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maggieyurek's review against another edition
adventurous
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
teddyotso's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
every time I read this book in the first 80% I’m like “ok I have to remember to mention xy and z in my review!” but then the last like 3 chapters are so insane and everything comes together at like rollercoaster speed and I forget everything else that ever happened in the story and the biggest crime of miyazakis will forever be not including how much of an actual fucking menace sophie is and also howl’s WELSH FUCKING ACCENT bc i listened to the audio book for like half of this and my GOD is it so perfect
avellanna's review against another edition
4.0
4,25/5 ⭐️
It made me SO happy you don't understand... I love book Howl and Sophie....
It made me SO happy you don't understand... I love book Howl and Sophie....
fluffysarcasm's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good fairytale, but the ending and the way things ended seemed rushed. Almost like there was too much misdirection going on in the rest of the book so that the ending seemed to come from the side.
fluffysarcasm's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good fairytale, but the ending and the way things ended seemed rushed. Almost like there was too much misdirection going on in the rest of the book so that the ending seemed to come from the side.
mudder17's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
A pretty fun story that makes me want to watch the movie now. I like the characters and the humorous oddities of this book and will move on to the next book at some point. However, keep in mind that the story is pretty cheesy. You definitely have to be in the right frame of mind to read it.
A pretty fun story that makes me want to watch the movie now. I like the characters and the humorous oddities of this book and will move on to the next book at some point. However, keep in mind that the story is pretty cheesy. You definitely have to be in the right frame of mind to read it.
stateoffriction's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Lighthearted and cute, not much more to it. I feel like the interactions between Howl and Sophie were better in the movie than in the book! It felt kind of random in the book when at the end it was like oh they're in love and will hold hands now bye .
karabu's review against another edition
5.0
So wonderful and complex. Read this one as a family and we all enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more even if the rest of the family doesn't, but I bet they will.
snukes's review against another edition
4.0
I watched the movie first. I picked up the book immediately afterward, because I got to the end of the movie and said "huh?" and hoped the book would clear some things up. The book had the same kind of whirlwind pace that the movie did, but it did deliver a more complete story with more satisfactory conclusions.
The funny thing about this story is that I found both Sophie and Howl rather infuriating the whole way through the story. Sophie is cranky and vindictive almost without letting up, until all the sudden at the end we are simply TOLD it's because (just in case that was a spoiler). And why in the world should that be? Howl acts like a bad-tempered teenage boy all the way through. He is everything he claims to be - cowardly, vain, selfish and kind of irrational. So why would anyone fall for him?
This really bothered me until I read the interview with the author at the end. One of the comments from her addressed the fact that apparently every teenage girl in the world is in love with Howl. One girl stood up at a Q&A session and asked if she could marry Howl, to which Jones replied that she'd have to get to the back of a line stretching all the way around the world.
Why?! Why is a guy who is cowardly, vain, selfish and irrational SO appealing to teenage girls?
And then it suddenly clicked. ALL teenage boys are this way. It is what teenage girls know. What Howl has going for him that real teenage boys don't is that underneath all his horrible personality traits, he is secretly noble, large-hearted, and very very clever. In order to get around his cowardliness, he has to hide these traits even from himself, but they are definitely there. And every teenage girl in the world wants to believe that the boys they have crushes on anyway - the dopey, ill-mannered, vain and irrational teenage boys - are secretly as noble and good as Howl.
Ha! While I prefer my men a little less secretive about their redeeming qualities, at least the story's device makes more sense to me with this perspective.
Right. Anyway. It was a fun story. I really enjoyed it, and I'll go look for the next two soon. I want to know more about wizards wandering between worlds.
The funny thing about this story is that I found both Sophie and Howl rather infuriating the whole way through the story. Sophie is cranky and vindictive almost without letting up, until all the sudden at the end we are simply TOLD it's because
Spoiler
she's fallen in love with HowlThis really bothered me until I read the interview with the author at the end. One of the comments from her addressed the fact that apparently every teenage girl in the world is in love with Howl. One girl stood up at a Q&A session and asked if she could marry Howl, to which Jones replied that she'd have to get to the back of a line stretching all the way around the world.
Why?! Why is a guy who is cowardly, vain, selfish and irrational SO appealing to teenage girls?
And then it suddenly clicked. ALL teenage boys are this way. It is what teenage girls know. What Howl has going for him that real teenage boys don't is that underneath all his horrible personality traits, he is secretly noble, large-hearted, and very very clever. In order to get around his cowardliness, he has to hide these traits even from himself, but they are definitely there. And every teenage girl in the world wants to believe that the boys they have crushes on anyway - the dopey, ill-mannered, vain and irrational teenage boys - are secretly as noble and good as Howl.
Ha! While I prefer my men a little less secretive about their redeeming qualities, at least the story's device makes more sense to me with this perspective.
Right. Anyway. It was a fun story. I really enjoyed it, and I'll go look for the next two soon. I want to know more about wizards wandering between worlds.