Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Howl's Moving Castle

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Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

7 reviews

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A delightful romp through a fairy-tale, Howl's Moving Castle is a great middle grade fantasy. Sophie Hatter is the eldest of three, so naturally she gets cursed by a witch and leaves her home to find a cure. She ends up at the moving castle of Wizard Howl, a mischievous magician with incredible magical prowess but very little sense. The characters are so hilarious to listen to as they bicker and plot and scheme, and the magic is so vague and mysterious that it's impossible to figure out how it works. The ending answers so many questions that dog Sophie and Howl throughout the book and ties everything up nicely. A great read, even if (like me) you've never seen the Studio Ghibli film before!

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erebus53's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a book club read that finally came through for me on Libby. I didn't feel like I was missing out on much because I have long been a fan of the movie. As such it's great to finally read the source material, because these things are generally better for having more time to develop the characters and more insight into the motivations.

The book is certainly clearer to understand than the film. It is made clear that Sophie interacts with inanimate objects and respects them more than most people, but because it's her "normal" she doesn't realise that the things she says to the things that she talks to or makes are taken to heart by those items. She is innately magical, but does not see it. This has a subversive, dreamy quality, and I could see how it would be inspirational to a young reader... what if I am magical too, and I just haven't noticed, or figured out the trick of it?

A lot of the little descriptions in the books are rendered in the movie very faithfully. Little things like feeding eggshells to the fire have been faithfully captured in the animated version, though as is always the case, the movie just doesn't have the scope to unpack all the backstory provided in the book.

I am very glad that I got the chance to check this version out, as it fills out a lot more of a story that I already loved. It would be a great read for the 10+ age group.

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samchase112's review

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh, how absolutely lovely! I adored this fantasy adventure book featuring a pragmatic "old woman," a drama-queen wizard, a well-meaning, young assistant, a talking flame, and a whole host of entertaining characters. Sure, some threads became confusing, but that didn't really matter; what's important is the characters' interactions, their little side quests, and the colorful world Diana Wyne Jones placed them in. I flew through it! And I can't wait to rewatch the wonderful, wonderful adaptation — no wonder Hayao Miyazaki thought this would make a delightful animated film.

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ruthmoog's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

4.75

Such a good story, very enjoyable and witty. It conjures vivid pictures of the events that unfold.
I have wanted to read it since seeing the Ghibli film and it's well worth reading imo.
I loved Howl, such a dramatic creature!

- "I'm delirious. Spots are crawling before my eyes."
- "Those are spiders!"

nb I unknowingly read an abridged version.

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merle_bookdragon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Who me? I assure you, my friends, I am cone sold stober. ... What a lie that was! ... My shining dishonesty will be the salvation of me.

Oh my goodness, what an absolute joy of a book. I've seen the movie approximately 50 times and I was so happy when I got gifted the beautiful Folio Society edition and then it stood in my shelf for a year. But I finally got to read it as part of my university bookclub and I absolutely loved it (as was to be expected.)

I am usually not the biggest reader of introductions but in this case I was very happy I did because it was informative and funny and taught me things that made the story even more special. For example that Diana Wynne Jones came from Wales, that she had juvenile rheumatism and that she attended lectures by both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. I really enjoyed her storytelling and her creation of this world which is such a delightful mix of fairy tales, myth, and folklore and went on to inspire many more.

The story itself surprised me in the places in which it differed from the movie, which kept me on my toes to anticipate any changes that were made. Both Howl and Sophie are much more ... assertive and rude? :D And I don't mean that in an entirely negative way it just surprised me a little. I read a couple days ago that the book is the story told from Sophie's perspective and the movie is the story as Howl likes to tell it. And I think that is very accurate because Howl sure is more annoying that he is made out to be in the movie.

I enjoyed having to rethink some relationships and names that might've appeared in the movie but were connected differently in the book like Mrs Pentstemmon, the Witch of the Waste, the king, Michael, Sophie's sisters... basically most of them. But since the Ghibli movie was made to convey a very specific message and chose a specific route for that, I can totally see why changes were made and some things were left out. Still I would've loved to see animated Howl in rugby uniform.

I will most definitely reread this many times and extend my tabs and notes. I shall recommend this to everyone and I've also added the artbook for the movie to my wishlist :D

Megan's full of envy because she's respectable and I'm not.

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mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition

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4.25

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martharosen's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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