Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1)

Highly recommended.

I had chosen to read this book for my English class, where we will have to do activities based around the characters. The theme was meant to be fantasy, and I had so many fantasy books just sitting on my shelves. I thought that it was maybe time to try Howl's Moving Castle, which had been sitting there for years and totally covered in dust.

I think that this story is different to many of the books that I have ever read, mainly because the main character was a girl who got changed into an old lady accidentally. I have never read anything like this before, sure I have read ones where the main character's best friend does, but nothing close to this.

I thought that the book didn't really explain the reasons behind what happened in the book. I read a page, and the story jumps from one event to another without any warning, and I re-read the whole thing again, and flicking back to see if I had skipped a page or something. I think that the author should of slowed the story down to work on the characters more.

I think it was strange introducing the Wales thing into the book, and it didn't really help the book in anyway, just made it slightly more confusing. It had no relevance to the storyline, and it upset my train of thought when we found Sophie in a car, when she was in a kingdom with carriages a second before.

I think that this book has won awards since it is full of creativity, crazy characters, and sense of humor. Children from the ages of 8+ will enjoy this book full of colours, magic and hats.

Reader reviewed by Connie



Howl's Moving Castle tells the story of Sophie Hatter who is cursed to take on the appearance of an old woman. She decides to leave her house and enters the terrifying castle of Wizard Howl, who is reputed to eat the hearts of pretty young girls. At the castle, Sophie ends up having plenty of adventures she never imagined she would have. This fantasy story lacks large battle scenes and a quest, which makes it very unique. You never know what's going to happen next! Its creativity in terms of plot and witty dialogues makes this a favorite.

Reader reviewed by Kathleen



Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is the perfect blend of witty narration, crazy characters, and perfect plot. While I've never been able to get three pages into any of Jones' multitudes of other books, this clever fairytale had me hooked from the first sentence.

We open in a small town on Sophie Hatter, the hat maker's daughter. You know how in fairytales only good things happen to the youngest, and stepsisters are always bad? Well Jones takes the angle of the eldest, caring for her young sister Martha and step sister Lettie. Sophie has basicaly resigned herself to being stuck in the hat shop for the rest of her life while her sisters go out and learn magic and meet fantastic people, because she is the eldest and the eldest never succeeds.

Through a wonderfully twisted and cruel trick of fate, Sophie is the only one in the shop on day when the evil Witch of the Waste drops by. Convinced that Sphie, herself, is a rival witch, she puts a spell on Sophie and sweeps out of the store. All of the sudden, young pretty Sophie is a ninety year old woman, complete with backaches and knee pains. To proud to reveal her new self to her family, she leaves home and heads for the hills. She chances upon a huge castle billowing black smoke and moving across the moore. Without waiting to be invited, Sophie lets herself in to give her tired old feet a rest.

Inside she finds the decidedly unplesent Calcifer, a fire demon trapped by a contract. Michel, a young, slightly abused but loyal wizards apprentice. And the Wizard Howl, known where Sophie comes from as an evil man who uses his magic to prey on young girls and eat their hearts (And may or may not turn them into the spiders that spin webs all over his messy house) She offers her services as a house maid, and so begins the captivating story in which Sophie cleanes a wizard's house, induces green slime, casts a few spells, and defeats the Witch of the Waste.

I can truely find no fault with this book. It's one of those that i can read three times a week and still laugh and cry along with the characters. Each and every character is unique and surprising. Jones starts each character very "cartoon" like, but as the story progresses you get a glimpse into each one's anger, love, sadness, and passion which makes them so human it'll feel like a vile crime to shut the book on them. This book is for anybody who ever dreamed of fairytales, from the ages of ten to one hundred and ten.

Oh, and one more thing. There's a movie. It's a anime by the award winning film director Hayao Miyazaki. Please please please read the book first. While the movie is good, it is NOTHING like the book.

Reader reviewed by Meeshee

I must have read this book in a day it was so good - a pageturner till the end. I would highly recommend this book. (if you have seen the movie, it follows the book beautifully, you'll find many similarities with a few differences) This book is magical, mysterious, and has earned a loving place on my shelf.

Reader reviewed by co-chan

Ever read a fantasy book? Howl's Moving Castle is nothing like it. It's a very particular book about a womanizing wizard and a young girl who was turned into an old lady by a curse.
The story is different than any other in its genre. Not only the setting, but the magic,the characters... practically everything. If you're in search of something original, Howl's Moving Castle is definitely something for you.

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

Sophie is just dealing with the pains of her life when she unexpectedly encounters the Witch of the Waste. And then she is turned into an old lady.

Sophie knows she can't stay in her family's hat shop because they won't know who she is. So, she leaves, eventually finding residence in a moving, yes moving, castle. She later discovers the Howl is the owner of this castle, and that he doesn't eat the hearts of little girls. She then becomes his cleaning lady and makes a pact with the fire demon in order to find a way to break her spell.

I was actually very disappointed in this book; it is one of the few I didn't like. Sophie's character just gets plain annoying, and Howl is just strange. My favorite character was actually Michael, but you don't see a lot of him which was disappointing. There is also a lot of confusion over Sophie's sisters, which made the book difficult to read. I would not recommend this book.

Reader reviewed by Jessica M.

I heard that Disney made a movie off of this book four years ago. I did not know that Howl's Moving Castle was a book, until I saw my friend read it 3 months ago. I decided that it looked interesting, so I decided to read it. I was not disappointed at all.

The story is about a teenager named Sophie, who is cursed to be an old woman by the Witch of the Waste. One night, Sophie randomly shows up at Wizard Howl's castle, although she is not aware. After Howl lets Sophie stays, craziness ensues. A very entertaining book; you should read it.

Reader reviewed by Tina.S

I must admit, i only read this book after i watched the movie, and i liked the movie just a little bit better. The reason being is thet the Howl in the movie was sappy and somewhat stupid, but i liked him better than the Howl in the book. Anyway, the story starts off with Sophie,a young girl who's life is as dull as anything. Then she suddenly gets turned into an old women and is forced to move into Howl's moving castle, as a cleaning lady to the notorious wizard Howl.

Reader reviewed by tomato_chic

Howl's Moving Castle is one of Diana Wynne Jones's best written books, i think. It is very creative and makes you laugh at how Sophie turns into a 90 year old woman. If you have watched the movie, you would DEFINATELY love the book because it is different to the movie but just as good. The thing that makes you keep reading is to find out what will happen to Sophie (will she turn back to her real age), Wizard Howl's childishness, and the relationship between everyone. People who read this book will most likely laugh out loud at what happens...(I did!) I recommend this book to anyone and everyone!