A review by nwiltse
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

3.0

This detailed and super fantastical writing took a few chapters to hook me. I had to concentrate too hard, so I started skimming and finally was grabbed by the plot. It's a textbook example of fantasy as it combines elements of fairy tales, myths, is of course set in a medieval community... with spells, and an evil witch. It's really a compilation of all of the cliches in fantasy squeezed into one plot. But, I know students who will eat it up, and probably request more by [a:Diana Wynne Jones|4260|Diana Wynne Jones|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1193516584p2/4260.jpg]. It's a complicated plot, so it will take a strong reader at the elementary level. Fantasy readers grades 4-8 who love [b:Fablehaven|44652|Fablehaven (Fablehaven, #1)|Brandon Mull|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255708435s/44652.jpg|2129546] or [b:Redwall|7996|Redwall (Redwall, #1)|Brian Jacques|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qKtmE9DBL._SL75_.jpg|486980] would probably enjoy this book.