England are is heard, but I still feel there is an issue here because a choice to set a novel in a place based on an all-white locale, and people it with all white characters, is still a choice, and it is one that creates an experience for young non-white readers in which they can’t find anyone of their ethnicity reflected at them in the pages of the book. And that’s an industry-wide problem that frustrates many.

The sequel (Castle in the Air) plays with 1001 Arabian nights tropes e.g. Djinns, flying carpets etc. Again I didn’t find the book racist, at least not anymore racist than any Disney film not set in the Anglo Saxon world.

But Disney animated films, including Aladdin , are regularly called out for their racism. Take a look at this post on Cracked or use a search engine to find more examples.

I haven’t read any YA of the current wave so I’m making a huge assumption that a lot of the “growth” in these books are around the characters realising that they are not centres of the universe and need to start thinking of other people and the world around them?

That is a false assumption. Today’s YA fantasy novels (the ones I’ve read, anyway) are also about coming into your power, or finding that you have a place in the world or a role to play. If you would like to read some excellent YA fantasy to see what I mean, I recommend Kristin Cashore’s series beginning with Graceling (my favorite of the series is Bitterblue , the third book) Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight (in that order) by Laini Taylor and Megan Whalen Turner’s series beginning with The Thief (skip ahead to The Queen of Attolia , where the coming of age element comes in, if you can’t get into the first book like some of my friends). All these are brilliant IMO.

I first read this book in my 30s and it’s now one of my favorite books. I love fairytale retellings, and this book reads to me like kind of a meta fairytale. I thought the curse turned Sophie into a reflection of her inner self, old and hide bound. She was scared of change and felt constrained to continue in her rut. The curse made her fear and her rut irrelevant. She left because she didn’t want anyone to know her as old Sophie and once no one knew who she was she started acting however she liked. She’d always had a suppressed rebelliousness, the things she said to the hats and the way she told off the witch.

I hated the movie as soon as it spoiled the fact that the young man in town was Howl. The movie is gorgeous but it’s not the book, and I resent it for that! I did really like the audio version of the book though.

Janine – I didn’t explain myself well. I object to shoehorning a non-white character into a story for PC purposes, and as a young non-white reader (and now older reader) I found/find that demeaning and it’s tokenism. DWJ didn’t feel that this story and this setting needed non-white characters and that’s fine with me. DWJ did actually write non-white characters in her other books, and they play big parts in the books in a very natural way. They were shown in a very as normal children, their ethnicity wasn’t made a big deal of and they played big parts in the story which I really appreciated. If you are interested the books are Homeward Bounders (South Asian characters – or their equivalent as they are from a different world) Tale of Time City (Chinese) and Witch Week (Indian).

Yes, I knew I was making a big assumption regarding current YA books. The reason why I wrote it was your comment about disillusionment which made me think that they were disappointed with the world which isn’t as accommodating to them as they thought. DWJ’s characters tend to start off being disillusioned and disappointed and then discover that the world is a lot more manageable and warmer than they thought. As someone who can make herself throughly depressed without any help from others, I find this journey very uplifting.

I know Disney films have been called out for their stereotyping but my point was that if I get upset every time my race is stereotyped in popular culture I wouldn’t leave the house. I don’t think a writer can avoid stereotypes when they are writing about a culture not their own for an audience which isn’t of that other culture. You have to use certain tropes and stereotypes so that your audience can recognise what you are writing.

I’m careful to use “stereotype” here rather than racism which I see as strongly negative stereotypes. On the whole Disney and certainly DWJ did not use negative stereotypes. The musical Thoroughly Modern Millie is horrifically racist which shocked and traumatised me when I accidentally caught it on TV as child. I was hopping mad that it was revived recently in this supposedly enlightened age. Even more shockingly, non of the mainstream media here in the UK seemed to comment on it.

Thank you for the recommendations!

@ Q : I see what you meant now but I never meant to suggest “shoehorning” a character as a solution, though I do appreciate it when books (esp. those aimed at kids) are inclusive. It is true that all books are problematic (because all writers are flawed), though some are more so than others. I’ve certainly seen and read far worse than this book.

Yes, I knew I was making a big assumption regarding current YA books. The reason why I wrote it was your comment about disillusionment which made me think that they were disappointed with the world which isn’t as accommodating to them as they thought.

No, it’s usually more about someone they loved, trusted or looked up to has failed them or let them down.

For example in Cashore’s books the heroine can be the child of a tyrant who tormented others she cares about, but she is too sheltered to realize it (or realize the extent of it) at first. Or a parental figure can be using her to hurt innocent people, but she doesn’t know that at first.

In Seraphina the heroine is the ultimate outsider, a product of two different species that hate and distrust each other and she has to hide half her heritage and identity. The loss of innocence moment takes place in a flashback, when she realizes a beloved uncle is not human and that she is something other than just human.

In the Taylor series there is a series of disillusionments, beginning when the heroine is cut off from her family, which leads her to realize the reason her family has required her to be secretive is that they were in grave danger. Two of the central questions are what were they hiding from her and whether she can ever be reunited with them again.

In the Turner series the coming of age comes in early in book two (book one reads more like MG than YA to me), when the hero’s right hand is cut off. He has to learn to cope with his new disability, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally, as well as cope with his feelings about the people who cut off his hand.

In all these books, just as in HMC, the characters come into their own powers, learn more about who they are, find they have a role to play or form a community that cares about them. That is their ultimate journey, but the journey begins with a moment of disillusionment.

I suppose it could be said that there is a bit of this early on in HMC too, when Sophie comes to wonder if Fanny is using her. But since Sophie never really seems hurt or devastated by newfound knowledge about Fanny, it didn’t feel the same to me.

You’re welcome! I hope you try some of them; they are some of the best books I’ve read in recent years.

@ MaryK : I can see why you and others love the book when you describe the curse as “a reflection of her inner self, old and hidebound.” I wish I had had the insight to view it that way while reading it, as maybe it would have changed my reaction. Maybe if we’d spent more time with the younger Sophie before the curse had come about? I wanted a stronger sense of who she was.

For me young Sophie and old Sophie weren’t entirely the same character, so I also think I needed to be shown more of their commonalities in both states/ages. There was more emphasis on the differences between them, or at least, that’s how it read to me.

Just looking at the grade… B-? Seriously? That’s one of the most delightful YA books I’ve read.

@ Natalie : I understand that many, possibly even most, readers of this book love it a lot more than I did. But a reviewer can only grade based on her reading experience, and mine was mildly enjoyable.

Well, if you expect more romance, then yes, it would be disappointment. Also “Nor is there a coming of age element in the story for Sophie or for any other character. That doesn’t make it a bad book by any stretch, but it does make it something different than what I expected.”

Really? I thought both Sophie and Howl changed quite a bit (particularly Howl who became more responsible). I’m not a big fan of light and funny books but I still loved this one.

@ Persnickety : A Tale of Time City is fantastic, many years and re-reads later. My mouth still waters at the thought of ordering a butter-pie. :)

Re: the racism in Castle in the Air , I haven’t read it in quite some time but it’s got Orientalist fingerprints all over it.

I adore this book! I am seventeen and honestly I really liked it, altought you thought its public might be younger. Anyway, I think it analyses human nature in a pretty clever way! Firstly, the part of the Witch of the Waste left something for us to think about! Making pacts with demons so we can live young forever and to have a perfect body is actually a scary thing that says a lot about the human being, also letting this dominate you. I mean, we can really take some lessons from this, it reminds me a lot our actual society. And maybe it is over seeing things, but i just really wanted to show that it can bring up serious reflections. Sophie and Howl also are a study of human nature and you can see their development: sophie, a girl who is scared of her own shadow and is insecure as hell and don’t think she could ever do anything good enough, has to face life, her fears and other people! Howl, a coward boy that can’t really face anything also and doesn’t have any respect for anyone also changes and become a better person. And we can go on and on discussing various parts of the book and others characters, but honestly, it is not a foolish novel, we can reflex a lot from it. And of course you got disappointed if you were waiting a love story, it is more an adventurous story that brings a subjective reflexion of life itself, more than that, of our life and of what we want to do with it. Anyway, I was a bit sad that you didn’t like it that much, but I guess it’s life, right? I want now to apologize for my english, it’s not my first language so you might find some mistakes and some bad written parts! I look forward to see more reviews of you! I really like them!

FTC Disclaimer

We do not purchase all the books we review here. Some we receive from the authors, some we receive from the publisher, and some we receive through a third party service like Net Galley . Some books we purchase ourselves. Login

Discover more from Dear Author

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a children’s fantasy novel, written in 1986. In 2006 the novel won the Phoenix Award, an award which recognizes an English-language children's book published 20 years earlier that did not then win a major literary award.

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl - and herself - than first meets the eye.

Many will likely already know Howl’s Moving Castle thanks to the fabulous animated film adaptation by Studio Ghibli; but readers are often pleasantly surprised to discover that the film is based on a book.

Howl’s Moving Castles is a magical, charming and heart-warming fantasy imbued with a wonderful blend of humour and romance. At times laugh-out-loud funny, always delightful and subtle, this is fantasy with a great heart.

This is a novel you will likely fall in love with. It has incredible characters, a superb plot, all set within an original, imaginative and well-realised world. Like all the great children’s fantasy books, it is suitable for readers of all ages, not just children.

There is very little negative to say about this novel, perhaps it is a little over-complicated and slow in places, and arguably there are passages where nothing much happens. Some readers may find the titular Howl, who is a very dramatic character, possibly overly-dramatic.

Howl’s Moving Castle is an endearing, amusing fantasy novel ideal for children that can be enjoyed by readers of any age. Highly recommended.

Diana Wynne Jones began writing fantasy novels for children in the 1970s. She won the Guardian Award in 1977 with Charmed Life, was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981 and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. She passed away in 2011.

9/10 An endearing, amusing fantasy novel ideal for children that can be enjoyed by readers of any age

Buy on Amazon

Review by Floresiensis

Diana Wynne Jones biography

9 /10 from 1 reviews

All Diana Wynne Jones Reviews

Deep Secret (Magids: Book 1)
The Merlin Conspiracy (Magids: Book 2)
A Tale of Time City
Howl's Moving Castle
A Sudden Wild Magic
The Chrestomanci Series (The Chrestomanci Series)
Charmed Life (The Chrestomanci Series: Book 1)
The Magicians of Caprona (The Chrestomanci Series: Book 2)
Witch Week (The Chrestomanci Series: Book 3)
The Lives of Christopher Chant (The Chrestomanci Series: Book 4)
Mixed Magics (The Chrestomanci Series: Book 5)
Conrad's Fate (The Chrestomanci Series: Book 6)
The Pinhoe Egg (The Chrestomanci Series: Book 7)

Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time

Looking for great fantasy books? Take a look at the 100 pages we rate highest

Fantasy Series We Recommend

There's nothing better than finding a fantasy series you can lose yourself in

Fantasy Books Of The Year

Our fantasy books of the year, from 2006 to 2021

Eustea Reads

A life in books and tea, book review: howl’s moving castle by diana wynne jones.

Here’s another Wyrd & Wonder post! I wanted to join in the readalong but I didn’t get the book and when I got the book, I read it in one day because it was really fun. That I enjoyed the book was quite interesting too – I have distinct memories of DNF-ing the book the first time I read it years ago. Of course back then, I was still really into the Ghibli version of the movie and the fact that this book was slightly different was something that I wasn’t too fond of. But now that I’ve read and enjoyed DWJ’s other works, I came prepared to enjoy the book and I did!

If you’re not watched the movie, Howl’s Moving Castle is the story of Sophie Hatter. She works for her stepmother making hats, but one day, she encounters the Wicked Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman. Now emboldened, she sets up to seek her fortune and ends up at the magical but dirty castle of Howl, another notorious wizard renowned for eating girls’ hearts.

I was honestly quite surprised that the movie followed the book quite closely, given how different the Tales from Earthsea movie was from the books. While there are differences, I thought that the overall plot followed the movie rather closely.

Of course, I loved Sophie as a character. It’s interesting to see how freeing the curse of being an old woman is for her. At the start, Sophie is held back by tradition – she believes that as an eldest daughter, she’s doomed to fail if she seeks her fortune. Sophie seems to enjoy being cursed and acting like a bossy old woman; age becomes something liberating instead of confining, a pleasant change from the youth-focus of most fantasy novels. I also loved that Sophie’s sisters played a bigger role in the book; they are determined to go against the fairy tale tropes and I liked how that reinforced the unconventional-ness of Sophie being a heroine. Plus I love that they all care for one another!

Another thing I really enjoyed was how the book subverts expectations. Sophie and her sisters are probably the best examples of how atypical they are (their family dynamics are great, and I like how their relationship with their mother/stepmother turns out) but I was also surprised by where some of the doors in Howl’s castle led to. I won’t say much in case of spoilers but it reminded me of Charmed Life (also by DWJ).

This was honestly such a fun book and I see a lot of reread potential in it. There are some new revelations at the end that I think would cast a very different light on previous events and I would want to reread the book one day to see how my experience of the story would change.

I am actually quite happy that this is the first in a trilogy. The second book looks to be only tangentially connected from the synopsis, but I definitely want to see Sophie, Howl, and all their friends again if possible.

9 thoughts on “ Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones ”

I revisit this book often, so I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! I haven’t read any of the sequels, though, bc I’ve heard none of them are about Howl and Sophie.

Oh nooo it’s a bit sad that none of them are about Howl and Sophie. But I might still give it a go – perhaps after I finish the Chrestomanci series!

Lovely review. I didn’t enjoy it as much as you did, but I liked it and thought it was fun too. I want to try watching the film this weekend, if I can get it somewhere.

The film is amazing, I hope you manage to find it! I think Netflix got all the rights to the Ghibli movies (For money for Miyazaki’s latest work) so it might be there if you have an account?

Oh that’s good to know. I’ll check there. If they end up having all his films, I’ll most likely binge them all this weekend. 🙂

I haven’t read many old books but I don’t think this is for me. Great review!

Thanks! It took me a long time before I enjoyed this haha

This one is often recommended to my daughter to read, but she hasn’t yet. Maybe I can convince her to read it with me!

I hope you both enjoy it! If not, the movie is amazing as well!

What do you think? Cancel reply

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Howl's Moving Castle Hardcover – April 14, 1986

In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.

After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.

The Hatter sisters--Sophie, Lettie, and Martha--and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

Diana Wynne Jones's entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the Wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.

Book 1 of 3 Howl's Castle
Print length 224 pages
Language English
Dimensions 0.75 x 6 x 9 inches
Publisher GreenWilBk
Publication date April 14, 1986
ISBN-10 0688062334
ISBN-13 978-0688062330
See all details

Similar items that may deliver to you quickly

Editorial Reviews

From school library journal, about the author.

Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011) wrote more than forty books of fantasy for young readers. Characterized by magic, multiple universes, witches and wizards—and a charismatic nine-lived enchanter—her books were filled with unlimited imagination, dazzling plots, and an effervescent sense of humor that earned her legendary status in the world of fantasy.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ GreenWilBk; First Edition (April 14, 1986)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0688062334
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0688062330
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9+ years, from customers
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.75 x 6 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #2,415,268 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books )

About the author

Diana wynne jones.

In a career spanning four decades, award-winning author Diana Wynne Jones wrote more than forty books of fantasy for young readers. Characterized by magic, multiple universes, witches and wizards—and a charismatic nine-lived enchanter—her books were filled with unlimited imagination, dazzling plots, and an effervescent sense of humor that earned her legendary status in the world of fantasy. From the very beginning, Diana Wynne Jones’s books garnered literary accolades: her novel Dogsbody was a runner-up for the 1975 Carnegie Medal, and Charmed Life won the esteemed Guardian children’s fiction prize in 1977. Since then, in addition to being translated into more than twenty languages, her books have earned a wide array of honors—including two Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honors—and appeared on countless best-of-the-year lists. Her work also found commercial success: in 1992 the BBC adapted her novel Archer’s Goon into a six-part miniseries, and her best-selling Howl’s Moving Castle was made into an animated film by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki in 2004. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006, and became one of the most financially successful Japanese films in history. The author herself has also been honored with many prestigious awards for the body of her work. She was given the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award in 1999 for having made a significant impact on fantasy, received a D.Lit from Bristol University in 2006, and won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Convention in 2007.

Born just outside London in 1934, Diana Wynne Jones had a childhood that was “very vivid and often very distressing”—one that became the fertile ground where her tremendous imagination took root. When the raids of World War II reached London in 1939, the five-year-old girl and her two younger sisters were torn from their suburban life and sent to Wales to live with their grandparents. This was to be the first of many migrations, one of which brought her family to Lane Head, a large manor in the author-populated Lake District and former residence of John Ruskin’s secretary, W.G. Collingwood. This time marked an important moment in Diana Wynne Jones’s life, where her writing ambitions were magnified by, in her own words, “early marginal contacts with the Great.” She confesses to having “offending Arthur Ransome by making a noise on the shore beside his houseboat,” erasing a stack of drawings by the late Ruskin himself in order to reuse the paper, and causing Beatrix Potter (who also lived nearby) to complain about her and her sister’s behavior. “It struck me,” Jones said, “that the Great were remarkably touchy and unpleasant, and I thought I would like to be the same, without the unpleasantness.” Prompted by her penny-pinching father’s refusal to buy the children any books, Diana Wynne Jones wrote her first novel at age twelve and entertained her sisters with readings of her stories. Those early stories—and much of her future work—were inspired by a limited but crucial foundation of classics: Malory’s Morte D’Arthur, The Arabian Nights, and Epics and Romances of the Middle Ages. Fantasy was Jones’s passion from the start, despite receiving little support from her often neglectful parents. This passion was fueled further during her tenure at St. Anne’s College in Oxford, where lectures by J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis increased her fascination with myth and legend. She married Medievalist John Burrow in 1956; the couple have three sons and six grandchildren.

After a decade of rejections, Diana Wynne Jones’s first novel, Changeover, was published in 1970. In 1973, she joined forces with her lifelong literary agent, Laura Cecil, and in the four decades to follow, Diana Wynne Jones wrote prodigiously, sometimes completing three titles in a single year. Along the way she gained a fiercely loyal following; many of her admirers became successful authors themselves, including Newbery Award winners Robin McKinley and Neil Gaiman, and Newbery Honor Book author Megan Whalen Turner. A conference dedicated solely to her work was held at the University of West England, Bristol, in 2009. Diana Wynne Jones continued to write during her battle with lung cancer, which ultimately took her life in March 2011. Her last book, Earwig and the Witch, will be published by Greenwillow Books in 2012.

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Newsletter
About Amazon
Accessibility
Sustainability
Press Center
Investor Relations
Amazon Devices
Amazon Science
Sell on Amazon
Sell apps on Amazon
Supply to Amazon
Protect & Build Your Brand
Become an Affiliate
Become a Delivery Driver
Start a Package Delivery Business
Advertise Your Products
Self-Publish with Us
Become an Amazon Hub Partner
› See More Ways to Make Money
Amazon Visa
Amazon Store Card
Amazon Secured Card
Amazon Business Card
Shop with Points
Credit Card Marketplace
Reload Your Balance
Amazon Currency Converter
Your Account
Your Orders
Shipping Rates & Policies
Amazon Prime
Returns & Replacements
Manage Your Content and Devices
Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
Your Ads Privacy Choices

Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle and its Most Confusing Details

Howl's Moving Castle is an adaptation of a 1984 novel of the same name that came out in 2004. It is also one of the most beloved Ghibli movies out there. Conceived as an anti-war movie for Miyazaki to express his distaste for the U.S. Invasion of Iraq in 2003, the film managed to have increasing layers of thematic complexity despite airing at a time when, in the West, cartoons were still considered to be a medium specifically targeted at children. The overall narrative, the gorgeous visuals, and the interesting relationship between Howl and Sophie cemented the film as one that fans of the beloved studio would never forget.

The movie, however, has quite a few details that don't seem to make a lot of sense. Granted, this is something that crops up in quite a few Ghibli movies, with The Boy and The Heron being one of the most recent examples. There is a habit of these movies feeling like beautiful dreams in certain ways, making them hard to really describe to people who haven't seen them. While Howl's Moving Castle is not one of the most obtuse entries in the Ghibli catalog, it is certainly no slouch on nonsensical details.

10 Highest Grossing Studio Ghibli Movies, Ranked

What is suliman trying to do to howl with her spell.

At a certain point in the film, Howl and Sophie come face-to-face with Suliman, a state-sponsored seeming minister of magic who is recruiting magic users into the war. So far, Howl has been a draft dodger, and she is not a fan of that.

During the meeting, Suliman casts a spell that gets a little weird, with shadowy figures dancing around Howl and the reveal of what happened to the Witch of the Wastes. It could be assumed she was trying to steal his magic, but the spell looks inherently different , and it's never really explained either, as it doesn't come to fruition. This part is incredibly open to interpretation.

The Lay Out Of Sophie's Town Makes No Sense

No one is saying that a town in an animated film needs to conform to zoning codes and construction needs to be OSHA compliant. That anime does not exist yet. However, there is a certain amount of logic expected, even in a universe like the one in Howl's Moving Castle . While the castle, as it can loosely be called, is one of the most eye-catching pieces of architecture, Sophie's town is the wildest.

With a train that goes between houses, long alleyways that double back on themselves, and tightly packed buildings with entrances that don't make sense, it feels more like Yharnam during the day than a non-haunted sort of place. It is shockingly disorienting, but always incredibly interesting to look at.

Who Cursed The Prince?

Early on in the film, after being cursed, Sophie runs into Turnip Head. This turnip-based scarecrow follows her throughout the adventure, proving to be more than invaluable time and time again. He gets the cast out of danger quite a few times and, at the end of the film, is revealed to be the missing prince of a neighboring country. It is explained that his disappearance has a part to play in the war, but it also feels strange.

Why would the prince be cursed? Was the reason to ultimately cause the war? Was it for other, even more nefarious purposes? It's never really explained and sort of hand-waved at the end of the movie. If you don't think about it too hard, it does make sense, but it still feels like a missing detail.

10 Best Studio Ghibli Couples, Ranked

Sophie straight up ignores calcifer pleading for his life.

While cleaning out the hearth, Sophie needs to move Calcifer from his home to correctly clean it out. Much in the way a fish owner would clean the tank, Sophie transfers him to a bucket. Unlike a fish, Calcifer is doing his best not to fall into the bucket and go out.

An extinguished Calicifer would have disastrous consequences for Howl and Calcifer alike, a fact that Sophie knows at this point in the story. There were definitely better alternatives than the sadistic glee of watching a character voiced by Billy Crystal beg for his life while the arbiter of his fate busies herself with the sweeping. It just seems oddly mean-spirited.

The Air Raid On Sophie's Hometown Is Never Addressed

At the end of the movie, all the curses are broken and a happily ever after is on the horizon. Sophie and Howl get to be together, Prince Turnip Head is off to end the war, and Suliman is also calling off the fighting. It seems that all is right with the world — except for the fact that a full-on bombing happened in Sophie's hometown.

At no point does Sophie take a moment to wonder whether her family and friends survived the bombing. It just kind of gets glossed over in favor of the ending, but it seems out of character for someone as mature and caring as Sophie to not even spare them a thought.

The Whole War Seems To Be A Way For Suliman To Punish Howl

The War in the movie has vague origins at best, but Suliman seems to have a lot more sway than a normal court wizard should. She uses the war to divert Howl from his cowardly path, knowing that he would end up in her clutches eventually.

Suliman also quickly figures out that Sophie is in love with Howl, uses Sophie's mother to send a spy bug to their home, and practically burns the world down to get Howl on a more righteous path — which, at the end of the day, is more than a little excessive. This little detail makes the whole scenario all the more confusing when taking other details into account. Suliman just seems to have way too much power.

Modern Anime Struggles With a Key Concept That Studio Ghibli Mastered Decades Ago

Why would howl and sophie help the witch of the wastes.

After Suliman drains the Witch of the Wastes of her magic, she is forced to be her true age, which is incredibly old. She becomes quite feeble and has a hard time being fully cognizant at all times. Even in this pitiable state, it makes no sense that Sophie and Howl, two people who have every reason not to help her, would open their home to her.

Sophie essentially becomes the Witch of the Wastes' caretaker even though the Witch is the one who cursed her in the first place. No real explanation is ever really given for this turn of events, and it makes less and less sense when you realize that she is more often a hindrance than a help as the movie continues.

How Could Sophie Not Know Something Was Up With Her Mother?

Sophie's mother reappears later in the movie, finding Sophie rather easily despite her having basically disappeared. She also is able to recognize her daughter as an old woman. Sophie, who is shown to be rather smart and clever, does nothing to engage these critical thinking skills and question why this is happening — or even how.

As her mother is there as an envoy for Suliman betraying her daughter's trust, it's questionable as to why Sophie wouldn't find her mother's behavior suspicious. It's just too convenient and makes very little sense for someone as naturally wary as Sophie to look over such a strange circumstance.

The Door To The Past Seems Unfocused

The time-loop section of the plot relies heavily on Sophie being able to use the magical door to enter the past. This doesn't really jive well with the other established powers of the door. Each color seems to correspond with a place, while the "black" setting can seemingly be anywhere.

With Howl's magic going haywire, there was a lot of luck at work in order to make this magic happen in general. Going to the past to begin the stable time-loop again just gets harder to follow the more audiences think it over.

Did Sophie's Curse Get Lifted?

At the end of the movie, Howl's curse is undone by Sophie returning his heart. Turnip Head's curse is undone by true love's kiss. And Sophie's curse is never addressed again . Sophie seems to be at her normal age again, but her hair is still gray.

Was Sophie's curse lifted? Was it also the power of love? The means to undo the curse are never specified either, so it leaves everything up to speculation on whether Sophie was cured at all. Regardless, it's clear that Howl will love her either way.

Howl's Moving Castle

When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.

Director Hayao Miyazaki

Release Date June 17, 2005

Studio Studio Ghibli

Cast Chieko Baisho, Tatsuya Gashin, Takuya Kimura

Writers Diana Wynne Jones, Hayao Miyazaki

Runtime 1 Hour 59 Minutes

Main Genre Animation

Genres Family, Adventure

Production Company Buena Vista Home Entertainment, DENTSU Music And Entertainment, Mitsubishi.

Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle and its Most Confusing Details

We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us!

Internet Archive Audio

This Just In
Grateful Dead
Old Time Radio
78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
Audio Books & Poetry
Computers, Technology and Science
Music, Arts & Culture
News & Public Affairs
Spirituality & Religion
Radio News Archive

Flickr Commons
Occupy Wall Street Flickr
NASA Images
Solar System Collection
Ames Research Center

All Software
Old School Emulation
MS-DOS Games
Historical Software
Classic PC Games
Software Library
Kodi Archive and Support File
Vintage Software
CD-ROM Software
CD-ROM Software Library
Software Sites
Tucows Software Library
Shareware CD-ROMs
Software Capsules Compilation
CD-ROM Images
ZX Spectrum
DOOM Level CD

Smithsonian Libraries
FEDLINK (US)
Lincoln Collection
American Libraries
Canadian Libraries
Universal Library
Project Gutenberg
Children's Library
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Books by Language
Additional Collections

Prelinger Archives
Democracy Now!
Occupy Wall Street
TV NSA Clip Library
Animation & Cartoons
Arts & Music
Computers & Technology
Cultural & Academic Films
Ephemeral Films
Sports Videos
Videogame Videos
Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

Wayback Machine (iOS)
Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

Explore the Collections
Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

Howl's Moving Castle

Audio with external links item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

Graphic Violence
Explicit Sexual Content
Hate Speech
Misinformation/Disinformation
Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

Download options, in collections.

Uploaded by ac_film_club on April 20, 2024

SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

IMAGES

Howl's Moving Castle Book Illustrations on Behance
Howls Moving Castle Book / Howl S Moving Castle The Folio Society : So
Howl's Moving Castle: Howls Moving Castle Picture Book (Hardcover
Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl's Moving Castle Film Comic, Vol. 4
Book Review: “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones

VIDEO

Howl's Moving Castle (in Real Life) with Large Bacon! 🥓 #anime
Had fun with this Howl's Moving Castle book edge painting commission. #HowlsMovingCastle #Ghibli
'Howl's Moving Castle' Book's Phoenex Award
Howl's Moving Castle in college cafeteria
HMC Chapter 1 to 7
How To Draw Howl and Sophie (Howl's Moving Castle)

COMMENTS

Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1), Diana Wynne Jones Howl's Moving Castle is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986. Howl's Moving Castle is the first novel in the series of books called the Howl Series. This series also includes Castle in the Air, published in 1990, and House of Many Ways ...
Howl's Moving Castle Book Review
Our review: Parents say ( 8 ): Kids say ( 13 ): Diana Wynne Jones writes the old-fashioned kind of fantasy: fascinating and original, but slow and meandering. Once Sophie settles in at the castle, it's hard to say what the story is about for the next couple of hundred pages. That's not to say it's boring -- far from it.
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
BOOK REVIEW. by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Kevin Hong. Sophie is caught between a powerful witch and wizard who are terrorizing the magical land of Ingary. Living a humdrum life as a hatter till the malicious Witch of the Waste casts a spell turning her into an old woman, Sophie seeks refuge as cleaning woman to Wizard Howl ...
Book Review: "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones
Spoiler-Free Review: "Howl's Moving Castle" is a whimsical, joyful story with clever, funny, endearing characters. Clocking in at over 400 pages, the pacing was a little wonky and the story seemed to lose its way about 2/3 of the way through. However, the characters and their magical antics keep you engaged and the ever-changing setting ...
Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones. Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old ...
Review of Howl's Moving Castle
Goodreads Rating: 4.24/5. Howl's Moving Castle is a young adult fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones, perhaps one of the best known authors writing fantasy and science fiction with over 30 books published. This particular work of hers is a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and an ALA Best of the Best in YA.
Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones has been reviewed by Focus on the Family's marriage and parenting magazine. It is the first book in the Howl's World series. ... Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their ...
Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1) Diana Wynne Jones Greenwillow Books Published August 1, 2001 (Originally published 1986) Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads About Howl's Moving Castle. Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate.
Howl's Moving Castle (novel)
Howl's Moving Castle is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York.It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years later. It was adapted into an animated film of the same name in 2004, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle
Review. Howl's Moving Castle is a fantasy novel about the infamous wizard Howl, and a cursed hatmaker named Sophie. Sophie Hatter is a pretty average girl whose been left to maintain her family's hat shop. However, she gets cursed one day by the Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman. Sophie, seeking out an end to her curse, finds ...
Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones. Publish Date: August 1, 2001 Greenwillow Books Borrowed from Megan Reviewed by Rachael. View on Amazon. In which a witch bewitched the hatter's daughter - and then some….Sophie lived in the town of Market Chipping, which was in Ingary, a land in which anything could happen, and often did - especially when the Witch of the Waste got her dander up.
Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Title: Howl's Moving Castle Author: Diana Wynne Jones Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult Publisher: Harper Collins Publication date: First edition: 1986 (This edition: 2009) Paperback: 304 pages In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter. After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the ...
Parent reviews for Howl's Moving Castle
That's as an adult with no children, who has never seen the anime. This book is playful, clever, funny, and subtle. The Wizard Howl is a huge drama queen, Sophie is a bossy old lady, Calcifer is a whiny but lovable fire demon. Ultimately, Howl and Sophie have to face their fears and own their flaws.
Kid reviews for Howl's Moving Castle
Much much better than the movie. Absolutely hilarious, genuine characters, and a intricate and interesting plot. Have reread many times, and highly recommend. Some fantasy violence, Howl gets drunk at one point which is super funny, a bit of romance, and characters can be rude at times (again, hilarious). Enjoy!
Howl's Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki
January 12, 2019. ::Howl's Moving Castle's Characters:: Sophie HatterSophie is the protagonist of the novel and has lots of ambitious ideas that she puts to the back of her mind because she is the eldest of the three Hatter sisters and knows the eldest is always destined for...nothing at all.
Howl's Moving Castle: A review
Sophie travels to Howl's Moving Castle. Howl is a wizard, known for eating the hearts of young girls! But when Sophie meets Howl and inhabitants of the castle, she finds that everything is not as it seems. This book is perfect for any child who loves stories about spells and adventure. It would be ideal for children in upper Key Stage 2.
Howl's moving castle is so good : r/books
The plot isn't too far, but the characters feel really different. In the movie, Sophie is already portrayed as a brave woman, but in the book, she is as tough as nails. Howl is depicted as a mix of a horny teenager and Dumbledore, which made the reading experience really enjoyable. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel later on.
REVIEW: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Janine B- Reviews Fantasy / witch / wizards / YA 33 Comments. Dear Readers, Since beloved children's book author Diana Wynne Jones passed away a few years ago, this review is addressed to you. My husband and I read the classic YA novel Howl's Moving Castle recently. It was a fun and funny novel and I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it as much as my husband did.
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl's Moving Castles is a magical, charming and heart-warming fantasy imbued with a wonderful blend of humour and romance. At times laugh-out-loud funny, always delightful and subtle, this is fantasy with a great heart. This is a novel you will likely fall in love with. It has incredible characters, a superb plot, all set within an original ...
Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. May 23, 2023 ... Howl's Moving Castle is the story of Sophie Hatter. She works for her stepmother making hats, but one day, she encounters the Wicked Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman. Now emboldened, she sets up to seek her fortune and ends up at the magical but dirty ...
Howl's Moving Castle: Jones, Diana Wynne: 9780688062330: Amazon.com: Books
Howl's Moving Castle. Hardcover - April 14, 1986. In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter. After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing ...
Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle and its Most Confusing Details
Howl's Moving Castle is an adaptation of a 1984 novel of the same name that came out in 2004. It is also one of the most beloved Ghibli movies out there. Conceived as an anti-war movie for ...
Castle in the Air (Howl's Moving Castle, #2)
No, to matter at hand, my review: Castle in the Air is a companion book to Howl's Moving Castle. It's the story of Abdullah, a young merchant from Zanzib. One day, a mysterious man sells him a magic carpet. ... So I just let a content sigh out and run for the book #3. Howl's Moving Castle (Ходячий замок): — Howl's Moving Castle ...
Howl's Moving Castle : Movies and Tea : Free Download, Borrow, and
An illustration of an open book. Books. An illustration of two cells of a film strip. Video An illustration of an audio speaker. ... howls-moving-castle_202404 Scanner Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.7.0 . plus-circle Add Review. comment. Reviews There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write a review. 0 Views . DOWNLOAD OPTIONS download ...

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

SNOW PLACE LIKE HOME

Please select an existing bookshelf

Please sign up to continue.

Almost there!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Book Review: “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones

“Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones

Share this:

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones

What I Liked

What Could Have Been Different

Characters:

Share this:

Published by The Book Lover's Sanctuary

5 thoughts on “Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones”

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Buy me coffee!

Favorite SF&F Books by Women Project

Currently Reading

Recent Reviews

Recent Tweets

Author Blogs

Book Blogs and SF&F Sites

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Book Review

Readability Age Range

Year Published

Plot Summary

Christian Beliefs

Other Belief Systems

Authority Roles

Profanity & Violence

Sexual Content

Additional Comments

Latest Book Reviews

The Minor Miracle: The Amazing Adventures of Noah Minor

The Eyes and the Impossible

Castle Reef 2: Bloodlines

Compass and Blade

Nothing Else But Miracles

Waverider (Amulet #9)

Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle #1) Diana Wynne Jones Greenwillow Books Published August 1, 2001 (Originally published 1986)

Content Notes

Share this:

About Kasey

Never Miss a Story

Donate Your New or Used Books

Follow For More Stories

My Book for Authors

Subscribe by Email

Follow The Story Sanctuary

Discover more from The Story Sanctuary

Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle

Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle

A Short Review of Howl’s Moving Castle

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

53 Comments

Kimberly B.

Tweets that mention The Book Smugglers » Blog Archive » Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones -- Topsy.com

Jennifer @ An Abundance of Books

Sylvia Sybil

Kathleen Brown

The Leaning Pile of Books | Fantasy Cafe | Reviews of Fantasy and Science Fiction Books

Review of Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones | Fantasy Cafe | Reviews of Fantasy and Science Fiction Books

trevnistreetart.tumblr.com

shooting target systems

Things I Love About DWJ’s Howl’s Moving Castle | dreaming out loud

Review: Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones – Spec Fict Lit

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow @booksmugglers on Instagram

Or browse by category:

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12